Super UTA: 919th SOW unveils supercharged training concept

  • Published
  • By Dan Neely
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  Air Force Reservists with the 919th Special Operations Wing will soon execute a new plan of attack, but this one won't unfold under the usual cover of darkness in hostile territory.

Rather, April 1, 2011 will mark the launch of a new concept in scheduled training called the super unit training assembly or Super UTA, as it has been officially named.

While "traditional" drilling reservists normally must travel to their assigned bases one weekend each month for the mandatory UTA activities, the Super UTA translates to a pair of four-day training assemblies each calendar year - April and November - while deleting those previously slated for June and December.

Generally speaking, the Super UTA was developed to help reservists get more bang for their training buck, according to the initiative's project officer Lt. Col. Raymond Porrata, 919th SOW Wing Process Manager.

"The wing commander tasked me to answer the question, 'How do we improve UTAs and maximize training for our reservists while they're here?' Obviously there are so many distractions on a typical UTA that trying to focus merely on training is nearly impossible," the colonel said. "There are so many changes of command (ceremonies), commanders' calls, meetings and retirement ceremonies, for example, that the time is just not available to do all the training you want to do."

Colonel Porrata didn't have to travel far for answers to that key question. The 919th SOW's geographically closest Air Force Reserve unit counterpart, the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., has already conducted two of their own three-day Super UTAs in the previous calendar year.

"Keesler has been very successful," the colonel said. "To piggyback off their experiences, we decided to go interview their key personnel that organized the Super UTAs and find out what their lessons learned were so we could incorporate them into our own planning.

Colonel Porrata said the 403rd Wing events were highly effective because units took the time to plan, organize and execute their respective training. Their three-day Super UTAs reserved one day specifically for unit training - anything the specific unit commander feels is necessary for his personnel to complete - while the remainder was business as usual.

The 919th SOW's four-day Super UTA format, however, will bracket the usual weekend days with a Friday reserved for mass training and Monday for unit training. Mass training encompasses the broader, wing-wide pre-deployment training requirements such as chemical warfare defense, self-aid and buddy care. On mass training days, Duke Field's largest facilities - deployment center, base theater and others - will remain available throughout the day for multiple training sessions.

For the Monday unit training day, individual units (flights, squadrons and wing staff agencies) will be required to provide Colonel Porrata with a list of their primary training events. "The purpose of that list is to allow other units to see what they're doing so they can determine whether they want to take advantage and join with that training," he said.

Colonel Porrata explained that the Friday and Monday training days are borrowed from other UTA weekends to comprise the four-day Super UTA. "Essentially, we are taking two UTAs - June and December and incorporating them to April and October."

As for the usual Saturday and Sunday schedule, those days will remain at the member's discretion to take care of personal requirements, such as obtaining ID cards, processing travel vouchers or completing physicals.

"Offices like personnel customer service and finance will still be open, but members that show up for personal, non-emergency errands on Monday or Friday will be sent back to their unit, or their commander will be contacted to find out why they aren't attending unit or mass training," Colonel Porrata said.

Other key aspects and advantages of the Super UTA concept include:

- A mass training schedule will be published, keeping members apprised of all related training opportunities and available locations;

- Non-UTA months of June and December will permit members to spend more time with families and friends during school summer breaks and December holiday periods;

- Eglin AFB communications squadron officials have agreed to extend the normal 60-day limit on inactive network-connected computer systems to 75 days, ensuring operating continuity despite the two-month off periods afforded by the Super UTA schedule. Air reserve technicians will continue to provide the daily system continuity that includes rebooting computers to ensure security patches and system updates remain current and viable;

- Employer benefit: "The employer benefits from this because there'll be two months where they won't have to work around scheduling to accomodate for their Reservist employee's drills," Colonel Porrata said. "This will give employers the opportunity to have their reservist available for two uninterrupted months;"

- Options for air reserve technicians: ARTs are allowed to either reschedule the Friday and Monday or take leave (military leave is authorized);

- All Super UTAs will occur within the same quarter of the reschedule UTA to avoid exceeding the 16-point maximum; and

- All Super UTAs will be conducted at the beginning of the quarter as opposed to the end of the quarter to offset any financial concerns for the reservist.

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Commander involvement will remain paramount to the overall success of the Super UTA concept, Colonel Porrata emphasized. "Commanders will have appoint someone to plan and organize this program, otherwise we're investing in all these reservists to come in without taking advantage of what is available and it defeats the purpose.

"After our first Super UTA, we'll sit down and look at the pros and cons, lessons learned and show stoppers so we can make corrections as we go forward, " the colonel continued. "As for now, it's extremely important that commanders brief their personnel as soon as possible. Likewise it's critical that our reservists notify their employers as far in advance as possible so that they can plan to be here for four days next April.

There will be some exceptions, especially for some like medics and pilots, as our Keesler counterparts found, but we'll just have to do our best to adapt to these situations."

(Note: Since it occurs in the next fiscal year, the dates for the October 2011 Super UTA will be announced at a later date.)