Preparing the pilots of tomorrow Published Nov. 9, 2021 By Airman Kailee Reynolds 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas-- Student pilots here at Laughlin Air Force Base spend over 700 hours learning how to become the best and brightest pilots of the future Air Force during their 52-week training period. “The Airmen of yesteryear, and the Airmen of today are simply not the Airmen that we are going to need to be in the future. Modernizing the way we learn, modernizing our education and training platforms, and diversity… having a population that comes at problems from all different angles… and having the agility of mind to understand mission-type orders, to understand commander’s intent and be able to move out are all key and essential elements of AETC.” - Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, Commander, Air Education and Training Command Laughlin is the first base in the Air Force to provide students with an opportunity to participate in a four day program called Student Success Week. This event occurs three weeks prior to their Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT). The program is run by the Base Operational Support Team (BOST) and the Comprehensive Readiness for Aircrew Flying Training (CRAFT) program. The two organizations work together to provide future student pilots with information and skills involving study strategies, healthy habits, building a good flight mentality, establishing camaraderie with fellow students , and more in order to prepare both mentally and physically for UPT. “Student Success Week is NOT about teaching students course material they will get in pilot training; rather, it is about helping students prepare physically and mentally for the road ahead, and providing them with resources and tools to get the most out of their training once it begins,” said Major Aubrey Haigwood, 47th Operations Group chief of training. The week consists of multiple programs which include Chairflying 101, Receiving Feedback and Growth Mindset, Study Skills 101, Human Performance, and much more. Many local base resources speak with the students during the week as well, those including members from Mental Health, Flight Medicine, a Chaplain, a Physical Therapist, Exercise Physiologist, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Dietician, Operational Support Team Manager, Social Worker, Clinical Psychologist, and more. Each class provides resources that teach the students how to make the choices that will benefit them as well as the Air Force. Each student's health, both physically and mentally, are of the utmost importance for accelerating change and ensuring operational success in the Air Force. Each Student Success Week begins with a two hour event called the Strength and Conditioning Course that is unique to Laughlin. It includes a “Pre-Flight” Basic Stretching Routine, a Basic Strength and Conditioning Workout as well as resources that the students can use to research specific training routines and techniques that can help them target specific muscle groups and improve their reaction time. Each week ends with a final program called Laughlin Connect Mentorship Program. This program pairs each student with a pilot currently in UPT. The purpose of these programs are to provide students with fellow student relationships and outside resources to help each other stay motivated and to keep an eye on the big post-UPT picture. Each program allows these pilots to realize their effect on themselves, the people around them, as well as on the Air Force. The class enables the students to build a better Air Force for tomorrow, by becoming the most important and efficient weapon the Air Force can possess today. Laughlin is determined to develop the world’s best Air Force pilots, and is working everyday to ensure that that mission gets completed, assisting student pilots through every step in the journey to their wings. “The students entering pilot training today expect the Air Force to be the most-technologically advanced and innovative service. That’s who we say we are and how we recruit the best and brightest in America. Fixing this trust gap between how we live and how we train, and the imperative to innovate to produce enough pilots for future challenges, has led us to this multi-pronged effort called pilot training transformation.” - Maj. Gen. Craig Willis, Commander, 19th Air Force