INTERVIEW

A command pilot with over 3,000 total flight hours

and 340 combat hours in the F-16.

A participant in four combat deployments to

Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi
Col. Kevin B. Schneider, USAF Freedom.

A member of a Special Operations Task Force

conducting operations against the “highest priority
enemies of the United States”.

And a keynote speaker at this year’s event.

INTERVIEWER RICHARD DE SILVA

Colonel Kevin B. Schneider entered the United States Air Force in 1988 and
earned his pilot wings as a distinguished graduate from Euro-NATO Joint
Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT), the school that he now commands. It hosts thir-
teen NATO nations: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the
United States.

He was rated as the outstanding graduate from F-16 Weapons School Class
96AIF and later honoured three times as the recipient of the Weapons
School F-16 Division's outstanding instructor pilot award.

Here he talks exclusively to Defence IQ about the ENJJPT, and looking to

the future... >>

1 Defence IQ Defence IQ 2
 INTERVIEW
Sir, how is the ENJJPT program structured,
and what would be a typical routine for a pi-
lot in training at Sheppard? Does it differ
much from AEJPT (Advanced European Jet
Pilot Training Programme) or other active
programmes?
I’m not familiar with the specifics of AEJPT so
I’m hesitant to make a direct comparison. But
as for ENJJPT...the undergraduate pilot train-
ing programme is 55 weeks long. Students
begin with approximately four weeks of
ground training (academics, aerospace physi-
ology, simulators, etc.) and then transition to
the T-6. They will spend about six months fly-
ing the T-6 aircraft. During this time, they are
still receiving academics and getting instruc-
tion in the simulator). A student receives
118.5 hours of flight training while in the T-6
phase. Next, the students transition to the T-
38 and they will fly that aircraft for about five
months. Just as in the T-6 phase, students will
receive academics and simulator training as
they go through 98.5 hours of flying training
in the T-38.
The ENJJPT T-6 training syllabus begins with
basic pattern work, spin, and stall training,
emphasizing pitch and power settings, pa-
rameters, and decision making skills. Stu-
dents normally solo the aircraft after 14 sor-
ties, accumulating approximately 18 flight
hours. After that point they are introduced to
basic and advanced aerobatics, instrument
navigation and flight procedures, low-level
VFR navigation (at 500' AGL), and 2-ship for-
mation. Their T-6 training culminates with 2-
ship low level familiarization training. The syl-
labus has each student programmed for 85
total sorties, resulting in approximately 119
hours of actual flight time. They receive 52
hours of simulator training, and 223 hours of
classroom/ground training.
3 Defence IQ
Let’s talk tactics and standards. To what
English is the language of aviation and all standard does ENJJPT train pilots and does
So what do you see as the chief benefits of students and instructors that attend the pro- this cause any conflict with other estab-
training international pilots together in one gram must have acceptable language skills. lished national standards?
forum like this? It is the responsibility of each of the ENJJPT
partners to ensure that the instructors and The main advantage of the ENJJPT program
The main benefit is that the forum allows for students meet the language standards. On is that each of the partners has a say in how
an exchange of ideas. Aviation, especially rare occasion, we have had a student who we train. This is not a US Foreign Military
military aviation, is continuing to evolve at a struggles with the language transition. Sales (FMS) programme with international
fast pace. No organization can afford to be When that happens, we temporarily pull that participation — this is an international pro-
static. Being able to openly discuss ideas and person out of training and focus on getting gramme and each partner nation gets a
concepts provides opportunities to improve their speaking and comprehension skills up vote. The syllabus (we have actually have a
how each do business. to standard. Some of the ENJJPT partners total of six) and the standards are >>
have established an English immersion pro-
The quick practical example is to point at the gram with a local university. This has been
entire syllabus (to include T-6, T-38 and IFF). highly successful.
As for specifics... the emphasis on advanced
formation sorties in both the T-6 and the T-38
may be the best example. For the most part,
the students sent by the ENJJPT partner na-
tions will go on to fighter aircraft assignments.
As a result, the partners have pushed for the
inclusion of fighter-centric skill sets in the fly-
ing training.
This push has resulted a lot of tactical forma-
tion flying (in both the T-6 and T-38 UPT syl-
labi) and advanced formation flying. Students
in the T-6 learn how to recognize and ma-
noeuvre around an adversary's turn circles.
This skill set will later be expanded in the T-38
syllabus. In addition, we also expose the stu-
dents to heat-to-guns exercises and guns
tracking exercises in the T-38 syllabus. All of
this is the result of partner requests --trying to
maximize training and establish combat skills
early in a student pilot's training.
Wingmen at ease: Two USAF T-38 Talon aircraft escort a USAF T-38B
over Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
Are there any issues with language barriers - PHOTO: Tom Steele, CIV USAF
and how is this managed, particularly when
it comes to codewords or situational aware-
ness calls?
Defence IQ 4
 INTERVIEW
always being updated and improved. If a
partner nation sees a need to change (a de-
sire to do more advanced formation training,
or to add Close Air Support missions to the
syllabus for example) that nation brings the
request to the table for approval. Each of
the nations has to agree to proposed
changes -- but what we usually find is that
what is good for one partner, usually has
benefits for all.
Interesting. But in the event of a
nation requesting such a change
- has this ever resulted in any
conflict? Is there a downside to
this method?
Yes, not every issue goes
through the process without any
resistance. As with all NATO de-
cisions, we have to achieve com-
plete consensus to move for-
ward with a decision. I have no-
ticed that this forces each part-
ner to really articulate their posi-
tion for a proposed change. The
additional rigor required makes
us understand the 2nd and 3rd
order effects of a decision. The
downside is that if one partner
(or more) says "no", the process
can go on for a long time before
a "yes" decision is reached.
Outside of this program, what
are your views on the chal-
lenges of live-fire training?
While we do not have any live-
5 Defence IQ
fire events at ENJJPT, students who receive
assignments to fighter aircraft after complet-
ing the 55-week ENJJPT syllabus will then
stay here for the Introduction to Fighter Fun-
damentals (IFF) course. IFF is designed to
teach basic combat skills to those going on to
fighter cockpits. During this two and a half
month course, students will simulate air-to-
air weapons employment (with simulated
missiles and cannon) and air-to-ground
weapons employment. The avi-
onics of the T-38C provide very
good employment opportunities.
For air-to-ground training, we
have access to a conventional
and tactical bombing range at Ft
Sill. This range lies 50 miles north
of Sheppard AFB.
The air-to-air and air-to-ground
simulation capability in the T-38
is very good. I do not think we
are missing much by having an
electronic simulation of weapons
release vice having practice ord-
nance come off the airplane. For
this stage in a pilot's training, the
simulated ordnance capability
meets all the requirements. I
found that the big challenge to
dropping live ordnance in peace-
time is the availability of ade-
quate ranges. Laser guided
bombs (LGBs) and Inertially
Aided Munitions (IAMs) have
very large footprints (meaning
the weapons can fly for miles
after being released). Many
ranges that were built to handle
General Purpose (GP) free-fall
type munitions do not have the real estate to
handle LGBs and IAMs. The challenge for air-
to-air ordnance is similar. Long and medium
range air--to-air missiles cover a lot of terri-
tory and require large "shoot boxes" for
safety. All militaries will continue to be chal-
lenged to protect existing air and ground
ranges from encroachment.
What does completion of the program en-
tail and what will that qualification allow
pilots to go on to do?
When a student graduates from the T-38
phase of the program, they are awarded
their military pilot rating (students do not
receive private or commercial ratings when
they graduate, although they can take a writ-
ten test to do so with the FAA if they so
choose). Students receive the wings of their
nation and are also entitled to wear US Air
Force pilot wings. Each nation provides a
follow-on assignment to their graduates. For
the non-US partners, these are predomi-
nantly fighter assignments (Eurofighter, F-16,
Tornado, F-18, etc.). For US students...there
is a bit more variety. US graduates can re-
ceive assignments to fighter aircraft (F-22, F-
16, F-15C, F-15E), bomber aircraft (B-2, B-1,
B-52), special operations aircraft (AC-130,
MC-130, U-28, M-28), and mobility aircraft (C
-17, KC-10, C-130). In addition, we will nor-
“We cannot sit around and wait for the world to
change around us. We need to be aggressively
looking to see what the future looks like and be
able to rapidly adapt.”
mally keep one graduated student as a First
Assignment Instructor Pilot (FAIP). That per-
son will stay here at Sheppard AFB and will
fly either the T-6 or the T-38 as a line instruc-
tor pilot.
Some arrive at the program with very little
flight experience; others with a tremendous
amount. US students who come from the
Regular Air Force, will attend Introductory
Flight Screening (IFS) before arriving here.
The IFS program teaches very basic flying
skills in the DA-20 and will give the trainee
about 18 hours of flight time -- to include
one solo flight.
The US students who come from the Air Na-
tional Guard or Air Force Reserve do not
have the IFS requirement. But typically, the
Guard and Reserve students have a lot of
flight time. The reason behind this is that
the competition for a pilot slot at a Guard or
Reserve unit is pretty tough. I have heard
(but cannot confirm) that a Guard/Reserve
unit may have up to 100 applicants for one
slot to attend pilot training. To improve
their opportunities in the selection process,
most applicants will go out and build flying
experience. Many get an FAA private pilot's
license. Some are commercial pilots to begin
with (flying regional commuter airplanes).
>>
Defence IQ 6
 INTERVIEW
One of our recent graduates from the Air Na-
tional Guard had 4,000 hours of civilian flying
time before he showed up here for training.
Colonel, how do you see the outlook for the
next ten years of military flight training on
an international level - considering budget
limitations, the emergence of UAVs, and
other contemporary factors?
That's the real question — and one that we
wrestle with every day. I do not have the
quick answer because the challenges and
demands for each of our partners can be
slightly different. The focus for the ENJJPT
program is this — to continue to be relevant
and on the leading edge.
Pulling chocks: USAF T-6 Texan II aircraft taxi
for training.
PHOTO: Joel Martinez
7 Defence IQ
One specific example that comes to mind is
the advanced formation aspects of the T-6
and T-38 syllabus that was mentioned earlier.
The "downloading" of training into earlier por-
tions of the syllabus has allowed us to "open
up" training opportunities in the Introduction
to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) syllabus. Since
students have seen advanced formation and
the gun exercises in the UPT syllabus, we use
the time and the sorties to introduce other
skill sets. We now expose students to Close
Air Support (CAS) and Surface Attack Tactics
(SAT) — skill sets which are being used on a
daily basis in combat. We know that we are
not going to teach everything about SAT and
CAS, but we are giving an initial introduction
to take some of the burden off the follow-on
training units.
We cannot sit around and wait for the world
to change around us. We need to be aggres-
sively looking to see what the future looks like
and be able to rapidly adapt. Our process to
develop the syllabus and the standards give us
that flexibility and responsiveness...and the
fact that each of the partners has a say in how
we evolve sets us up for continued success in
the future.
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