KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The foundation of every Air Force mission rests upon the diverse perspectives and innovative contributions of individuals from various backgrounds.
Three unique individuals from Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Tech. Sgt. Yves Reulet, 377th Air Base Wing Staff Agency unit training manager, Senior Airman Carlos Torres, 58th Maintenance Group lead instructor, and Staff Sgt. Drake Higgins, 58th MXG unit training manager, were instrumental in streamlining the training of the Tactical Combat Casualty Care training module, making it quicker to learn and easier to understand.
The team's transformative journey began with looking at the requirements of the TCCC training and finding ways to simplify without cutting corners. This ambitious endeavor enabled the team to cut time off the course from six to eight hours down to a succinct four hours without losing any of the training requirements of the course.
The remarkable endeavors of the trio fostered collaboration across multiple mission support partners making this mission a Total Force Integration.
“Reulet was the man who made it possible for us to connect with these different entities on and off base,” stated Higgins. “We collaborated with the 377th Medical Group, the 150th Medical Group from the Air National Guard, and other unit training managers from 32 other Air Force units and two Army units.”
This effort led to the widespread revamping of the TCCC module to be transformed into a course that represents the Air Force and Department of Defense’s training standards accurately.
Their ingenuity was ignited by analyzing the DOD’s Information module, which outlined the required teaching topics. According to Reulet, they leveraged the TFI by using what the 150th MDG initially had put together.
“We didn’t just cut out a few PowerPoint slides and call it even,” Torres emphasizes. “There was researching, deciphering between AFI’s and guidelines. Taking information gathered by other units and discerning what was good and not good. Going over DOD mandates and previous Self Aid Buddy Care taught to the older generation of Airmen and modernizing it to be relevant in today’s teachings.”
The team credited Torres as the driving force behind the enhancement of the course curriculum. Torres sought to teach the class in multiple different ways in order to provide refinement and valuable feedback to the team.
He taught the class with limited materials to better see what the minimum requirement is to teach a class effectively and how many students one instructor can teach at a given time without breaking the required minimum assessment ratios. Additionally, Torres was able to identify what course materials or guidelines were redundant, allowing the redesigning of the course to be more concise.
The results Torres brought back to the team empowered Higgins and Reulet to refocus the course’s curriculum to alleviate manning shortages and could potentially help units better allocate appropriate funding for their training budgets.
“We wanted to make this course better than when we first received it,” Reulet pinpoints. “Our goal is to make it easier for other units, not just our own, to teach their Airmen TCCC and ensure they are always mission ready.”