MDG unit provides seamless transition for JSUPT students Published Nov. 29, 2006 By Senior Airman Lynne Neveu Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- As the students of Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 06-08 took notes on ejection and egress procedures, they were unaware of the flurry of activity preceding their arrival. The activity was due to the arrival of the newest tools of the trade at the 71st Medical Group Aerospace Physiology Unit - the T-6 Texan egress and ejection trainers. "Although it was the first class to the students, we didn't want them to have the impression it was our first class as well," said 1st Lt. Kris Ostrowski, 71st MDG APU. The $200,000 egress trainer and $100,000 ejection trainer arrived here recently and are two of the tools being used to ensure a smooth transition from the T-37 to the T-6 for students, instructors and support staff. To prepare for the transition, Staff Sgt. Vicki Laue, 71st MDG APU, visited Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, to evaluate how the unit there taught the program. Additionally, APU Airmen attended training classes and brought their newfound knowledge with them to the mock classes, Lieutenant Ostrowski said. "The most difficult part of the process was having to learn a new system," said Airman 1st Class Stephen McCallister, APU technician. "Besides the different egress systems (of the T-6 and T-37), the T-6 has an oxygen generating system, compared to the T-37 system which runs off of low pressure tanks that need to be refilled. As long as the T-6 engine is running, there is constant air flow." The additional load of teaching separate egress and ejection procedures to incoming students forced the APU team to make schedule adjustments of their own. Instead of one JSUPT class per month, they are now teaching two. Class instruction takes slightly longer as well, since resources and training tools, such as the 6-person swing landing trainer, are divided in half. The extra class is in addition to other responsibilities, such as instrument refresher course instruction, pilot refresher training and fighter aircrew conditioning tests. "The crew here did an outstanding job of ensuring a seamless transition," Lieutenant Ostrowski said. "The students didn't even notice."