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Back to basic

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Holly Brown
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  More than 50 Shaw Airmen gathered in the Airman Leadership School auditorium Feb. 10 to listen to the opportunities of going back to basic--training. 

Tech. Sgt. Danica Eusay, a Basic Military Training instructor on the MTI Recruiting Team, briefed the Airmen and answered questions about life as an MTI. 

"You are going to affect so many lives," Sergeant Eusay said. 

The MTI responsibility is to produce highly trained, disciplined, physically fit and mission-ready Airmen. 

Basic military training has recently changed for the better, according to Sergeant Eusay. The previous six-week basic has changed to an eight-week program, giving the MTIs more time to complete the training and transformation of civilians into Airmen. 

"Dormitory is no longer as big of a factor as war training," she said. 

The new BMT schedule has added or extended many war training scenarios and academics to the program; such as self-aid buddy care, threat awareness, initial war skills and survival skills, which Airmen in today's Air Force currently fulfill as annual requirements. 

Perhaps the biggest change to the curriculum is the Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills and Training, affectionately referred to as BEAST, where trainees spend a week in a simulated war-time environment that challenges them to use their war training collectively. 

Sergeant Eusay said one of the key things for an MTI during BMT is to, "find a way to motivate (the trainees) to be one flight and one team." 

She explained that watching a flight graduate after spending eight weeks molding them into the future of the Air Force is an awesome experience. 

"The leadership and supervisory experience you will gain is unparalleled and unmatched anywhere in the Air Force," Sergeant Eusay said. 

There are several other benefits, along with the personal growth, that an MTI gains.
Some of the incentives are; special duty pay, an additional clothing allowance, 
Professional Development Guide only promotion testing, an MTI ribbon, 22 credit hours toward a Community College of the Air Force degree and issued physical training gear. 

Also, someone who is selected for MTI duty will permanently change station prior to their training, so their family will be there with them from the beginning. 

"We want to show you that we are making an investment in you immediately," Sergeant Eusay said. 

It doesn't take long to get an assignment to be an MTI, she said. Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney McKinley has put MTI on the top-priority list and Air Force Personnel Center is waiving time-on-station to fulfill BMT needs. 

"The hardest part is getting over the fear and getting out of the comfort zone," she said. "If you are great at your (Air Force Specialty Code) now, you have the potential to be a great TI." 

For more information on becoming an MTI, contact the Shaw career advisor, Master Sgt. Ronshella White, at 895-0494.