LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Instructors from the 37th Training Wing's Basic Combat Convoy Course at Camp Bullis trained American military personnel in Kandahar, Afghanistan, recently. Course instructors were coined for excellence three times by Brig. Gen. Michael Holmes, commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.
The training program, also known as BC3, provides Air Force transportation Airmen with the skills necessary to conduct convoy operations in hostile territory.
Although BC3 activities are normally conducted at Camp Bullis and Fort Hood, the operations carried out with the 2/7 Embedded Expeditionary Joint Logistics Readiness Flight provided students with the same skills received in the States.
"We took the BC3 course to Afghanistan, basically," explained Tech. Sgt. Jason Hodges.
Evaluating the areas in need of attention was an important initial task for the training NCOs.
"We did an actual assessment of the team to determine what skill sets they had and what they had to be trained in," said Sergeant Hodges. "We wouldn't move to the next skill set until everyone was at a hundred percent."
The presence of combat veterans among the instructors and students added to the overall effectiveness of the BC3 course.
"We had a couple of vets," said Staff Sgt. Stuart Jordan. "They helped us pull in the rookies real quick."
Both Sergeants Jordan and Hodges previously conducted convoy operations in Iraq in 2004.
The course instructors trained four Air Force officers, 26 Airmen and four Soldiers during their stay in Kandahar.
Personnel received more than 180 hours of tactical instruction and undertook numerous activities on the base.
Reacting to enemy encounters, treating combat wounded, requesting helicopters for medical evacuations and recovering damaged vehicles were among the skills taught in Afghanistan.
Training was carried out on the base, with practice routes and attack scenarios planned on the range. BC3 usually consists of four phases: Basic Skills, Battle Drills, Maneuver Warfare and Battlefield Rehearsal. The last phase is normally a live fire drill at Fort Hood, but this category was somewhat different in Afghanistan.
The result of the three-week training curriculum was a joint Situational Training Exercise with Marine, Army and Air Force personnel.
"We had four days of live convoy operations to find that everyone was 100 percent," explained Sergeant Hodges.
For both Sergeants Jordan and Hodges, the instruction carried out at Kandahar Air Base achieved its goals.
"The feedback we got was very positive," stated Sergeant Hodges.
The course also provided the groundwork for future improvements to the standard BC3 program. After departing Kandahar, both instructors arrived in Iraq to gather information on convoy operations there and their potential impact on the skills taught at Camp Bullis.
According to Sergeant Hodges, BC3 instructors acquire new information and facts between courses so further modifications can be made to the training curriculum.
The BC3 program resulted from a request by the Army for Air Force personnel to augment convoy duties in Iraq. The first graduating class was deployed overseas in June 2004.
Since its inception, more than 1,500 Airmen have passed through the course. Graduates of BC3 have been recommended for one Silver Star, have received more than 150 Bronze Stars, 100 Purple Hearts and 30 Meritorious Service Medals.