314 TRS stands up in Monterey

  • Published
  • By the 314th Training Squadron
  • .
PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. --  On August 5, Col. Anthony Lombardo, 17th Training Group commander, presided over the 314th Training Squadron unit activation and assumption of command by Lt. Col. Jonathan Rice IV.

Lieutenant Colonel Rice has been at the Presidio of Monterey since February putting in place the personnel and facilities necessary to create a new unit. He, his wife, Laura, and his children, Emily and Jonathan, were previously assigned to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, where Colonel Rice was the Chief of Intelligence for the 18th Wing.

The core mission of the new 314 TRS is to train Airmen as linguists. Previously, the 17th Training Wing's 311th Training Squadron, a geographically-separated unit based at the Presidio of Monterey, had nearly 1,600 personnel, making it larger than most Air Force groups and some wings. It peaked at over 1,800 personnel about 18 months ago when the process began to create a second squadron at the Presidio--the 314th Training Squadron.

The 314 TRS flag arrived at the Presidio from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., in November 2007. The extensive efforts to bring together the personnel and facilities for the 314 TRS culminated this June when the 314 TRS assumed responsibility from the 311 TRS for Asian language training and took charge of the associated staff and students. The 311 TRS retains responsibility for other languages.

Aside from the regional distinctions, the mission of both squadrons is to train Airmen as linguists at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio.

Students from all services come to the Presidio to learn foreign languages for up to 18-24 months in preparation for duties as airborne and ground-based cryptologic language analysts, Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agents, attachés or exchange officers in other countries.

The vast majority fall into the first group; they arrive with less than two months in the Air Force and depart for follow-on training at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, with nearly two years time in service.