In a message dated 97-02-05 22:57:34 EST, you write, in part:
<< I have been in a state of immersion over the past few weeks trying to
see where CRM will be
in a few months so by the time the Air Force mails out the final product we
won't be too far out of date. From our past conversation I have to agree,
from all I have seen we are moving in a skills oriented direction. I think
this is by far the best approach for a skills oriented group (that is the
way we spoon feed all our curricula) like military pilots. A well
facilitated annual classroom format that gives instructor pilots the skills
to hone in the simulator and take back to the flightline to practice in
front of and teach students. I will begin with your suggestion of listing
the categorizations and gleaning skills approaches from each. My biggest
question is how do you get this across in an hour? My videos to cover the
8 topics from the AFI are planned to be 1-3 minutes in length, and some
will need to cover more than one skills objective (not to mix concepts,
outcomes, and skills like you mentioned) because of time constraints. Keep
in mind I am talking about the classroom portion only. I also feel a need
to address mission specific issues as well. The T-1's will be in a
separate class from the T-37/T-38's. With that in mind I feel the T-1's
could benefit by some CRM in the automated cockpit training and the
T-37/T-38's could benefit likewise by some formation resource management
training. I also want to address some effective briefing and debriefing
techniques (that enhance CRM skills) for the instructors to use on the
flightline when they fly with students, and if at all possible a small bit
of cultural deference issues to ensure the IPs do at least some research
into the culture of the foreign student they are flying with to get an idea
how to best approach individual training. I know, it is a lot for an hour
but I could use some help with prioritization. Is there any chance I could
see the course outline you use to get the skills training done in an hour?
>>
I certainly agree with the skills oriented training approach. However, the
skills must be trained to a level that makes them second nature to the pilot
or the chances of their being used decreases substantially as the cockpit
pressures increase. That means that the CRM program in an organization must
be pervasive, supported at all levels, and reinfored and refreshed
frequently.
I am concerned that the program you describe (and maybe I only see part of
the picture) calls for an "annual facilitated classroom" session that "gives
instructor pilots skills to hone in the simulator and take back to the
flightline to practice in front of and teach students". I fear that an annual
classroom session of one hour is not going to be enough if that is all the
CRM training they will get.
An annual program is only a refresher and one hour is not long enough. First,
if I am right, what is being refreshed? What is the foundation upon which you
wish to build?
Our course, by way of example, begins with 16 classroom hours of basic CRM
training. Whether that is the right length or the course content is perfect
is not the point. But we do know what each student has been exposed to and
what foundation we are working from when they get to the reinforcement and,
later, the refresher phase.
The answer to your biggest question: "How do you get all this across in an
hour?" is: You don't.
Look at the timeline: 8-24 min for videos, so say 16 min for all of them.
That's one fourth of your time. The other three subjects: mission specific
issues, briefing and debriefing techniques and cultural deference (I hope you
meant difference) issues at only 10 minutes each, would leave you a whole 14
minutes or so for basic CRM stuff. I think most courseware developers would
agree that you are overloading the table. Or to put it in pilot vernacular,
trying to put 10lb of stuff in a 5lb bag.
As I reread this it seems a lot more negative than I intended. You have a
difficult task, but if one hour is all you can get, focus your time one one
of the subjects. None of the topics you mention, and they are all valid and
worthy of emphasis in any instructor pilot's training, could be adequately
covered in one hour per year. But trying to cover all four only exacerbates
an already tough situation.
I hope this epistle helps. There is a critical interface here that merits our
attention, and that is the CRM training provided in undergraduate aircrew
training and that provided in follow-on weapon system training. Hopefully
they are compatable.
By the way, what product are you expecting the AF to mail out?
Regards,
Dave Wilson
HTI