New curriculum prepares next generation of NCO's

  • Published
  • By By Airman 1st Class Torri Ingalsbe
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  As part of an Air Force-wide initiative, the Mathies Airman Leadership School has adjusted its curriculum to include information that will help future supervisors at home base and down range. 

The Mathies Airman Leadership School on RAF Feltwell trains all Airmen serving in the U.K. 

ALS is a 192-hour, 24-academic-day class which prepares senior airmen for supervisory duties and fosters a commitment to the profession of arms. 

Master Sgt. Eric Loftus, 48th Mission Support Squadron ALS flight chief said they've taken the old material and condensed it, while adding new information that focuses more on deployments. 

The four previous areas of instruction were leadership management, profession of arms, human relations and communication skills. These modules have been replaced by supervisor of Airmen, military professional, combat leader and supervisory communicator. 

"These changes are a basic overhaul of the old training system," said Sergeant Loftus. He added the changes have been put in place to promote a more warrior ethos centered curriculum and prepare new NCO's for challenges they might face down range. 

He said that Airmen are now so much closer to combat than they were five years ago and this new material teaches future supervisors how to take an active role in deployed areas. 

Some of the curriculum focuses on interoperability with joint services and how to deal with the combat environment, Sergeant Loftus said. There is also a foreign terrorism speech every member must make. 

"The Air Force is transforming so rapidly and this new training material is providing up-to-date training," said Staff Sgt. Jason Quadros, 48th MSS, ALS instructor. 

He said the quality of training is the same, but everything's much faster. Time management is key. 

Both Sergeant Loftus and Sergeant Quadros said one of the most important aspects of this new curriculum is the feedback. Students are able to give their input about what they learned in the course and what they think there could have been more training on. 

"We take their comments seriously about this because it's such a new program," Sergeant Loftus said. "They're helping us make it better for the Airmen they supervise when they come through."