Should the AIT units have the best equipment to train the future soldiers of our military ?

2014-08-26T23:45:28-04:00

Or should the best equipment go to the MTOE active duty units? Would really like some feedback on this...

Response by 1SG Calanski Brunson made Aug 27 at 2014 1:50 AM

2014-08-27T01:50:05-04:00

Me personally I say go to the active duty units that are known to deploy at a moments notice. Its easy to take a couple of brand new Soldiers and bring them up to speed to your level. Equipment is constantly changing so its tough to keep the curriculum for students up to date

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Aug 27 at 2014 7:40 AM

2014-08-27T07:40:32-04:00

Seems to me the proper answer is both. What good does it do to train individuals on equipment in AIT that they will not use when when they get to their unit. They need to be trained on the current equipment that is used in the operational force. Granted, timing is everything since fielding of new equipment takes time and can't realistically be accomplished simultaneously across the force, but the AIT units should be included in the initial fielding plans on any new equipment.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 27 at 2014 9:52 AM

2014-08-27T09:52:42-04:00

It has to be a healthy mix of both. Much too often AIT Soldiers are trained on outdated equipment. They get to their units and have never seen half the equipment they will actually be dealing with. The somewhat new concept of "One Army School Training" has identified a lot of these problems and are trying to get up to date, relative training material across the force. We can't just pour all assets into one arena and expect that our military will benefit from it.

Response by MSG Sommer Brown made Aug 27 at 2014 1:15 PM

2014-08-27T13:15:58-04:00

I feel that if Active duty or National Guard is still using a piece equipment and it is still on MTOE, I am going to use the Transportation Corp as an example, then we should expose our Soldiers to training on all the types of equipment they may encounter. For example: there is a major difference in a M1070A1, M916, M1075, M1083, M1114, and the various MRAPs if we only expose our Soldiers to certain family classifications then we have burdened the units these Soldiers go to with the job of completely training these individuals from scratch. Yes, it is a units responsibility to conduct drivers training and yes Soldiers come from AIT with a permit and only receive license upon completion of drivers training at their duty station. However, having a Soldier come to you with at least a basic knowledge of a piece of the equipment helps immensely. This also gives yours Soldiers more confidence and motivation when they look in the motor pool and recognize the equipment you are assigning them to. I am all about trying to set Soldiers up for success and the more exposure and training they can get the more successful they will be, if that means they need to stay in AIT longer to be able to cover the various different types of equipment then so be it. If we train Soldiers with the "best" equipment in AIT what happens when they get to their unit and the unit's MTOE still has the old equipment on it and these Soldiers are lost because they have never seen it. This is why we should train to what is out there and include a range from the equipment that is being phased out to the equipment that is getting ready to be issued and then we have created a bridge for our Soldiers to work with. Some things will still fall through the cracks but we will have a broader span of knowledge in our new Soldiers and we won't pigeon hole them to certain equipment knowledge. Just my opinion.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 27 at 2014 4:31 PM

2014-08-27T16:31:37-04:00

AIT Soldiers must be proficient at the basic tools of the trade. They do not need an M4 with an ACOG, 5x adapter, a PEQ2 and a PSQ20. They need an M16 with iron sights. They don't need a DAGGR, they need a compass and a map and a great NCO to show them how to use it. Equipment is too specialized to the modular brigades right now to ensure that AIT can provide them the breadth of the modern equipment that they are going to see across the Army. Teach them the basics...with the basic tools. The operational force will then add to that basic knowledge by teaching them what they need to know about the enhanced tools they are going to do their job with.

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Aug 27 at 2014 7:57 PM

2014-08-27T19:57:10-04:00

I'm a CDR of a One Station Unit Training (OSUT) and they just need to learn the basics first. It is already a challenging and fast paced environment for them from the start of Day 0 to 16 weeks for Graduation. It's a big hurdle for the new Warriors to just qualify on their M4s, let alone using their PEQ-15s too. Each training cycle we have enough of them who are recycled for failing their BPFT and APFT. Land NAV they get the idea and can work well in buddy teams. When it comes to Individual Land Nav, most do alright however, there are plenty that have to be retested for not finding enough points. Our two motor pool training weeks don't allow enough time for them to be very proficient since the Master Training Schedule is only allotted so many hours/days on targeted training. In due time they will learn more when they get to their assignments. So the equipment we have is sufficient. Allow them to get basics first and then they can think of better equipment later.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2014 2:42 AM

2014-08-28T02:42:40-04:00

Negative. Although my gear was 1000x better at AIT than it was at BCT(ex. My IBA actually velcro-ed shut), we had standard M16's, old ACH's, ragged rucks, and lightly used FLC's. Granted, my MOS involves a label reader and a computer so I don't need high-speed gear anyways, I was trained with basic "tools of the trade", and I would feel comfortable now getting mobilized with the worst gear possible.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Aug 29 at 2014 1:25 AM

2014-08-29T01:25:13-04:00

If anything, let them see what might be used in future units or even just have training aides. AIT students like to check all the whistles and bells and turn knobs and push things to the breaking point. Let the first line supervisors lead the way. Our aviation AIT had lots of end items to practice on without actually screwing up a functional aircraft. Once we got to the units we knew the theory, but it was the team leaders who held out tiny, eager, little paws.