USAF Fighter Resource Management Skills

26 Nov 97

Situational Awareness

6.3. Situational Awareness. Courseware for this category will include knowledge and skill objectives for preventing lost situational awareness, skills for recognizing lost situational awareness and techniques for recovering from lost situational awareness.

  • Task shedding/sharing as required and inform the flight
  • Use of avionics during periods of overload to help maintain S.A.
  • Recognize examples of the loss of SA in yourself and flight members
  • Recognize, verbalize and act on unexpected events (see it, say it, fix it)
  • Prioritize attention
  • Filter distractions
  • Compartmentalize tasks
  • Maintain awareness of the capacity of other flight members and react accordingly
  • Avoid tunnel vision
  • Be alert for complacency
  • Prevent loss of SA
    • Mission Planning (Pre-Flight)
      • Establish Objectives
      • Overview
      • Contingencies
      • Detailed Game Plan
      • Flight Participation
    • Effective Comm
      • Pre-Flight Brief
      • In-Flight
        • Proper terminology (MCM 3-1)
        • Timely Updates
        • Acknowledge Comm
        • Don't Assume
        • Open Line for Question
        • Briefed Comm cadence (Coordination)
    • Avoid Distractions
    • Stick to the Plan
  • Alert flight when added vigilance or attention may be necessary
  • Recognize loss of SA
    • Diminished Comm (missed radio calls)
    • Unexpected Maneuvering, Actions, Responses or Comm
    • Inflexibility
  • Recover SA
    • Terminate/KIO
    • Solicit assistance
    • Directive/descriptive communications to enhance flight SA
    • Fess up when SA compromised
    • Pass TAC Lead
    • Task shedding/sharing - re-prioritize
    • Regroup

Crew Coordination / Flight Integrity

6.4.Crew Coordination/Flight Integrity. Knowledge and Skill objectives in this category will include the impact on aircrew performance of command authority, leadership, responsibility, assertiveness, conflict resolution, hazardous attitudes, behavioral styles, legitimate avenues of dissent and team-building.

  • Direct tasks, solicit feedback and communicate intentions/expectations [FL]
  • Manage conflicts
    • Accurately define the issue (what not who)
    • Clearly state problems and proposed solutions
    • Accept better ideas when offered
  • Establish roles for contingencies
  • Provide timely/proactive input
  • Assume tactical lead when directed or necessary [WG]
  • Assume the duties of other flight members when directed or necessary [WG]
  • Acknowledge degraded systems
  • Proactively admit mistakes and/or limitations

Communication

6.5 Communication. Includes knowledge of common errors, cultural influences, and barriers (rank, age, experience and position). Skills will encompass listening, feedback, precision and efficiency of communication with all members and agencies (i.e. Crewmembers, Wingmen, Weather, ATC, Intelligence, etc.).

  • Recognize inappropriate communication
  • Demonstrate appropriate assertion level
    • get the right person; clearly state the problem, propose a solution, get a decision
  • Use precise standard MCM 3-1 terminology
    • brevity and mission terminology appropriate to the situation
  • Acknowledge all communications
  • Zero critical communication errors
  • Effective use of SQ standard terminology
  • Timely use of Directive/Informative communication (Directive/descriptive vice descriptive/directive)
  • Balance communications and cadence with operational demands
  • Request/provide clarification when necessary

Operational Risk Management and Decision Making

6.6. Operational Risk Management/Decision Making. This includes risk assessment and the risk management process, tools, breakdowns in judgment and discipline, problem-solving, evaluation of hazards and control measures.

  • Assess risk factors
  • Ensure tasking does not exceed flight capability
  • Ensure proper decisions are made through applied assertiveness
  • Solicit and actively process feedback to complete the decision making process
  • Use all available resources in decision making
  • Hold flight members accountable
  • Select options and make decisions in accordance with standard operating procedures
  • Acknowledge personal and flight limitations

Task Management

6.7. Task Management. This area covers establishing priorities, overload, underload, complacency, management of automation, available resources, checklist discipline, and standard operating procedures.

  • Manage distractions
  • Use all available resources/systems to manage workload
  • Assign tasks to flight members based upon their capacity and capability at the time
  • Recognize and state when becoming overloaded
  • Correctly prioritize tasks
  • Ask for assistance when overloaded

Mission Planning/Debrief

6.8. Mission Planning/Debrief. This area covers pre-mission analysis and planning, briefing, ongoing mission evaluation and post mission debrief. This includes specific tools and techniques to be used in operational and training missions.

Mission Planning

  • Use briefing to set the tone for the flight
  • Use all resources to plan and execute the mission
  • Prioritize/assign tasks, delegate authority and manage time effectively
  • Optimize workload when generating game plan
  • Determine and analyze contingencies that could affect the plan
  • Incorporate unit wartime standards in peacetime operations
    • sense of urgency/attention to detail/train like youíre going to fight
  • Brief with the following skills
    • clear, concise, organized
    • state mission goals clearly, objectively and in a manner that can be quantified
    • orienting towards meeting defined objectives
    • covering all required information, includes contingency options
    • ensuring understanding by other crew members, uses feedback
    • using all appropriate resources to accomplish task
  • Brief and initiate strategies for handling distractions
  • Be flexible with mission plan
  • Divide planning tasks and responsibilities among the flight
  • Request/provide clarification when plans/objectives/goals are not clear
  • Remain flexible throughout process
  • Communicate revised objectives to all members of the flight
  • Provide effective preflight, in-flight, and postflight critique
  • Compare mission results with objectives
    • quantify results against objectives
    • recap lessons learned
  • Provide and be receptive to constructive feedback and ways to improve performance
    • Focus on what is right, not who is right
    • Don't beat a point to death
  • Solicit feedback from all flight/mission members

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