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Getting a taste

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicole Leidholm
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Some Airmen may remember going through basic training and making "dream sheets" of the jobs we wanted. Some of us got our top job, while others may not have.

The same is true for cadets. Before they can become an officer they must make a "dream sheet" of the Air Force Specialty Code they want to work in. Then, in their sophomore year of training they attend Operation Air Force.

The Operation Air Force program has been around for many years. It is a three-week summer program which exposes Air Force Academy and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets to a real-world Air Force base environment. Every year, cadets in their second year of training participate in the program.

"Operation Air Force is an Air Force Academy Summer Program for the cadets," said Capt. Matthew Groves, 9th Air Refueling Squadron Command Post duty officer. "It gives them a chance to experience different career paths in the Air Force before making their final decisions regarding their AFSC preferences."

One objective of Ops AF is to help cadets make future AFSC decisions through exposure to AFSCs of interest.

"The cadets will experience tours from most base organizations such as the Mission Support Group, Medical Group, Maintenance Group and Operations Group," Groves said. "The cadets also have meetings with senior leadership in order to get their perspective on life in the Air Force and operations."

The program is in place to enhance cadets' understanding of how operations and support functions work together to accomplish a wing's mission, and provide cadets with hands-on experience performing company grade officer and non-commissioned officer duties in both operations and support units according to the Operation Air Force Base Director/Facilitator Handbook. Cadets may be assigned to work independently on various tasks or work as an intern, performing tasks alongside a CGO or NCO.

By the end of the program, cadets gain a solid understanding of how operations and support functions integrate and contribute to successful accomplishment of a wing's mission. Cadets also gain an appreciation for the roles, responsibilities and expectations of CGO's in each type of unit. The experience brings into focus to the cadets' upcoming AFSC decision and gives them invaluable experience before going into the operational Air Force.