Building a new team

  • Published
  • By Maj. Jon Rice
  • 314th Training Squadron commander
PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. --  In June, the Air Force's largest squadron will be cloned. Well, sort of. Currently, the 17th Training Wing's 311th Training Squadron, a geographically-separated unit based at the Presidio of Monterey, Calif., has nearly 1,600 personnel making it larger than most Air Force groups and some wings. It peaked at more than 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 in November. The extensive efforts to bring together the personnel and facilities for the 314 TRS culminate this June when the 314 TRS assumes responsibility from the 311 TRS for Asian language training and takes 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.

Here, students from all services come 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, attaches or exchange officers in other countries.

The vast preponderance 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. The 17th Training Group Detachment 1 remains at Fort Huachuca to continue the Air Force's important mission there.

We have arrived at this milestone through teamwork, and that concept will remain critical to the success of training Airmen as linguists at the Presidio. Certainly, all of the professionals in the 314 TRS must work together to complete the transition, forge a squadron identity and nurture a productive culture. But the 314 TRS has many partners in its mission. First and foremost is the 311 TRS; these two squadrons will be inter-dependent, not independent.

Then there are the many other 17 TRW units, several of which have Airmen performing critical missions at the Presidio itself to contribute invaluably to the mission of training Airmen as linguists. Finally, there are our hosts: the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and the Army garrison at the Presidio of Monterey.

Join us in this exciting opportunity to create a new Air Force unit, a new member of the 17 TRW family. A formal ceremony to celebrate the standup of the 314 TRS will occur at the Presidio in August.