33rd FW visits 56th TRS

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman C.J. Hatch
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Members of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., visited Luke Air Force Base to gain and share knowledge about government contracts, academics and course development.

"They came here to learn from our government contract oversight team manning," said Greg Daniels, 56th Operations Group F-16 Weapons System Support Contract project officer quality assurance representative. "They also looked at surveillance areas to include academics, simulator and courseware development. They shared with us what they have learned this past year concerning the Joint Strike Fighter contract."

The 33rd FW is the first of its kind in the Defense Department. The joint wing is responsible for F-35A, B and C pilot and maintainer training for the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, and in the future, at least eight coalition partners. It is organized under Air Education and Training Command and is an associate unit at Eglin.

"While here we received briefings from contract surveillance personnel responsible for aircraft maintenance, simulator maintenance, pilot classroom academic and simulator instruction as well as courseware development," said Col. Gregory Jones, 33rd FW Academic Training Center director. "We visited the 56th Training Squadron and the simulator facility."

Here at Luke these agencies have been running for some time, while they are just beginning to build them at Eglin.

"For the most part Luke's academic and simulator contracts are in sustainment mode," Daniels said. "In other words we have been conducting surveillance for decades and our processes are well grounded. Conversely, the 33rd Academic Training Center is starting from scratch and experiencing typical challenges associated with fielding a new aircraft training system. Consequently, they were able to glean from us how we do business and at the same time share lessons learned from Eglin. It is a win-win situation for both organizations."

With Eglin already flying the new F-35 and Luke to receive it in the future the partnership couldn't be more important.

"Keeping open communications between Luke and the 33rd FW will be invaluable, especially discussions on lessons learned," Jones said. "Contract surveillance includes process improvement and any information we can share between the ATC and TRS will be of great benefit to both organizations."