Trent sits down at AFA with 2nd Air Force Command Chief CMSgt Colin Fleck to talk about what may be one of the biggest shifts in Air Force Basic Military Training in decades.
The conversation starts with legacy. Trent wears his father’s jacket and talks about how one generation of service can change the trajectory of an entire family. Chief Fleck shares his own family story — grandparents who served, a father in the Army, joining after September 11th, a son who became a Marine, another who just graduated Air Force BMT, and a daughter who married an Airman.
Then they get into why BMT is changing.
The goal is not to trash what came before. BMT built generations of successful Airmen. The question is whether the Air Force can do more to prepare the next generation for a fight that probably will not look like Iraq or Afghanistan.
That means putting the Air Force back into Air Force Basic Military Training.
Instead of learning discipline, teamwork, attention to detail, and military bearing without always seeing where those skills connect to the mission, trainees are now getting hands-on mission context. There is already an F-16 on the ground. C-130s are coming. Trainees are working simulated weapons loading, cargo movement, aircraft refueling, runway repair, casualty movement, planning, risk management, debriefs, and after-action reviews.
The point is not to make every trainee a maintainer, defender, or weapons troop. The point is to make them understand what it means to be an Airman first and how every career field contributes to generating airpower.
Chief Fleck also explains where the culminating exercise is headed: an austere airbase environment, ground and air threats, small UAS, CBRN, limited sleep, noise, pressure, aircraft generation, cargo, refueling, and a real test of whether trainees can operate as a team.
And for the NCOs waiting for these Airmen?
Do not squash them.
They may show up more mission-focused, more willing to plan, more curious about risk, and more proud of being Airmen than previous generations. Challenge them. Teach them. Ask them questions. And get back to the basics that can actually save lives: TCCC, small arms, CBRN, physical fitness, and preparing people to do hard things.
Because as Chief Fleck puts it: Airmen joined the military to do military shit.
Links:
- www.bmt.projects-af.com
- OnesReady.com
- OperatorTrainingSummit.com
Chapters:
00:07 - CMSgt Colin Fleck at AFA
01:08 - Why Trent Wore His Father’s Jacket
02:30 - Chief Fleck’s Family Legacy
04:45 - What the Name Tape Means
05:21 - Why People Really Join
07:01 - Building the Next Generation
07:44 - The Moral Imperative to Prepare Airmen
09:52 - Changing BMT Is Not an Indictment of the Past
11:44 - So What Is Actually Changing?
13:54 - Putting the Air Force Back Into BMT
15:54 - An F-16 on the Drill Pad
17:37 - C-130s Are Coming Too
18:37 - What Training Got Rebalanced
20:03 - Why MTIs Are Buying In
21:54 - From the Drill Pad to the Airfield
24:21 - Building a Culminating Event Airmen Earn
25:40 - What NCOs Need to Do Next
31:03 - What Comes Next for BMT
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