Posted on Jan 24, 2018
SSG Infantryman
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I'm slotted for Air Assault school in 94 days. What do you wish you knew before you showed up? What was your Air Assault experience. Where did you attend Air Assault school? What are your thoughts on the course?

Thanks for sharing!
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better be able to climb a rope. after that, read and stay awake. it's 3 days of training packed into 2 weeks.
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6 y
LTC Stephen Franke - Sir, the Sabalauski Air Assault School is formally run out of FCKY; it is a TDA unit operated by FORSCOM and have arraignments with other duty stations such as Ft. Drum, Ft. Bliss, 25th ID to build an obstacle course and the school will send cadre to their location IOT conduct the POI.
LTC Stephen Franke
LTC Stephen Franke
6 y
Dear Major Blake,

Greetings. Many thanks for that helpful clarification. The 101st's Sabalauski AASLT School is apparently and understandably our Army's "gold standard" for AASLT training. Also interesting to learn that graduates of that FCKY AAS and similar AASLT courses elsewhere are also awarded a commensurate Skill Identifier (that policy makes sense, a la award of respective SIs for qualification as parachutist, Ranger and SF).

Today is Saturday, 21 April 2018.

Regards, and many thanks again for yor prompt and informative response.

Sincerely,
Stephen H. Franke
LTC, FAO (Middle East-Arabic)/MI/SOF (SF/SMU)/Security Cooperation, U.S. Army Retired - San Pedro, California
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6 y
LTC Stephen Franke - sir, I wasn't very prompt but you're welcome! Yes the same ASI is awarded, I think it's 2B. Of course, no one from FCKY believes that other places really "earn" their AASLT wings. While stationed at Ft. Drum, it was common knowledge that if you had a seat for the first class and/or the last class of the summer the chances were good there would be frost on the O-Course, so no rope climb...

I was in Iraq in 2004-05 and the Sabalauski School went to Iraq to train the skills. 3 days of classroom and testing without any of the other fun stuff and the wings were awarded. There was a ton of overweight, out of shape sr personnel trying to go... but I digress.

Have a great day sir!
CB
LTC Stephen Franke
LTC Stephen Franke
6 y
Greetings again today.

Thank you for that very-interesting comment that the FCKY-based Sabalauski AAS dispatched a MTT to Iraq during your tour there to conduct an (ahem = abbreviated/customized) AALST qual course to their Iraqi counterparts (surmise those Iraqis were most probably personnel of the Iraqi Army's various SF / Commando (Arabic "al-Sa'iqa" = English "Thunderbolt") units. Suggests that the FCKY school is still capable of deploying similar MTTs to other requesting countries in the CENTCOM AOR.

(FIW, Iraqi Army Commandos are more equivalent -- kinda sorta, based on my debriefings and other interviews of a good number of former members of al-Sa'iqa units who deserted and entered SE Turkey after ODS -- to British Commandos versus U.S. Army Rangers.)

Are you now stationed at Ft Sam Houston, TX (i.e. BAMC et al)?

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
LTC, (etc.), U.S. Army Retired)
San Pedro, California
(Transplanted San Antonian / Austinite)
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SGT David T.
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The school is not difficult if you can follow directions. Do exactly what they tell you how they tell you to do it and you should be fine. I wont address the physical stuff because that should already be known to you by now and I am 20 years removed from when I went...geesh I feel old now
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CW2 Bde Ew Tech
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I attended in 2005 at THE Sabalauski Air Assault School. Biggest thing to prep is do a ton of overhead arm claps and flutter kicks, make sure your packing list is perfect. Everything else will be taught there.
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1LT Jon Sigafoos
1LT Jon Sigafoos
6 y
SSG Jeffery Carroll, I to went in 2005. I was in class 1505. It was a lot of pt but since it was so cold we didn't mind.
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CW2 Bde Ew Tech
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6 y
Nice, I went in April or May that year. I hear the Dec 2004 (FY05) class were like walking icicles.
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