Tyndall AFB to resume battle-management training in January

By Rachel Cohen / November 20, 2018 at 2:45 PM

Air battle-management students will return to their classes at Tyndall Air Force Base, FL, at the beginning of January, nearly three months after they were displaced by Hurricane Michael.

According to Jennifer Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Air Education and Training Command, the 337th Air Control Squadron will begin training students Jan. 3. The squadron offers a nine-month undergraduate pathway to careers with the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System battle-management jets, as well as courses for international air weapons controllers and theater air operations.

Eighty-three students are currently enrolled in Tyndall AFB's airborne command-and-control program, Gonzalez said.

After the Category 4 storm plowed through the base in mid-October, most ABM instructors were able to return to the area and start controlling missions in early November. Gonzalez said the squadron's primary facilities are functional and "steadily improving" but did not provide further details about the damage by press time (Nov. 20).

"The instructor cadre has successfully controlled missions since Nov. 8," she said Nov. 15. "However, the students and some instructors are still in evacuation status. The senior class received waivers to graduate prior to accomplishing a small number of events. The next class to graduate [will] accomplish some additional training to regain currency and proficiency prior to resuming the syllabus."

Future groups are expected to graduate on time as the squadron launches a new syllabus in February 2019.

"The 337th Air Control Squadron quickly resumed operations to prevent accessions from drying up," Gonzalez said. "After the students graduate and become [air battle managers], they can then go on to the JSTARS or AWACS. It is still too early to forecast any lasting impacts on the career field."

Service Secretary Heather Wilson said last week it would take three to five years to repair the base, where 95 percent of buildings are damaged.

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