A new intensity: building war fighters from day one

Airman, May, 2004 by Efrain Gonzales

It's not your father's basic training. It's not even your supervisor's basic training. The Air Force wants Airmen thinking, living and breathing air and space expeditionary culture, and recent changes to the basic training curriculum at Lackland Air Farce Base, Texas, are helping breed war fighters from the first haircut.

Physical fitness and field training are the most obvious and dramatic changes. From gas mask training to a 36-hour exercise replicating life in a deployed environment, Air Force training officials say the changes will better prepare the next generation of Airmen for the reality of war.

The basic military training curriculum developers work closely with the Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va. to ensure training keeps pace with operational Air Force requirements. But the training isn't stagnant. Plans call for adding increased anti-terrorism training, application of basic security in a mock urban environment and more "real world" scenarios to the basic training schedule.