Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point -- The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing conducted the new squadron operations officer course at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, April 13-15.
The training was designed to instruct Marines who hold an operations officer billet on how to best carry out their duties.
“Other than the commanding officer, the operations officer is the most important person in a squadron,” said Maj. Mark D. Blydenburgh, who served as the course coordinator. “Until now, there was no formal education or training for that billet.”
Forty-two Marines, mostly majors and captains, took part in the course.
The course covered topics from deployment planning to historical lessons.
“Squadron operations officers have been meeting their requirements,” said Capt. Aleksandr D. Martin-Nims, a training assistant with 2nd MAW who served as an instructor for the course. “But as time wears on, without formal, organized training, they may start to miss the finer details. This course smartly headed off that problem.”
Martin-Nims taught flight hour programs and provided an overview of the Marine Corps Sierra-Hotel Aviation Readiness Program, Marine Aviation’s web-based application for scheduling, training management, operational risk management and reporting of training readiness.
Martin-Nims said the training presented a unique and valuable opportunity.
“It’s phenomenal to get the chance to bring everyone up to speed at the same time,” Martin-Nims said.
Blydenburgh said the course was a trial run and will be evaluated so 2nd MAW can decide if it will continue to implement the training with other squadrons.