Lackland Air Force Base, Texas –
After being out of commission for just over three months, the basic military training obstacle course was reopened by the 737th Training Support Squadron June 11.
All courses were originally shut down by Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, following a course fatality last December at Moody AFB, Ga.
General Moseley's suspension, which became official on March 9, came on the eve of a new Air Force Instruction proposal created to standardize all course requirements servicewide. The suspension was necessary in order to perform operational risk management analysis of each individual course for hazards and procedural integrity.
Operational risk assessments evaluate courses based on a number of criteria, including all briefings given before the course is actually used, course inspection, maintenance, manning and security. Extraneous equipment utilized during course runs and severe weather plans are also assessed.
"In order to meet the new requirements, all courses must perform an ORM inspection and submit their findings in a package to their major command," said Senior Airman Brandon Consola, 37th Training Wing Ground Safety technician. "Those findings, as well as proposed changes, are then approved and the course is reopened."
The obstacle course, which is utilized by nearly 40,000 trainees every year during their six-and-a-half weeks of training, was given a large amount of attention because of its impact on the Air Force mission. It is one of the first courses to be approved for reopening under the new AFI standardization.
In the draft instruction, all courses are divided into two categories: Category I courses are those with obstacles no higher than 4 feet, and Category II courses are those with obstacles no higher than 14 feet. In order to meet approval with the AFI, the course went through a meticulous assessment for possible safety hazards and structural integrity analysis. It also had to make some changes.
BMT's obstacle course has two obstacles, Cliff I and Cliff II, which both exceed the now standard 14-foot limitation. They have since been excluded from use by any trainees or Airmen running the course.
"The fall zones for both of those obstacles exceed 14 feet," said Tech. Sgt. Christian Kick, 737th Training support Squadron obstacle course NCO-in-charge. "In order for us to bring them back on line, we'll have to decrease the fall zones for each one with construction projects.
"But the changes we've made don't really affect the course operation at all," Sergeant Kick said.
On the morning of its reopening, Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, 37th Training Wing commander, and Col. Eric Wilbur, 37th Training Wing vice commander, ran through the course with basic military trainees.
Other courses around Lackland, including the Leadership Reaction Course, the Individual Tactics Training Course and the Basic Officers' Course on Camp Bullis are still being evaluated for approval.