Airmen will soon see “combat skills training” added to their specialty technical training, Lt. Gen. Dennis Larsen, vice chief of Air Education and Training Command, said earlier this week. Meeting with reporters at Bolling AFB, D.C., Larsen explained that the Air Force is discovering that the time added to basic training to teach small arms and infantry tactics isn’t enough. He said the Air Force is worried “they may have forgotten it by the time they get through” with their follow-on specialty training in maintenance, fuels, etc. AETC will soon add fighting refreshers to all tech-training courses, he said.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
