Civil engineers from five squadrons attended the Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School’s Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436) offering at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska. The course focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the CEOE requirements and optimization section and sub activity managers for effective and efficient mission support. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Timothy Chestnut)

By: Capt Dylan Bechen, Air Force Institute of Technology
 

The 773d Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska hosted instructors from the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Civil Engineer School on 26-30 June for an onsite offering of the Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436).

Capt. Dylan Bechen and Robert Rucinski led the class of 23 enlisted, officer and civilian engineers from five squadrons: the 773d, 673d, and 611th CESs from JBER, 60th CES from Travis AFB, Calif., and the 49th CES from Holloman AFB, N.M.

WMGT 436 is a 40-hr course offered quarterly in a hybrid format (live and pre-recorded portions) over a two-week period, alternating offerings between morning and evening EST offerings to accommodate overseas students.

The course focuses on three factors of the requirements and optimization section within the Operations Engineering Element: 1) identifying, optimizing, and managing infrastructure requirements, 2) optimizing the operations flight workforce, and 3) managing various sub-activities across the installation.

The course also includes best practices and perspectives from subject matter experts across the Air Force to include the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, and Air Force Materiel Command.

For this offering, Bechen and Rucinski restructured the course to offer one week of in-person instruction tailored to the unique challenges engineers face at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson and a number of other arctic and sub-arctic installations.

Students discuss requirements and optimization maturity and action implementation plans in small-group exercise as part of the Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School’s Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436) offering at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Timothy Chestnut)

The instructors used JBER’s sustainment management system (SMS – BUILDER) data, work management system (NEXGEN-IT) data, and 773 CES R&O communication products to cement learning objectives and showcase best-practices. In small teams, students self-evaluated each of the five unit’s R&O maturity levels and developed improvement action implementation strategies by forecasting the expected effort required for implementation and corresponding reward to the unit/installation.

TSgt Denton Bielinski and SSgt Jonathan Parry from the 773d CES Built Infrastructure Assessment Team, sometimes known as the Facility Condition Assessment Team, led the class on a field trip to the 673d CES EOD facility. They demonstrated a facility condition assessment and the BIAT/FCAT’s roles and responsibilities to sustain the asset that is our infrastructure data, which is critical for CE leaders to make data and risk-driven infrastructure investment decisions.
 

SSgt Johnathan Parry from the 773d CES Built Infrastructure Assessment Team at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska, demonstrates a facility condition assessment on interior plumbing components as part of the Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436). (U.S. Air Force Photo by Timothy Chestnut)
 

TSgt Denton Bielinski from the 773d CES Built Infrastructure Assessment Team at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska, demonstrates a facility condition assessment on interior electrical components as part of the Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436). (U.S. Air Force Photo by Timothy Chestnut)

To conclude the course, local Alaska CE leaders joined the class as members of the Asset Management Panel to share their experiences, challenges, and goals for their Requirements and Optimization sections as the Air Force continues to pursue sound asset management practices to sustain our infrastructure portfolio.

Capt. Dylan Bechen, instructor at the Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School, hosts a Requirements and Optimization Leadership Panel as part of the Requirements and Optimization Course (WMGT 436) offering at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Timothy Chestnut)

AFIT’s CE School can provide on-site options for many courses as well as on-site consultations for various programs by request. In some circumstances, the CE School may be able to fund travel for instructors, but in most cases instructor travel will be unit funded.

Be on the lookout in FY24 for AFIT on-site and regional offerings (PACAF/USAFE) of Project Management and Asset Management courses! Dates and info to come!

A special thanks to our guest instructors, panelists, and student leaders that made this course a great success!

Lastly, the AFIT CE School would like to give a special thanks and farewell to Darryl Parks, 773d CES CEO/CD, JBER, as he retires. Parks has been a fantastic mentor and contributor to numerous AFIT courses for over a decade; helping to shape and empower thousands of flight commanders, superintendents, and civilian supervisors and leaving a lasting impression on our CE family. Thank you Darryl!