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USAF Expeditionary Center takes UDM training on the road

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bryan Swink
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is expanding its capability for training unit deployment managers by deploying mobile training teams across the Air Force.

These mobile training teams will consist of pairs of UDM instructors who will travel to major Air Force installations to conduct hands-on training for local UDMs, according to Rudy Becker, USAF EC Mobility Operations School director.

A unit's UDM is responsible for preparing unit personnel for their expeditionary role and ensuring all personnel and equipment are prepared to deploy.

"UDMs are one of the most critical unit-level functions in today's expeditionary environment," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy. "Currently UDMs rely solely on local training. Completing wing and unit requirements force UDMs to learn specialized systems and processes on the fly. The deploying Airmen suffer as a result through things like missed combat gear, incomplete or missed readiness training or unprepared families."

The EC currently provides resident courses for UDMs, but have now ramped up that capability to train even more UDMs, ensuring all receive the most up-to-date, hands-on training.

"With these mobile training teams, we can train all UDMs on a given installation at a lower cost and a reduced TDY tempo for unit personnel," said Becker. "We also want them to train as a team because they will likely be deploying the installation as a team."

"This program will teach UDMs about global force management, assessing unit readiness, preparing personnel and cargo for deployment, redeployment, reintegration and more," said Chief Roy. "Knowledgeable UDMs provide strong unit readiness and support whether deploying the entire unit or an individual Airman."

Not only will this new program allow for more UDMs to be trained efficiently, it also saves the Air Force money in the process.

"We no longer need to bring hundreds of students to the joint base each year for their training," said Becker. "Instead we'll send instructors and training equipment to the installations, at a much lower cost to the Air Force."

Even though this program is still in its infancy, leadership at the EC has big plans for its future.

"The long-term plan is to have every UDM in the Air Force trained," said Domenic Fazzo, USAF EC MOS Logistic Division chief. "We are working on the schedule right now to go hand-in-hand with our in-residence course. Our goal is to have a plan in place where mobile training teams visit every installation based on a three-year cycle."

"We are excited to get this program underway," he said. "It has the ability to greatly increase the effectiveness of UDMs across the Air Force."

Brig. Gen. Rick Devereaux, USAF EC commander, is excited about this new initiative. "The UDM is pivotal to ensuring the expeditionary nature of our Air Force. Any training that makes him or her better directly improves the combat effectiveness of our force - that's about as win-win as it gets."