The purpose of the 15-week initiative, beginning March 6, 2017, was to invigorate the training culture in the 49th MXG, strengthen the maintainers’ competence and focus on upgrade and proficiency training.
“The 101 Days of Training initiative was highly successful,” said Col. Lyle Drew, 49th MXG Commander. “This was the first initiative of its kind and we have reinforced the importance of training throughout the organization in no way I have ever seen in my career.”
During the exercise, representatives from the MXG tracked and submitted training data to include the number of personnel tasks trained and tasks signed off.
“With an Air Force wide increase of enlisted aircraft, munitions and communications maintenance accessions, we needed to put a renewed focus on training,” said Drew.
The number of Airmen in upgrade training was increased from 191 to 217, and the 49th MXG reduced the number of open training tasks by 50 percent throughout the 15-week program.
The program was broken down into two phases.
Phase one included the first four weeks where supervisors were trained on how to document and maintain training records on a data tracking site called, Training Business Area (TBA).
“Our training monitors offered TBA training classes and trained 64 frontline supervisors throughout 101 Days of Training,” said Capt. Cory Staudinger, 49th Maintenance Squadron Operations Officer. “Next, we scrubbed our training plans and discarded any irrelevant training tasks to our mission at Holloman.”
This training plan allowed for 6,300 tasks in the MXG to get discarded.
Phase two, deemed the ‘Habit Building’ phase, included training weeks five through 15.
“Once the training plans were scrubbed and personnel were trained, we focused on rebuilding the habit of training,” Staudinger said. “The expectation was that each person in upgrade training had to train on three tasks for two hours each week. The squadron POCs would track the numbers and submit them to the MXG POC each Friday.”
Events such as noncommissioned officer speed mentoring, 100 percent PT competition, ‘How to be a Millionaire’ brief, and a Consolidated Tool Kit (CTK)/Aircraft Forms and Documentation competition took place over the 15-week period.
“101 Days of Training was not only about upgrade training,” Staudinger said. “It is about whole person development and we hosted numerous events to develop our team.”
The 101 Days of Training started with 191 personnel in five and seven level upgrade training with 8,176 training tasks (43 per person) open. After 101 Days of Training, there are 217 personnel in upgrade training with 5,216 tasks opened (24 per person). The average number of tasks opened per person was cut in half indicating that trainees are completing their tasks in a timely manner, validating the focus on training in the MXG.
“I am absolutely proud of the 49th Maintenance Group team for the energy and enthusiasm they showed throughout the 101 Days of Training,” said Drew.