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My name is Major John Davidson. I am the Commander and Activity Director of the Air Education and Training Command Familiarization Course (AETCFC) at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. AETCFC is a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) National Activity designed to offer CAP Cadets the opportunity to see U.S. Air Force Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) up-close and personal.
First of all, I'd like to give you some background about myself, my staff and the program in general.
Major John Davidson - Commander AETCFC
Here I am with one of the "VIP" passengers on a C-141 trip. This is a shot of me sporting new Air Force Desert Camo. I can't say that I haven't been to some neat places!
I am the AETCFC Commander. I am originally from Nashville, Tennessee. I was a 4-year AFROTC Scholarship Cadet at Belmont University, where I graduated in 1982. The 2001 AETCFC will be my 7th AETCFC, 6 at Columbus AFB, 1 at Laughlin AFB. I attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams AFB, Arizona and graduated in 1982. Upon graduation from UPT, I was assigned as a T-38 Instructor Pilot right out of Pilot Training and stayed at Williams AFB as an instructor from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, I was assigned to Altus AFB, Oklahoma to train as Pilot in Command on the C-141 Starlifter. I was an Aircraft Commander and instructor pilot aboard the C-141 based out of McGuire AFB, New Jersey from 1986-1989. I elected to separate from the Air Force in 1989 and became a pilot with Delta Air Lines. I am currently a Boeing 737 Captain based out of Orlando, Florida. I have been in the CAP-USAF program for 10 years and has been involved with 3 different National Activities over a period of 9 years.
Major Richard Augur - T-37 Tactical Officer
Rich test piloting the new follow-on SUPT Trainer.
Major Richard Augur is the T-37 Tactical Officer. Major Augur's Hometown is Asheville, North Carolina, where he resides now. He is a 1981 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. The 2001 AETCFC will be Major Augur's 11th year at the activity! Major Augur attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He graduated in 1982 and went on to RF-4 training at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. He was Mission Qualified in the RF-4 in 1982. In 1986, Major Augur returned to Air Training Command as a T-37 Instructor Pilot. He received his Instructor Training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas in 1986 and reported to Columbus AFB, Mississippi. He separated from the Air Force in 1989 and became a pilot with Delta Air Lines. He is currently a MD-88 First Officer based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Major Augur has been in the CAP-USAF program for 12 years and has been involved in National Activities for all twelve of them!
Photo Coming Soon!!
Major Byrnes began his military career in the U.S. Army as a Military Police Working Dog handler from November 1973 to November 1975. During that time he served in Colorado and the Republic of South Korea. Major Byrnes was commissioned through the ROTC program following graduation from the University of Lowell, Lowell Massachusetts in 1979. With a B.S. Degree in Accounting, Major Byrnes attended USAF Pilot Training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi where he received his wings in July 1980. After Pilot training, he was assigned as a T-38 Instructor Pilot at the 50th Flying Training Squadron from Oct 1980 to Oct 1983. During his tour as a T-38 IP, Major Byrnes was assigned as a "Check Pilot" and was awarded "Master Instructor" certification. Upon completion of his T-38 tour, Major Byrnes was assigned to the C-130E Lockheed Hercules aircraft at Pope AFB, North Carolina. As a C-130E Pilot-in-Command, Major Byrnes operated and instructed other pilots in the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System (AWADS). He also served in the Special Activities Division, which provided secure airlift of extremely sensitive time-critical cargo. At that time, this mission was assigned the highest peactime priority in the Military Airlift Command. Major Byrnes is a Senior Pilot with over 10,000 hours of flying time in a variety of aircraft to include the T-38 and the C-130. He is married to the former Sandra Dickenson and has two children: a daughter Erin, 23, and a son David, 21.
Major Carl Craig - Past Commander (1996-1999) Advisor/Web Master
Here is Major Craig with his"daughter." Her name is Nugget, she is a veteran flyer too!
Major Craig was the former Commander and Activity Director of the AETCFC Columbus National Activity. He will retire from the USAFR on August 1, 2000. The 2000 AETCFC would have been his 10th year at the activity. He is originally from Columbia, South Carolina but lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia now. He was the T-38 Tactical Officer for 5 years (from 1991 until 1995) and the Commander for the last three years. He was a 1978 Graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a Master of Science in Management Science from National University. Major Craig was a 4-year Pilot scholarship cadet at AFROTC Detachment 775 at the University of South Carolina. He was commissioned in May 1978 and received orders for pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. He graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 8002 in November 1979 and attended RF-4 Replacement Training at Shaw AFB, South Carolina and was Mission Qualified in 1981. Major Craig was transferred back to Air Training Command as a T-38 Instructor Pilot in August 1982. He attended Air Force Instructor Pilot Training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas graduating in February 1983. He was assigned as a T-38 Instructor Pilot at 50th Flying Training Squadron, Columbus AFB, Mississippi and flew as Instructor Pilot in the T-38, was an Academic Instructor and Instructional Program developer. Major Craig separated from the active service in February 1986. He became a pilot for the Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service in Miami, Florida in 1986. He joined the Air Force Reserve and was assigned to the Southeast Region of the Civil Air Patrol - U.S. Air Force Liaison. Major Craig became Special Operations Chief for Customs Aviation in 1988. In 1989 he was appointed as the Aviation Interdiction Advisor on President George Bush's White House Drug Policy Staff, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP.) In 1994 he left the White House for a job a Aviation Group Supervisor at the San Diego Aviation Branch, San Diego, California. Earlier this year, Major Craig was transferred to Washington DC and the Headquarters of the US Customs Service. Major Craig has been in the CAP-USAF program for over 14 years. He has been involved in National Activities for 10 years. Major Craig retired from the US Air Force on August 1, 2000. He is the WEBMASTER for this site and welcomes any input you might have.
Tom Cruise, eat your heart out! There are no flies on this Colonel!
Lt. Colonel Dave Blubaugh is a 1973 graduate of the University of Colorado. He was a 2-Yr AFROTC scholarship cadet. Lt. Colonel Blubaugh attended and graduated from Pilot training at Webb AFB, Texas in 1975. He was also selected to be an instructor right out of pilot training. After his Instructor training at Randolph AFB, Texas, Lt. Colonel Blubaugh returned to Webb as a T-37 Instructor Pilot. From Webb AFB, Lt. Colonel Blubaugh returned to Randolph AFB as a T-37 Instructor pilot training new T-37 Instructors. Lt. Colonel Blubaugh separated active service in 1980 and became a pilot with Delta Air Lines. He is currently an International L-1011 First Officer based out of Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the CAP-USAF program in 1983 and has been involved with National Activities for over 14 years! Lt. Colonel Blubaugh has been in the AETCFC program at Columbus AFB since 1983! He was the commander and Activity Director from 1989 until 1995! LTC Blubaugh retired from the USAF reserves but remains active in the CAP program. He returns each year by invitation to help out and impart his wisdom to cadets at this activity.
As you can see, the entire staff at AETCFC Columbus are Active Reserve Air Force Officers. More importantly, all of us are Air Force Pilots! Even more important, we all have been involved in Cadet programs at the National level for many years! We were all Air Force Instructor Pilots at Pilot Training bases, we have a wide variety of training back grounds (2 T-37 Instructors and 2 T-38 Instructors) and we are all experienced pilots. Between myself and my staff we have:
Starting in 1997, the AETCFC National Activity at Columbus AFB started
using College Air Force ROTC Cadets from around the country as Cadet Training
Officers. In 1997, we had two cadets from the University of Alabama and
1 cadet from Middle Tennessee State University assigned as Cadet Training
Officers. All three cadets were Pilot Scholarship cadets and acted as the
intermediate staff to the Cadet Staff.
The program starts on Saturday July 6, 2001 and ends on July 14, 2001. The program is open to 50 cadets at a cost of $100 per cadet. The selection criteria has been established by cadet programs and is not waiverable. The 2001 AETCFC Columbus selection process will differ from National Activity selections in the past. The deadline for applications to attend AETCFC is January 31, 2001.
The Cadet Group will be divided (randomly) into three flights. The T-38A Talon, designated with an "A", will be the basis of "A" Flight. The T-37B Tweet, designated with a "B", will be the basis of "B" Flight. There will be one Cadet Commander (Not necessarily the highest ranking cadet) and two flight commanders, "A" Flight & "B" Flight. The cadet Commander will be selected by a panel consisting of myself and my staff on the first night of the activity. The 5 or 6 most promising cadet officers will be interviewed for this position after the leadership exercises on the first day of the activity. We have had 1st Lieutenant Cadet Commanders and Majors as Flight Commanders under the Lieutenant! On occasion, we have used some higher ranking enlisted cadets as First Sergeant and Flight Sergeant. The two flights will attend all group course functions but separate academic tracks.
AETCFC is a highly desirable activity! Almost to the last cadet, the 500+ I have been involved with personally since I started working on this program, have all enjoyed AETCFC! The program is not a freebie! There is hard work, studying, testing, competition and evaluation of your piloting and officership skills on a daily basis. This program allows you to attend pilot training for a week. It is designed to show you the intensity of aviation training in the Air Force. It's objective is for you to understand the effort required by those interested in a career in the military as an Air Force Pilot. The program is tailored to match real training in the Air Force. The Top Graduate receives a unique and special award plus a flight on a T-1a Jayhawk! The Distinguished Graduates (Top 10% of the class) will receive special awards and a possible flight on board a T-1 Jayhawk aircraft. There are also four Academic awards. Top Gun Academic, given to the highest overall academic average attained during the course and two flight awards. 1 cadet in the T-37 , T-38 and T-1 academic program will win a special award for the highest academic average. Each cadet that "Graduates" from the training will receive a graduation certificate and a pair of real Air Force Pilot Wings! You can't wear these wings of course (unless you become a real Air Force Pilot,) but they will be an important keepsake in your quest for the real ones.
The following is a brief schedule of important or special activities
for each day. The schedule runs from 0500-2200 each day. The days are long
and hard and completely full of activity. Unless otherwise specified, you
can plan on waking up at around 0500-0600 and reporting by flights (T-37
and T-38) in the parking lot of the dormitory facility. A bus will take
you to breakfast each morning at the base dining facility with approximately
45 minutes to eat your morning meal. Each day, unless otherwise scheduled,
a bus will take you to lunch at the base dining facility with approximately
45 minutes to eat lunch. There will be a few dinner meals that will be
eaten at the base dining facility too. There will be plenty of time allocated
to academics and testing. Maximized usage of free time is highly desirable
in this activity. Expect to be in bed (lights out) by 2300 hours each night.
Cadet Staff members may be required to put in additional time.
Saturday July 6, 2000
TBD
Sunday July 7, 2000
TBD
Monday July 8, 2000
Saturday July 13, 2000
As the Commander and Activity Director (and having experienced 5
AETCFCs as the T-38 Tactical Officer), I know a lot about Do's and Don'ts!
Do
Every year my staff and I have to endure a few (one year 15) cadets who show up a full day early at the encampment. Procedures are clearly identified in your selection letter. If you plan on arriving early (Friday before the encampment) you MUST get permission from HQ!!! If you get permission from headquarters, you MUST provide your own transportation, lodging and meals from the time you arrive until check-in for the activity on Saturday July 8th!!! The Reserve staff is not responsible for cadets who arrive early! Same goes for traveling after the activity is over. If you plan on leaving after the activity is over (the day after or later), you MUST get permission to do so and your transportation, lodging and meals are your responsibility!!! The Mission Support Agreement (MSA) authorized by the Air Force is only for the activity inclusive dates of July 8 through July 15, 2000. No lodging, meals, medical support or transportation is authorized by the Air Force outside those dates. If you are forced to travel outside the dates of the activity (some airlines will provide a lower fare if you stay Saturday to Saturday) please call Maxwell AFB (Cadet Programs @334-953-2273) and notify them of your situation. Arrange for hotel stay on the appropriate day and have cadet programs contact me or a member of my staff to arrange some type of transportation to/from the lodging/airport for the cadet that is traveling. This may require getting a taxi or some other commercial transportation ($$). You can also notify me of any transportation problems via E-Mail by clicking on my Name here Major John Davidson.
Each year there are many financial problems we run into. Some cadets did not bring any money at all and had to have Western Union send money (typical cost to send $50 is a $25 service fee = total cost $75.) Some cadets have a spending spree on the first few days and run out of money. The $100 activity fee pays for your lodging, all your meals (some meals you will be responsible for out of a cash fund we return to you from your activity fee,) banquet, awards and activities (picnic, swimming pool party, bowling tournament.)
Q. Will everyone who attends AETCFC get to
fly in an Air Force Jet?
A. No, not everyone. Usually the Top Graduate
will get a ride and sometimes the Distinguished graduates too. So about
10% of the class will probably get a ride in an Air Force aircraft. We
are still working on getting everyone a ride!
Q. What do I get for my $100 activity fee?
A. All your meals are paid for, which includes
a picnic, a pool party, a bowling tournament and a formal dinner banquet.
There are a lot of activity expenses including free lodging for a week,
free transportation and medical facilities. Certificates, awards and keepsakes
round out the other expenses. In addition to your $100 activity fee, CAP
Headquarters at Maxwell AFB provides me with an additional operating fund
that usually equates to $50-$75 per cadet. So, for $14.28 per day, you
get three meals, a place to sleep, a simulator ride (and possibly a jet
ride), the experiences of an Air Force Pilot and all the awards that you
can possibly win!!!
Q. Can I come back to AETCFC more than once?
A. For a long time No, we are now experimenting with retuirning cadets.
Q. What is the SAF?
A. The SAF is the Sac Alert Facility. In the 1950's, the SAF was used by Bomber personnel who stood alert awaiting nuclear attack orders. For the purpose of this encampment, the SAF is you home away from home. These rooms are fabulous accommodations considering the price, about $1 per day/per cadet. Here are some sample pictures of what the SAF rooms look like:
Q. Is it true that in the 12 years the bowling
tournament has been going, that the Reserve Staff is undefeated?
A. Yes, it is true. The Reserve Staff has never
been beaten at the Bowling Tournament!
Staff: 12 Cadets: 0
Your rooms, as mentioned in the FAQs above, are quite adequate for your stay. The rooms come with single beds, dressers and night stands. The rooms are usually filled with either 2, 3 or 4 beds. The female cadets will stay upstairs and the male cadets will stay downstairs during the encampment. The area where the females stay is off-limits to male cadets after academics and the nightly briefings.
The typical meal at the base dining facility is exceptionally cheap! A majority of the meals consumed by cadets will be at the Base Dining Facility. Sample meals and prices are included for informational purposes.
Sample Breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled, bacon, toast, grits, orange juice, cereal and milk : Average Cost: $ 1.00
Sample Lunch:
Cheeseburger, fries, salad, soda and fruit: Average Cost: $ 1.25
Sample Dinner:
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, roll and fruit cobbler: Average Cost: $ 1.75
Total Cost for the meals - approx: $25.00
All the other meals:
The Pizza Party, Picnic, Graduation Banquet and Continental Breakfast are provided for in the encampment fees. When the cadets arrive on the first night, approximately $20 of the $100 encampment fees are returned to the them for the the meals that are consumed at the dining facility.
This area will be reserved for any last minute updates and changes to the schedule or the activity itself. The date shown here is the currency date for information and errata supplied for the Web Site:
With the staff I have, I can guarantee you that you will be challenged!!! I can also guarantee you that you will be rewarded for hard work. You will not find a more demanding, professional, experience rich and dedicated National Activity Staff anywhere! We challenge you to enroll and experience Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training up-close and personal...
Sincerely,
John Davidson
Major, USAFR
Commander, AETCFC Columbus AFB
