ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Developing mission ready Airmen for deployment to combat zones is the primary goal of the 5th Combat Communications Group Combat Readiness School at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
Through the school’s Systems Learning Center, members of the expeditionary communications community take a range of courses, including Systems Operations, Security Operations, Client System Operations, Network Transport Operations, and Radio Frequency Transmission Operations.
“These community-specific technical courses are designed to cover training gaps not addressed in other formal training venues,” said 1st Lt. Nicholas Alfonso, 5th CCG CRS, group training and integration officer in charge. “The special skillset gained helps to build confidence and competence in members' knowledge and technical skills as it relates to the unique mission of tactical communications.”
According to Alfonso, the school also offers training that includes M4/M9 firearm familiarization, use of force, radio communication principles, escalation of force, land navigation, weapons handling and small team tactics, counter improvised explosive device, tactical combat casualty care and convoy operations.
The 5th CCG CRS falls under the Air Education and Training Command. It prepares Airmen for modern challenges and ensures continuous readiness. The curriculum covers a baseline set of shoot, move and communicate tactics to prepare mission ready Airmen to deploy and support different combatant commanders.
“We take the experience of members who have been in the field and they teach the new members,” said Master Sgt. James Matheny, 5th CCG group training and integration flight chief. “We have a plethora of knowledge that resides in this schoolhouse, and we want to get that knowledge out as far as we can. We are the only active-duty combat communications group to have a dedicated schoolhouse.”
This year the school has taught nearly 800 service members from 44 units, which include the Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command and the Royal Air Force.
“The benefit to our schoolhouse is that we have the technical and tactical training co-located in the same place,” said Alfonso. “We’ve recently been creating courses that include both technical and tactical curriculum combined into one course.
“The schoolhouse was initially created out of the necessity to have a dedicated training capability the mission squadrons could rely on due to their high operational tempo,” he continued. “The 5th CCG has the benefit of being able to internally have access to training that they would have to otherwise travel elsewhere. However, we opened up our training to pretty much everyone as long as they can source the funding for flying their unit here to Robins or flying out our instructors in the form of Mobile Training Teams.”
The school also houses the XCOMM Engineering and Integration Center. It is a training hub for technical expeditionary communications. It focuses on preparing Airmen to extend, operate, and defend warfighter communications across the full spectrum of operations. These courses are designed to ensure Airmen are well equipped to handle the technical and tactical challenges they may face in deployed environments.
“This is important to our national defense, because we can provide advanced training not just to the members of the 5th CCG, but also to all Total Force Airmen, members of sister services and coalition partners,” said Alfonso. “We have a cadre of instructors that are subject matter experts covering a vast range of topics with the rapidly growing digital/IT world.
“The XCOMM EIC is leaning forward to look at and test cutting edge technologies while working with the XCOMM community as a whole to ensure Airmen stay ahead of the game with the relevant and most up to date equipment. Our school is a crucial asset to our national defense.”