MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA -- A revamped Tactical Risk Management syllabus with a variety of guest speakers launched during the first week of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 2-17, held at Marine Corps Station Yuma, Arizona.
The two and a half day TRM outline coordinated by the Department of Safety and Standardization here at MAWTS-1 is the most robust and comprehensive one to date.
From its inception in 2005, TRM has been a top priority which aligns with WTI standards of professionalism, peak performance, risk management and aviation excellence. The Deputy Commandant of Aviation, Lieutenant General Davis, provided guidance on the robust capabilities and impression the TRM syllabus has on Marine Aviation and the Marine Air Ground Task Force.
“The Department of Safety and Standardization worked closely with the Academic Department to reorganize the first week of academics to expand TRM from 1.5 days to 2.5 days adding tremendous value and time to the curriculum with the ultimate goal to develop the students in a more holistic methodology,” said Capt. Ryan Pallas, MAWTS-1 Aviation Safety Officer.
The TRM course teaches students to maintain balance between being a tactician, a subject matter expert and risk manager. The end state is to ensure the student is educated to calculate operational risk and mitigate it as part of a training plan.
“The syllabus came to a close after small group discussions led by a MAWTS-1 staff members giving real-world experiences the students will face throughout their time in the fleet,” said Pallas.
Students received periods of instruction from subject matter experts throughout the TRM syllabus. The first day of instruction introduced an impressive lineup of guest speakers such as Dr. Sara Russell, MAWTS-1 Center for Naval Analyses representative and industrial psychologist, Karen Delich, a health specialist from Colorado Springs, Mr. Steven Kotler, author of Rise of Superman and Stealing Fire, Dr. Figlock, most well-known for the surveys the Marine Corps participates in and Mr. David Beard, former Marine Corps Aviator.
The second day of the TRM syllabus introduced WTI students to a graduate level capstone known as Level IV professionalism given by Convergent Performance. Mr. Gene “Glove” Dafoe, a former AV-8 MAWTS-1 instructor pilot, 401 aggressor pilot, Air Force reserve tactics graduate, and Southwest Airlines check airman gave insight on his experiences about TRM and the simplistic factor-standards that it boils down to.
“We definitely have room to grow, refine, and continue to recruit top level professionals within their fields to speak to the students each class at WTI, but overall, we couldn't be happier with the students' response and their feedback over the past few days,” said Pallas.
The TRM syllabus now spans over two days to include training management. It provides students and staff at MAWTS-1 access to some of the most cutting-edge professionals in their fields and exposes them to the newest information available regarding risk management and maximizing human performance.