Barksdale Shines at AMMOS

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 917 Wing Public Affairs Office
Barksdale AFB, La. --  Barksdale Air Force Base, La., was well represented in the Advance Maintenance and Munitions Officers School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., this summer as two of the nine students left standing in Class 09B on graduation day were from Barksdale.

Captains Katrine M. Waterman of the 917th Maintenance Squadron, and Gordon E. Beran II of the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Barksdale AFB were among the nine students graduating after 14 "challenging" weeks of learning.

It may be rare for a single base to have simultaneous students in attendance at a major military school; but it would be even more so to have Regular Air Force and Reserve components from the same base, in the same class.

The school, which is considered to be the maintenance version of the pilot "weapons school," conducts the most advanced and comprehensive training of expeditionary combat support processes to develop highly skilled professionals capable of integrating all facets of Agile Combat Support anywhere in the world. In operation for only six years, AMMOS had graduated 171 students ...only five of them traditional reservists, until class 09B.

The course in which students of class 09B were instructed, covered Air Force Doctrine and Agile Combat Support Master Processes in detail (Ready the Force, Prepare the Battle Space, Position the Force, Sustain the Force, Employ the Force and finally Recover the Force).

As daunting as that description is, one student rose to the challenge and set the bar for all who would follow her.

For Captain Waterman, who was the only reservist, and was tasked with the added responsibilities of being the class leader, the course was a doubly daunting experience. But, she took the competitive nature developed during her youth as a gymnast and moved forward.

"I was intimidated by the challenge of the curriculum at first and by the extremely high caliber of the other maintenance officers in the course. I separated from active duty in 2006. I'd been off the flight line for two years. I'd accepted the TR job in February and was just getting back into the aircraft maintenance world when this opportunity arose," Captain Waterman said. "I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep up."

"My goal was to learn as much as possible from the instructors and the other students in order to become a better maintenance officer and bring that knowledge back to the 917th Wing and Barksdale as a whole," she said.

According to Captain Waterman, she never "fathomed" she would do so well at the school. She walked away with three of the four obtainable awards for students attending the course.

For her efforts, Captain Waterman took honors as the Distinguished Graduate, Fitness Award winner and the Academic Award winner. She was in a three-way tie for the fourth award (Paper Award), but it went to another equally deserving classmate.

According to classmate Captain Beran, Captain Waterman was affectionately nick-named "CAF," which was based on her affinitive for Combat Air Forces, but also her competitive nature and ability to push others to perform.

"Our class had a great personality and Captain Waterman fit right in from the start. She served as our class leader and is a remarkable lady," Captain Beran said. "We could always count on her smile, even if we felt we were on the brink of failure."

"She is a true maintenance professional. While there were very few points separating all students, the class had input to the final awards," he said. "The consensus to provide her with the top graduate (award) was a unanimous decision."

Students are board selected to attend AMMOS, and it has the reputation for being one of the most difficult courses a maintenance officer will ever face. Students must maintain an 80 percent minimum score for all evaluations to pass. Any score lower is a failure and potential for elimination from the course. Some won't even attempt it.

"I found the school to be the most challenging of my 21-year career but infinitely rewarding with type, level and professionalism of instruction provided," said Captain Beran. "The course was demanding for even the best maintainer and considered, (arguably), to be our most advanced training course. The tests, both demonstration and written, were the most nerve racking of any I've experienced."

For the Barksdale captains, there was more at stake than just pass or fail. There was the incentive of the total force initiative Barksdale Airmen on both ends of the base have embraced and seen implemented with so much success. Even at AMMOS they became a team.

"Captain Waterman and I were on different academic teams but worked together on all projects throughout the course," said Captain Beran. "We share a common bond with the hard working men and women here in the Shreveport area and plan to foster the team relationship between our wings and showcase the wonderful achievements of our professional Airman and their impact on National Security through employment of America's most recognized and feared weapon system...the B-52 Stratofortress."

The outlook is no less team oriented for the 6th Reservist and 180th student to successfully complete the Advance Maintenance and Munitions Officers School at Nellis.

"After graduation you are a certified Air Combat Command (ACC) instructor and the expectation is that you will pass on the lessons learned to the rest of the Airman in your wing," Captain Waterman stated. "Captain Beran and I have a very unique opportunity to work together with the other two AMMOS graduates at Barksdale to share the knowledge in both the (Regular Air Force) and Reserve wings at the base."

Captain Waterman looks back fondly on the decision she made at the Air Force Academy years ago between being a pilot or starting a career in the aircraft maintenance field. "I picked maintenance," she said. "I was, and am still, extremely impressed with the dedication and work ethic of our maintainers regardless of the major command (MAJCOM) they represent or the airframe they work on. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to attend AMMOS with Captain Beran. The course was the best experience of my (Air Force) career thus far. It introduced me to eight other outstanding aircraft maintenance officers, and I am fortunate to continue to work with one of those officers in the future here at Barksdale."