TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The First Term Airman Center at Tinker Air Force Base prepares new Airmen for their military careers and life at Tinker, but with the COVID-19 pandemic they are now doing things a little differently.
Master Sgt. Daniel MacPherson with the 72nd Force Support Squadron said the in-person nature of FTAC classes is important, but the Department of Defense expanding Stop Movement orders has propelled them to implement a virtual FTAC plan.
“The 552nd and 72nd [Air Base Wing] said they needed us to come up with a plan to do it virtually, so we came up with a plan that we’re putting in place now,” Macpherson said. “It is virtual and FTAC is one of those things where you want to have the interaction between the student and instructors and [subject matter experts] on base, but we have to adjust and flex to what we can do.”
He said the plans for virtual FTAC courses are in the beginning stages.
“We’ve got the software prepared and we’re moving virtual with FTAC for the foreseeable future in order to still get that information to the students,” MacPherson said. “We hope to get some help from people around base over the next couple of weeks to do a test bed with the software we plan to use to see if it’s a deliverable product. Hopefully we can get it all together by the first week of May.”
MacPherson said on the student side accessing the courses and interacting with other students, instructors and SMEs will be as easy as clicking a link with no cost or download.
While there are aspects of the FTAC courses that won’t be able to continue, such as visiting downtown Oklahoma City to get used to the area, MacPherson said they intend to ensure that Airmen have all of the information they need.
“We’re still going to provide Airmen with the basic information they need to be successful throughout their enlistment, which is information about finance, how the MPF works, how to in-process, substance abuse and sexual assault,” MacPherson said. “We want to make sure they’re making sound decisions and have the information to reach out to the resources they need.”
MacPherson said flexing to this “new normal” does provide some benefits.
“It gives us the opportunity to reach out to Airmen across the region who aren’t able to attend a lot of our courses to offer these opportunities,” MacPherson said.