Q&A: General William R. Looney III

Airmen Trainer
Developing America’s Airmen Today For Tomorrow

General William R. Looney III
Commander, Air Education
and Training Command
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

General William R. Looney III is Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. As commander, he is responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force people. His command includes the Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and Air University. Air Education and Training Command consists of 13 bases, more than 92,000 active duty, reserve, guard, civilians and contractors, and 1,750 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft. Looney graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1972, where he commanded the cadet wing in his senior year. The general has commanded a flight, a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, an air expeditionary force, a military college, a warfare center, a numbered air force and two acquisition centers. Looney flew 62 combat hours in the F-15 in support of Operation Southern Watch and commanded Joint Task Force 86-2 in support of Operation Uphold Democracy. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, including 2,500 in the F-15.

Interview with General William R. Looney III conducted by MT2 Editor Rodney L. Pringle.

Q: How has life changed for you since the last time you appeared on the cover of MT2 in September 2003, then as commander of the Electronic Systems Center (ESC), Air Force Materiel Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.?

A: Since that article, I have had 2 additional command tours—first at Aeronautical Systems Center where we acquire and modernize almost all of our AF aircraft inventory, and, most recently, here in San Antonio where I am actively involved in the training and education enterprise for our AF. It’s been an exciting adventure at both locations and I feel very fortunate to be able to bring all my experiences over the past 35 years in flying, space, acquisition, and education to bear in this assignment at Air Education and Training Command.

Q: What is the mission of Air Education and Training Command and what is your job as commander?

A: Our mission is to develop America’s airmen today... for tomorrow. I take that mission seriously, as do all AETC airmen—the men and women who pass through our recruiting, training and education venues today will likely find themselves deployed in harm’s way in the next few months and years. We want to develop America’s airmen today...for tomorrow— talented, skilled and prepared to do what our nation asks them to do so they can deploy, return home safely to their families who love them and remain part of an Air Force that appreciates their contribution.

Q: What are your goals and objectives for AETC?

A: Our three core functions are to recruit the force, train the force and educate the force. We’ve been using the Balanced Scorecard [BSC)] process to manage the command’s near-term strategy of recruiting, training and educating. The BSC Strategy Map is a management tool used by senior leadership to prioritize WHAT [the objectives] AETC believes is important to operationally achieve within the next two to three years and HOW [the measure] these results will be accomplished and monitored. However, these strategic plans will not be executed by merely putting objective statements on a piece of paper and telling people this is what we are going to do to be successful. Strategy execution success can only be achieved when people are able to align their job responsibilities to what is being articulated through the strategic objectives and then be given the resources necessary to achieve those intended strategic results. When this happens, strategy execution becomes everyone’s job and strategic change begins.

Q: Could you talk about the history of AETC and how it has evolved through the years?

A: Air Education and Training Command (AETC) was established on Jan. 23, 1942, in Washington, D.C., as the Army Air Corps Flying Training Command, and six months later moved to Fort Worth, Texas. After intermediate stops at Barksdale AFB, La., in 1946 and Scott AFB, Ill., in 1949, the headquarters moved to Randolph AFB, Texas, where it has been since 1957. At its inception, AETC had a single mission—flying training. In 1943, the command added two more missions—basic military training and technical training. A fourth mission, recruiting, was added in 1954. To represent the command’s growing mission in education, training and recruiting, it was redesignated the Air Education and Training Command in 1993. Since Air University was aligned under AETC in 1993, education has been another major component of the command’s mission. That same year, AETC also picked up the lion’s share of the Air Force’s advanced flying training mission for fighter, bomber, airlift and tanker aircraft. Most recently, AETC has assumed responsibility for the airmanship mission at the Air Force Academy. With almost all Air Force members beginning their service in one of its training programs, AETC is known as “The First Command.” To carry out its multifaceted mission, AETC has Air University, Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and 16 wings at 13 major bases. Over the years, more than 25 million students have completed one or more AETC courses.

Q: Could you talk about the changing role of the Air Force and how training is changing to accommodate today’s mission?

A: As the expeditionary Air Force becomes more ingrained in the way we train and operate, and as our overall force numbers decline to meet fiscal realities, we’re continually assessing our processes to find efficient ways to deliver combat-ready airman. Specifically, we’ve enhanced the combat training our airmen receive—as the Air Force continues to support Army deployment requirements, our “In-lieu-of” [ILO] training is a critical effort to ensure selected airmen receive crucial training from the Army before they deploy to fill traditional Army requirements. Our Basic Combat Convoy Course teaches airmen to safely plan, support and operate in convoys that support the warfighter. Once fully implemented in FY 11, our Common Battlefield Airman Training [CBAT] will provide airmen with combat skills training [CST] beyond current levels and train them to operate more effectively “outside the wire” in specific combat-related skills. Until then, we are standing up an intermediate CBAT course that will provide enhanced CST to meet our immediate needs. We also closely assess our technical training courses to ensure they remain fresh and relevant while incorporating advanced delivery technologies. One practical step in remaining relevant is our focus on bringing in instructors who have recently returned from deployments—the information they pass along to our airmen is invaluable, and often life saving. We’re also working to improve our ability to get the right person in the right training program to best match their inherent capabilities with our requirements.

Q: What are the programs that AETC oversees?

A: AETC’s mission begins with the Air Force Recruiting Service— bringing in our new airmen. Second Air Force, with headquarters at Keesler AFB, Miss., is responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force non-flying enlisted members and support officers. Nineteenth Air Force, with headquarters at Randolph AFB, Texas, conducts AETC’s flying training and is responsible for training aircrews and air battle managers. Air University, headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Ala., conducts professional military education (PME), graduate education and professional continuing education for officers, enlisted members and civilians throughout their careers, as well as conducts the largest community college in the world—the Community College of the Air Force, which has awarded more than 300,000 Associate in Applied Science degrees since 1977. AETC also assesses new officers through Air University’s Air Force ROTC and Officer Training School programs. AETC promotes values of civic responsibility among the civilian community through two Air University-sponsored programs, the Civil Air Patrol and Air Force Junior ROTC. The Air Force’s two largest medical facilities belong to AETC—Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas, and Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, Miss., provide most of the Air Force’s graduate medical and dental education, as well as enlisted medical training.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges to the success of AETC and how has the command tried to deal with these challenges?

A: Clearly, one of our biggest challenges has been to acquire the resources necessary to modernize and improve our training equipment and infrastructure. We plan to help recapitalize our training infrastructure by looking for ways to train and educate more efficiently. Another of the challenges we face in today’s expeditionary Air Force is the ability to reach out and touch, through training and education, our airmen who are forward deployed in the theater, now for longer periods of time. The Air Force Institute of Technology, various schools at Air University, Second Air Force and other organizations use the Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed Learning’s (AFIADL) satellite network, Air Technology Network, to reach thousands of students every year to fulfill their professional continuing education and training needs. AFIADL, under AU at Maxwell’s Gunter Annex, has the vision to provide seamless, integrated learning environment that delivers instructional content “anytime–anywhere” in support of the expeditionary Air Force construct. AETC has nearly 110,000 Air Force members enrolled and taking distance learning courses. The bottom line is this—as we move forward in this time of fiscal and personnel constraints, we have to continually seek more efficient ways of doing business—working smarter to develop America’s airmen today…for tomorrow. In spite of those constraints, our mission remains the same—and I’m always amazed at our incredible airmen who find innovative and creative ways to do their jobs more efficiently while producing the best airmen in the world.

Q: What impact has the extension of Air Force basic military training from six and one-half weeks to eight and one-half weeks had overall on airmen training?

A: Consistent with our expeditionary culture, BMT will increase to 8.5 weeks in fiscal ’08 to improve an airman’s capability to operate in a deployed location. The increased training time allows airmen more opportunities to learn, practice, and apply combat skills so they are more prepared for today’s expeditionary environment. The new curriculum expands lessons on integrated base defense, basic field tactics, joint expeditionary warfare doctrine and combat lifesaving skills. A week-long series of escalating exercise events and war skill drills will help us emphasize these skill sets.

Q: Could you discuss the Air Force’s effort on creating partnerships with other countries, including providing aircraft and training to other nation’s forces?

A: AETC is the executive agent for all Air Force-sponsored international training and education. We implement and approve Air Force-sponsored security assistance training, monitor the progress of training and the welfare of Air Force-sponsored international students, and provide guidance for implementation of the DoD Informational Program. Fostering our international partnerships is critical to the way we operate.

Q: What needs to be done in the future to improve the training that airmen currently receive in order to better fight the current and future wars?

A: We need to maximize the use of our limited resources—continue to find ways to be more efficie snt, and look for ways to train smarter. One meaningful way to do that is to improve our technical training pipeline processes so that we produce a better trained airman faster without significant breaks in their training. We need to “smoothflow” our training pipelines to maximize the return on our training investment and give our airmen the training they need and deserve, and in a rhythm that makes sense. Also, part of “training smarter” involves leveraging today’s technology to support training programs such as Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) and Webcasting to provide efficient Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL). A distance learning approach will decrease time away from an airman’s home unit while providing high-quality training. The airmen of today are much different from their predecessors in both their backgrounds and grasp of technology. We need to find ways to take advantage of our technologically-based culture by updating and adding courses that keep the training world even with the demands of a highly dynamic operational environment. This is no easy task.

Q: How important a role has e-learning played in the continued education and training of Airmen at AETC bases and overseas?

A: A continuing high operations tempo, personnel reductions, fiscal constraints, quality-of-life requirements and the need to maintain proficiency levels dictate that we employ agile, accessible training systems. E-learning provides a vital capability to maintain the readiness of our deployed personnel. While e-learning will never completely replace traditional methods, it is increasingly supplementing or enhancing them. By decreasing the amount of time airmen spend TDY to classrooms, we effectively increase the amount of time they are available to be where they are most needed. The true power of e-learning is that training is accessible “anytime–anywhere.” To exploit this capability, AETC has developed and implemented the Advanced Distributed Learning Service [ADLS], which hosts over 800 e-learning courses and recorded 1.4 million course completions by 815,000 registered users during the first half of 2007. This compares with 1.2 million completions in all of 2006. These staggering statistics demonstrate the increasingly critical role of e-learning in maintaining the high levels of education and training our airmen expect and deserve.

Q: What can industry do to better help AETC accomplish its mission?

A: We need industry’s best ideas on how to deliver both education and training in the fastest and most cost-effective manner. We need enhanced realism in simulation that can take the place of increasingly costly live flying hours, and we need training devices that will help tomorrow’s technicians and maintainers do their jobs more effectively from the moment they arrive at their first duty station. We need systems that can update themselves and the technical information supporting them quickly and at minimal-to-no additional cost. We need improved capability to deliver meaningful education and training content to our forces in the field, wherever they may be serving, and we need the ability for them to take this information with them without bogging them down with unnecessary added weight or bulk. If industry can help us keep the knowledge and skill sets of our airmen on the cutting edge daily, then we’ll be able to produce a far more effective fighting force to protect America in tomorrow’s exciting but uncertain future.

Q: What is the future of AETC and what role will it play in the Air Force’s overall mission to meet the demands of a nation at war while simultaneously anticipating solutions to the challenges of tomorrow?

A: AETC will continue to be a premier training and education institution in the Department of Defense. We have great men and women who excel for America’s Air Force and our nation, regardless of the resource environment or seemingly impossible time constraints. We will continue to produce, as we always have, with the resources we have and the ingenuity and hard work of our airmen. I think we now have a pretty good grasp of what we need for the future. The challenge for us is recognizing the importance and priority of training and education in our current wartime environment and adapting our capabilities as requirements change in this dynamic global environment
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Q: What else would you like to add concerning AETC and its mission going forward?

A: Simply, AETC is airmen—recruiting, training, and educating America’s airmen today…for tomorrow. Each active duty, guard, reserve, government civilian, and contractor is integral to our success; we accomplish our mission but never lose sight of caring for our spouses and children. We believe in our mission and we understand combat capability begins and ends with a single airman. ♦

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