With constant, real-world demands on an aging fleet of aircraft, out-of-the-box thinking is the linchpin for big changes in the way the U. S. Air Force trains its specialized air mobility officers.
Air Mobility Liaison Officers, or AMLOs, are senior Air Force pilots and navigators, hand-selected for training on everything from doctrine and command relationships to the complexities of aircraft landing zone and drop zone operations, radio communications, and the cultural differences between the Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps.
"AMLOs are stationed worldwide," said Lt. Col. Andrew Baker, Air Mobility Liaison Officer Qualification Course director. "Their mission is to ensure our sister services know how to utilize AMC (Air Mobility Command) airlift to better support their mission. AMLOs eliminate those friction points so the mobility enterprise operates smoothly."
In order to train others and multiply force capabilities, AMLOs need to be proficient in their specialty. This is done through an intensive eight-week Air Mobility Liaison Officer Qualification Course, or AMLOQC, offered by the USAF Expeditionary Operations School.
The AMLOQC class consists of six weeks of in-class training at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, followed by two weeks of field training in Colorado. The entire first week in the field, students receive hands-on experience coordinating and communicating with AMC aircraft during takeoff, landing and airlift drops.
Typically, these support aircraft are C-130 Hercules from active duty and Air Reserve Wings using the unit's own funding. Since these are training missions, any real-world operation that arose had the potential to cancel the mission. Many times, this happened, leaving AMLOQC without aircraft needed for the critical training.
"In a resource-constrained environment, we have to figure out ways that don't rely on others showing up and spending their own money to support our courses," said Col. Marcus Cunningham, USAF Expeditionary Center director of operations.
Thinking out of the box in 2019, AMLOQC was able to negotiate with an Air Force Special Operations Command unit and procure an entirely different aircraft: the smaller, lighter AC-208 Combat Caravan.
Since then, the USAF EOS has been working on changing the old way of asking airlift wings to provide aircraft and instead contracting air support. This ensures reliable aircraft support and in-turn, more effective training for the future AMLOs.
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