Air Force slashes 'ancilliary' training, including sexaul assault, suicide prevention

Above: A senior airman documents work at Camp Mittica, Iraq, on June 11.

The Air Force is slashing ancillary training requirements so airmen can spend more time doing their jobs.

After Oct. 1, airmen will be required to devote 90 minutes annually to the training instead of nearly nine hours spread throughout the year.

Ancillary training is considered education that is outside an airman’s specialty or primary duties but necessary to meet certain legal standards. Examples are anti-terrorism awareness, records management, information assurance awareness, sexual-assault prevention, and suicide awareness.

The goal is to cut the time spent on ancillary training to the “minimum level necessary,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael T. Moseley was quoted as saying in an Air Force news release Monday.

Under the new policy, the Air Force will cluster the training into a 90-minute “block instruction” plan. Commanders will have the option to hold the entire 90 minutes in one mass briefing, or split it into three segments throughout the year, according to Air Force officials.

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