GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Across Air Education Training Command locations members train the mission ready Airmen needed to deter conflict and ensure the security of our nation. Chief Master Sgt. Chad Bickley, AETC command chief, visited Goodfellow Air Force Base May 9-10, 2024, to learn how Airmen here shape future generations to contribute to their mission.
With an eye toward Great Power Competition, 17th Training Wing Airmen and leaders showcased the Joint-All Domain Expeditionary Forward Operations Readiness Generation Exercise (JADE FORGE), a sixth-generation intelligence training initiative to prepare the future of intelligence professionals for a great power competition.
“We train the way we fight, and we fight the way we train,” said CMSgt Bickley. “The question I always ask is, ‘do we want to try something for the first time in combat or in garrison?;…Seems like an easy answer to me.”
Airmen participating in JADE FORGE are subject to simulated austere environments, and as the name indicates, offers an opportunity to learn with and from joint service intelligence warriors.
JADE FORGE was not the only opportunity for Bickley to observe 17th TRW Airmen’s focus on joint training for future competition.
Both at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy and at the 17th Security Forces Squadron, Team Goodfellow showcased both the Airmen and joint partners who operate within these units, either to train or gain experience in leadership positions.
Among the technical training transformation initiatives being pursued at Goodfellow, enhancing virtual reality capabilities continue to climb the list. At Team Goodfellow, across squadrons, they are looking to allow students to familiarize themselves with various aircraft layouts by increasing the compatibility with former generations of training technology.
“It’s clear the Airmen and leaders of Goodfellow are here to not just conduct technical training, but to train and transform the Airmen, Guardians, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines who walk through their doors,” said Bickley. “Team Goodfellow members are developing the next generation of joint warfighters.”