361st TRS ALS section the best in AETC

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  When Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux, 82nd Training Wing commander, visited the 361st Training Squadron's Aircrew Life Support section school house, he received a little more than the introduction to night vision technology he was promised.

The ALS flight had just been notified they were the best small ALS unit in Air Education and Training Command and was eager to share the news with their wing commander.

"I think it confirms we're meeting one of General Devereaux's top three goals: to be technically the best," said Capt. Daniel Dittrich, weapons systems support flight commander. "It's an honor to be best in the command."

While not supporting an active flying wing may be seen as a disadvantage by some, it may have given the ALS section the edge they needed.

"You have to be the best to be an instructor," Captain Dittrich said.

The life support schoolhouse teaches over 400 Airmen-in-Training each year in the skills they need to keep aircrew safe, in the air and on the ground.

Tech. Sgt. Michael Watson, ALS course noncommissioned officer in charge, said ALS Airmen make sure aircrews have the equipment and training to fly safely and to survive during an emergency.

"It's all about getting students the fundamentals to support the aircrew," Sergeant Watson said.

The ALS section also hosts the seven-level school, mobile training teams and recently hosted a workshop about their upcoming merger with the survival career field.

The mobile training teams are something the ALS instructors said they were especially proud of. The teams are sent out to other bases to train ALS members in the latest survival technology and equipment.

In addition to the training they provide, the ALS section also completed numerous community projects, like their program to teach elementary school students in map and compass use, or their 150-hour project to help a local elderly couple improve their living conditions.

Even after winning in AETC and hoping to also be named best in the Air Force, the members of the ALS section remember what the greatest awards and accolades of their job are.

"There is nothing more rewarding than hearing about how our equipment and training saved lives," Sergeant Watson said.

Sergeant Watson said it's not uncommon for downed pilots, and sometimes the pilots families, to visit their ALS section after a close call to say thanks to the men and women responsible for their well-being.