Story by Edna Pittman (AMA-024)
Photos, courtesy of Todd Poole (AMA-500)

Teaching during this global health crisis is far from typical. With hundreds of air traffic students backlogged because of limited facility staffing, the FAA is no exception. Through an initiative of the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Safety and Technical Training Directorate (AJI), air traffic training was deemed "Mission Essential." The goal was to bring students back to the classroom, while ensuring their safety.

The FAA Academy’s Air Traffic Division partnered with AJI and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Inc., a training services contractor, to find a solution to training terminal radar students nationwide. The Terminal Basic Radar Course is required for all air traffic "developmentals" (students in development phase), prior to training in a Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. This on-site training is needed to reach a full performance level or Certified Professional Controller (CPC) title. With the FAA Academy’s oversight, tech support, and management, three Tiger Team training sites have been created to continue this crucial training. "The A5 group [a collaboration of multiple FAA organizations – namely (by routing symbol): AJI, AJT, AJW, AMA and AMC] collectively decided on using the Tiger Team name to designate that the team was meeting a specific need in the field - a restart of terminal radar training. The name is familiar to the Air Traffic Organization, and has been used for many years to identify teams sent to the field to fill specific needs," said Dwain Davis, Manager of the FAA Academy Air Traffic Division.

The Tiger Team training sites are located in Nashua, New Hampshire, Kansas City, Missouri and Oakland, California. The sites in Nashua and Kansas City are fully operational, and are currently serving students. The Oakland site is being considered to accommodate students soon, further reducing the backlog. Once this third site is fully operational, all three service areas (Eastern, Central, and Western) will be covered.

Students are receiving the exact classroom and lab training provided at the FAA Academy. Ninety percent of the equipment being used at the training sites is the same used at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC). The twenty-one day training class consists of six student classrooms, four student labs, and eight student Remote Pilot Labs.

"This has been a great way to help the agency reduce the training backlog, while adhering strictly to COVID protocol. Classrooms and labs are spaced out exactly six feet apart, students are provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and all equipment is sanitized daily," said Todd Poole, Staff Manager of the FAA Academy Air Traffic Division.

The global health crisis has delayed training for developmentals for nearly a year. These new training initiatives allow 12 students a month to be trained and move on to the next level of their career. The goal is to one day return to full classes at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) campus, but the additional sites are helping tremendously during these unprecedented times.

"It has been a great partnership in providing training. Everyone involved did a great job making this happen. We’re looking forward to feedback from those students to see how we can make this even better," said Poole.

The first terminal radar Tiger Team class graduated on March 17, 2021.