Chapman 1

Phillip Chapman

Elizabeth Hinnant

ENGL 1101-103

September 19, 2013

Air Force Literacy

JTAC: Hawg 53, you are cleared hot!
Pilot: Weapons away, thirty seconds. 30 seconds of silence and the sounds of
flying shrapnel and a loud explosion are heard.
These are the words that are spoken over the radio between a Joint Terminal
Attack Controller (JTAC) and an aircraft over head. An ensemble of words and phrases
must be clearly said and understood by both the JTAC and pilot. Once the required
communication is complete, a loud chest-thumping explosion occurs on an unfortunate
soul. This is the peak of a JTACs career; directing and controlling fighter aircraft or
bombers to neutralize hostile military targets. It takes years of experience of talking and
communicating with a pilot and an unthinkable amount of training and learning to get to
that point. During my six years in the Air Force there were several experiences that have
influenced and shaped my use of the English language.
I know that literacy deals mostly with the ability to read and write. I have an add-
on to that, listening. At the beginning of my Air Force career, listening played a major
part in the building of my literacy. When I started basic training at Lackland Air Force
Base, Texas, the formula for success was to listen to instruction and accomplish it exactly
within the given parameters. I can remember when I was chosen to be dorm-chief (the
class leader) and how the responsibility of leading a group of 40 grew drastically.
Beth 9/21/13 6:41 PM
Comment [1]: You can come up with
something moie cieative than this! !
Beth 9/21/13 6:44 PM
Comment [2]: I like this intio, but I feel like it
gets a little woiuy at times. Because this concept
is going to be so unfamiliai to most of youi
ieaueis, tiy using as many simple anu uiiect
sentences as you can. This makes it haiuei foi the
ieauei to get "lost" in the concept.
Chapman 2
Directions from our instructor had to be thoroughly digested (normally while in the push-
up position), then regurgitated to everyone in a manner where the original message didnt
lose its meaning. Learning how to listen attentively taught me to listen with acute
accuracy and diligence. Gone were the days of high-school listening, where you only
caught half of what was said and then filled in the blanks. Learning how to listen set me
up to be more receptive to learning how to speak, read, and write effectively throughout
the rest of my Air Force career.
Jump ahead in time two years after my initial enlistment and you will find me
sitting in a seat at the JTAC-Qualification Course. This is by far the pivotal point of a
JTACs career. This course is not only where you learn the technical aspects of the trade,
you are required to learn it in such great detail, it becomes what you eat, breathe, and
sleep. Day in and day out, we had to prepare for class by reading and studying close air-
support doctrine. This is the bread and butter of knowing what to do when you are talking
to an aircraft and in reality, it can determine if your comrade will survive during a
firefight. Ill be honest, I entered this course not knowing really what to expect. I was
told, Dont worry about anything, youll learn it all when you get to JTAC-QC.
Unfortunately, I listened, and walked directly in front of the information fire hose. As
you could imagine, this resulted in tons of late night studying and early morning
cramming for test and simulator training. I had no choice but to learn how to read and
digest material in a far more efficient manner.
With the help of a few all-knowing officers, I learned that spending a few hours
creating very intricate notes and study guides would increase my chances of graduating
the course unscathed. I taught myself to dissect information from a page in a much more
Beth 9/21/13 6:47 PM
Comment [3]: I'm not suie what exactly you'ie
talking about heie. I think a peisonal example
might help. What weie the uiiections, anu what
uo you mean when you say that the oiiginal
message can't lose its meaning. Nake suie to talk
in specifics so youi ieauei can follow natuially.
Beth 9/21/13 6:47 PM
Comment [4]: Again, what uo you mean by
this.
Beth 9/21/13 6:50 PM
Comment [5]: Can you give me some examples
heie.
Chapman S
accurate manner than I ever have before; quite frankly, my career depended on it.
Completing JTAC-QC four weeks later was only a small stepping-stone to the exercising
and building of my literacy; I had to figure out how to effectively use my knowledge in
real-world scenarios.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I stood next to my Army platoon leader and told
him, One minute out until landing. I was telling him that there were four CH-47
Chinooks about to land to pick up 150 soldiers. This would be an easy feat to accomplish
during the day, in the foothills of North Carolina, but this was at two in the morning in
the mountains of Afghanistan. I knew the helicopter pilots were a bit confused as to our
location, so I had to figure out how to tell them in few ten-second transmissions over the
radio. Of course after telling the platoon leader that we were good-to-go for pick-up, the
helicopters flew right over our nuggets. I had to jump on the radio and transmit a very
clear and decisive description of another landing site that was approximately 300 meters
away. While the helicopters diverted to the new pick up area, I communicated the new
location to the platoon leader, who then passed that information over the radio to his
squads. Keep in mind that all 150 of us are tired, hungry, and expecting the pick-up to
execute perfectly. Within a few minutes, we managed to run through a creek, up a small
bank to the pick-up site and extracted back to base. I am very thankful I was taught by
some of the best JTACs on how to effectively use verbal communication over the radio.
My ability to voice my thoughts were without a doubt greatly enhanced by training and
tested under real-world conditions. Without the hours spent practicing how to talk on the
radio, the extraction mission would have been a complete failure.
Beth 9/21/13 6:51 PM
Comment [6]: This is uefinitely an inteiesting
stoiy, but at this point I'm wonueiing how this
kinu of listening anu speaking tianslates to youi
liteiacy outsiue of the militaiy woilu.
Beth 9/21/13 6:52 PM
Comment [7]: What exactly maue it effective.
The fact that it was shoit. I'm a little lost heie.
Beth 9/21/13 6:53 PM
Comment [8]: At the enu of this paiagiaph I
still finu myself wonueiing how this tiaining
affecteu youi veibal communication in othei
kinus of scenaiios.
Chapman 4
While spoken words are temporary, written words can be kept forever. Evaluating
a supervisees performance on a one page, limited character format can be quite a
challenge even to the most seasoned writers. I was introduced to the Enlisted
Performance Report (EPR) while attending Airman Leadership School (ALS). An EPR is
the Air Force form that a supervisor must use to write about their subordinates
performance based on his or her accomplishments or discretions throughout a yearly
cycle. I was faced with the daunting task of writing about my Airman, who performed
above and beyond the standard, with only one exception. Frankly, he was the best
Airman in the squadron, yet he managed to get into a fight downtown when somebody
made a negative comment about a commemorating tattoo on his arm honoring his
deceased sister. My job was to use my writing abilities, along with the crucial mentoring
from my supervisor, to write this Airmans EPR. I feared that I would write the report
and it would drastically affect his promotion selection and overall career. Once I finalized
the report, I rated him at a higher than average mark, with a single markdown (allowing
him to be eligible for promotion). I learned that an honest assessment, composed with
clear and decisive intention, could be made without the negative, career ending effects.
Through the mentoring from my ALS instructors and my supervisor, my writing literacy
has benefited greatly compared to my prior-military life. Through effective and
constructive mentoring from my colleagues during my young Airman days, I was able to
have the opportunities and experiences required to grow my literacy.



Beth 9/21/13 6:54 PM
Comment [9]: Nice connection. Now how uoes
this tianslate into othei wiiting exeicises.
Beth 9/21/13 6:55 PM
Comment [10]: Biu you evei explicitly auuiess
ieauing.
Chapman S
PJ,
Theres some really good stuff here. Your story-telling skills are admirable, and
overall I think the piece is quite well-written and engaging. However, I still feel like
Im missing some crucial pieces. When your narrative ended I was taken aback, not
because your conclusion doesnt work (I actually like it a great deal) but because I
didnt see reading specifically addressed. I know (and appreciate!) that you added in
listening, but Id still like for there to be a reading section. Id also see some
connection strengthening. Your stories are wonderfully detailed and exciting, but I
dont see how the skills you learned in the military have affected your reading,
writing, and verbal communication in the civilian world. Im certain that they have,
but without personal examples and clear connections, I feel like you left all that you
learned back in another world. Keep pushing hard to flesh out the spots where you
arent seeing these kinds of correlations, and add in detail and personal experiences
whenever and wherever you can!