An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Second Air Force: 2022 in review

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kimberly L. Mueller
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  

For the Second Air Force’s five major installations and 74 world-wide operating locations, 2022 was a year of focusing on the development of the right Airmen and Guardians for the future fight and laying the foundation to pivot toward training transformation in 2023. 

At Basic Military Training (BMT), trainees were introduced to the concepts of Agile Combat Employment (ACE) and multi-capable Airmen (MCA) at the Primary Agile Combat Employment Range, Forward Operations Readiness Generation Exercise (PACER FORGE), as an opportunity to experience an environment that simulates austere remote operating conditions. This capstone event marks a fundamental shift toward realistic, scenario-driven concept application.

“We've concentrated on honing foundational competencies through critical thinking, problem solving and working in adaptable teams, able to react to scenarios we believe could be seen in a future fight,” said Maj. Gen. Michele Edmondson, Second Air Force commander. “After BMT, this is reinforced in initial skills training, which starts with focusing on China as the pacing challenge from day one.”

In addition to building a strong Airmanship foundation, Second Air Force has continued to diversify the learning environment, to include increasing learning modalities and expanding capabilities at BMT and in technical training for a digital generation.

Each wing echoes the focus on developing the future in training through various programs, courses and renovations. BMT converted to a digital campus by issuing tablets to trainees during their first week at the 37th Training Wing.

The Linguist Next program at the 17th Training Wing increased student’s language proficiency through enhanced study techniques to prepare for rigorous academic courses.

The 81st Training Wing set new benchmarks for student centered learning by establishing collaborative, student-led spaces for learning in unused classrooms and dorm spaces.

The 82nd Training Wing continued the expansion of Wi-Fi, fundamental to a student-centered learning model and implemented VR to accelerate the training pipeline for maintainers.

The Special Warfare Training Wing has delivered on a data-driven approach to enhance their attributes-based Assessment and Selection of candidates and meet the demands of their unique combat requirements.

“It's been amazing to watch the wings move out on modernizing the learning environment, while also executing their day-to-day mission – ultimately making the Air Force and Space Force better, one Airmen and Guardian at a time,” said Edmondson.

With this emphasis on student-centered learning and human performance, the focus for 2023 will be to develop the Sixth-Generation Learning Environment milestones and begin pushing forward on key tasks to enable the future learning environment.

“Our Sixth-Generation Learning Ecosystem will approach training holistically and meet our Airmen where they learn. Be it the classroom or the dorm, we strive to provide diverse options that leverage modern learning methods to maximize every single person’s success in our enterprise,” said Edmondson.

PACER FORGE concepts will also be further expanded on in the technical training environment, increasing exposure and familiarity to ACE and MCA concepts for Airmen and Guardians before they arrive at their first operational assignment. “We are invested in preparing Airmen and Guardians for the future fight and our role is building enduring advantages based on how we train our most valuable resources,” said Edmondson.