Transforming for the Future Published Oct. 24, 2008 By Maj. Pedro Matos 17th Training Group, Detachment 1 commander FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- 17th Training Group Detachment 1 is in the beginning stages of transformation and at the center of providing support to Airmen across Fort Huachuca, now more than ever. Until recently, the detachment's primary mission was to support students and instructors from the Morse Intercept Course, Foreign Instrumentation Intelligence Course, and the Computer Maintenance Course. That has changed! Detachment 1 is projected to support more than 55 permanent party Airmen across Fort Huachuca and more than 500 students in Fiscal Year 2009. The detachment currently provides administrative support to Airmen assigned to four agencies across the installation. These agencies are the Weather Support Team Flight, Communications Security Logistics Activity, Joint Interoperability Test Command and the Human Intelligence Training-Joint Center of Excellence. We have become the supporting unit for the installation not only for all the Air Force units assigned to the post, but also for the United States Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca leadership as well. We are also the point of contact for all Air Force matters in the communities of Sierra Vista and Huachuca City, to include other areas within Cochise County. There will be an influx of Air Force students for FY 09. Currently, there are 400 students projected to attend traditional Army courses. As the number of Airmen increases on the post, both Army and Air Force leadership see an opportunity for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance synchronization between Goodfellow Air Force Base and Fort Huachuca. The idea is to synchronize capstone intelligence exercises such as Operation Lone Star at Goodfellow and the Army's seven-day intelligence battle staff exercise, called Exercise Eagle II, at the Joint Intelligence Combat Training center at Fort Huachuca. Detachment 1 also works closely with the 602nd Training Group (provisional) Operations Center at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The operations center has operational control of more than 200 students attending the Joint Weapons Intelligence Team Course and the Joint Analysis Interrogation Correlation Course here at the fort. Our commitment is to provide the best-trained, mission-qualified, deployment-ready team to commanders in the field. In many cases, Fort Huachuca is the last stop before Airmen deploy. We must ensure every Airman has the right training, right equipment, and the right state of mind before deploying. We do that by providing a full-range of support to every Airman that comes through our front door. From equipment issues to clearances, finances to weapons storage, our support staff are always ready to assist. We fully understand how stressful a deployment can be, that is why we have a "can do" attitude at all times. Another area where Detachment 1 has been called upon to support is human intelligence. As the Air Force stands up its HUMINT capability, it seems obvious to capitalize on the Department of Defense HUMINT Training-Joint Center of Excellence which is headquartered at Fort Huachuca. Air Force senior officials recognized the importance of leveraging existing training and are currently working on assigning a small number of Airmen instructors and developers to the schoolhouse. As our mission evolves and the amount of responsibility increases for the detachment, we must embrace transformation. The success of deployed Airmen begins here. 17th Training Group Detachment 1 doesn't take this mission lightly. All of my razor-sharp noncommissioned officers are excited about the transformation. They realize we are making an impact today that will shape and guide the Airmen towards success on the battlefield. Our detachment motto says it all: "Making a huge impact with a select few!"