| Introduction: My name is ------- and I will be your instructor for United States Virtual Air Corps Basic Officer Course. Now on to the good stuff. This is the easiest course that we could design. All you have to do is read through the text and then take the test at the end. When you finish one page, hit the test link at the bottom of the page to take the course test. When you get to the test page, answer the questions and hit the submit button when you are sure that all of the questions are answered correctly (you are permitted to return to the text as often as you need to answer the questions). If at any time you have a question or comment, return to this page and click on my name to e-mail me. You have 2 days to complete this course. Good Luck. I. General Review. It has been a couple of months since you attended Basic Training so we will begin this course with a very short review of USVAC doctrine. If you need to, return to the Basic Training web-site and review that material (http://www.oocities.org/usvac/BT1). A. Rank Structure. You have probably just been promoted to Captain very recently. In about 6-8 weeks you will be promoted to Major and move on to Group level operations. You need to use this time as a Squadron Commander wisely and learn all you can from the experience. B. Chain of Command. All of you no doubt know the chain of command by now. You are in command of about 4-5 people. You are commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, who is in charge of about 10-12 people. C. Compliance with wrok/training schedules. Rememeber that the people in your squadron have lives to live. If they cannot comply with the schedules you set forth do not punish them. However, you need to reward the most active participants in the squadron with letters of commendation and awards through PERSCOM. II. Readiness Levels. A. Each one of you, as a squadron commander is responsible for your unit's readiness levels. These levels will be set forth by your commander and is based upon what is set forth by his commanders. They are typically arranged around the mission that your unit will be expected to accomplish. B. You need to monitor your readiness levels at least weekly. These are some of the things you need to know at a moments notice. 1. When do my people terminate service or change duty stations? You can monitor this by reviewing their personal service records periodically. If you have someone expected to change duty stations within a few weeks have someone lined up to replace that person. If someone is expected to terminate service soon you need to put a recruiting/retention officer in touch with them. 2. Are they trained enough? The answer to that question is always no. It is your responsibility to train them. Make your training schedules vary, i.e. day/night missions, short/long missions, etc. 3. Are they happy? You can monitor how happy your airmen are by their level of participation. The more they participate, the more happy they generally are. Once again, heap praise and awards on them. We have no money to offer, but when you look at your personal service record you get a sense of pride from seeing a couple of rows of awards. Another way is to nominate them for airman of the month/year. C. One way to ensure proper readiness levels is selecting the right people. You have the right, as a squadron commander to hire and fire your Executive Officer. This person can help you tremendously or they can make your job more difficult. When choosing your XO look for someone who is active in the organization and someone who the other squadron members look up to. If you are taking over a unit that already has an XO in place, give him/her a chance to get up to speed with the way you run things. III. Squadron Operations. A. This is the smallest unit in the USVAC. You only have a few people to worry about. Work to turn your unit into a team. B. As I said previously, your readiness levels are set forth from your commanders based upon your unit's mission. You need to know that mission, or as much about it as possible. Know the area of the world that you will operate in if deployed. Know the different types of missions your unit performs. Let your people know this information as well and be sure they understand it and the importance of it. C.Intelligence gathering. Sometimes your commanders will not be able to tell you what's coming next. You can still stay up to speed by gathering intelligence. This means to read book, articles and web-sites concerning the area that you migh be deployed to. Also watch tv news channels. If a story breaks concerning you area of the world you can begin to prepare your squadron before the orders come down to do so. Involve your squadron members in this also. You can schedule different members to watch different channels or read a book at different times. That way you have a constant inteeligence gathering cycle going on. Most people watch tv and read these days anyway. USVAC Home Page Take the Test FOOTNOTE: You will be promoted to Major in a short time. There is no scheduled course work at that rank. It would be wise to begin applying for the Air Corps College or continuing education courses when promoted to this rank. |
| United States Virtual Air Corps Basic Officer Course "Training the Best to be the Best!" |
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