AF revising decades-old UPT syllabi

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas - It started with a homework assignment from 19th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Patrick Doherty in June 2017. He asked his team to deliver redesigned Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) syllabi that embraces “common sense” to produce more and higher quality pilots. Col. Lee Gentile, 71st Flying Training Wing vice commander and the flight lead for the 19th AF’s UPT syllabi redesign project, gathered a group of 80 instructor pilots from across the Air Education and Training Command’s UPT bases – including Columbus AFB, Miss. - for a two-day event here March 7-8 to finalize nine months of work. The team revised and trouble-shot the three-phases of undergraduate flight training syllabi. There hadn’t been any change for more than two decades. They brainstormed ways to combat the AF’s shortage of pilots, with efforts focused on raising the number of pilot accessions into the community. Squadron commanders will soon have an average track for most students, but will not be constrained by the syllabi. Matching weapons systems to pilots earlier will also eliminate redundant generalized training, and get pilots to their first formal training unit faster and increase readiness. Gentil’s team expects the revised syllabi to be in place in April. (Source: Air Education Training Command 03/20/18)