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AEC, RTA Revolutionizes Training in Med Region
Story Number: NNS030709-07
Release Date: 7/9/2003 9:55:00 AM
By Journalist Seaman Stephen P. Weaver, Naval Air Station Sigonella Public Affairs
SIGONELLA, Sicily (NNS) -- Training at Naval Air Station Sigonella (NASSIG) and the Mediterranean region has taken a big step forward with the recent establishment of an Advanced Electronic Classroom (AEC) and a Regional Training Authority (RTA).
The AEC was established at Sigonella as part of the Task Force Excel “Revolution in Training” initiative. It will give the NASSIG Base Education and Training department the flexibility to adequately meet training requirements for every department at NASSIG. “The versatility of this classroom exceeds the standard computer-based training classroom found in most companies stateside,” said Michael L. Sloane, RTA director for the Mediterranean region.
The system was specifically designed to meet the needs of the 2735 (small computer administrator) and 2780 (network security) Navy Enlisted Classifications (NEC) and CISCO computer networking training. This gives NASSIG the capability, for the first time, to host both NEC level courses, and a full CISCO academy course.
The classroom includes 12 student stations and a state of the art smart board. The smart board can be used in conjunction with DVD videos and digital imaging projections to give interactive presentations. It allows touch control over Microsoft PowerPoint presentations from the board itself, and the ability to write and save additional notes to the screen while a class is being taught. The classroom also features four UNIX boxes, routers and switches.
It also incorporates a 100-megabyte dedicated line to enable broadcast or download of digital video to other commands on base that have Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) software. “We have a 100 mb dedicated line that will enable users to come in here and look at rate specific training videos,” said Lt. Charles Puglia, NASSIG training officer. “You can have all these different stations working and watching different training videos at any given time. That’s the capability that a dedicated 100 mb system gives us.”
The system doubles the capacity for computer-based training. Much needed training sessions brought in from the United States to the Mediterranean can be digitally recorded and placed on a network. When additional need for the instruction arises, it can be replayed in the AEC or any other classroom with a 100-megabyte line by using IPTV software. In the near future, the AEC will incorporate a digital video camera that will enable training in NASSIG to be broadcast to other bases in the Mediterranean.
The establishment of the classroom came about when the NASSIG Information Technology Department (ITD) sought assistance from Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) to modernize their computer based training capabilities. NETC not only agreed, but also took the opportunity to seek a partnership with NASSIG in establishing the Regional Training Authority (RTA) for the Mediterranean at NASSIG. This resulted in Sigonella becoming a regional hub for training of all types.
“That was NETC’s (Naval Education and Training Command) foot in the door…to visit here and agree to partner with NASSIG in bringing not only [the AEC] to NASSIG, but also assigning my job here as the Regional Training Authority for the Mediterranean Naval Stations,” said Sloane. His duties are to coordinate training not only for NASSIG, but also for bases such as Rota, Gaeta, Naples, Souda Bay and Bahrain. An RTA was established in London, as well.
“Instead of all of those bases flying people back to the U.S. to get training, it’s cheaper to fly two instructors out to [Sigonella], Naples or Rota, and have the region take part in the opportunity to get the same training that would cost a fortune to send people back to the States for,” said Sloane.
The concept of the RTA and the installation of an AEC supports the concept of providing facilities and capabilities to this region, that eventually allows the tailored training needs of Sailors to be met. It also provides an environment conducive to learning.
“This is Vice Adm. Harm’s commitment to the forward deployed Naval forces for Revolution in Training,” said Sloane. “That ‘Revolution in Training’ is not just for CONUS-based (continental United States) Sailors. This will allow forward-deployed naval forces to receive and take part in every opportunity the ‘Revolution in Training’ initiative provides.” These include Navy Knowledge Online (NKO), Navy E-learning and distance learning.
One of the cornerstones of the Task Force Excel initiative is accreditation for classes taught and training received in the Navy. “They want to make Sailors not only employed, but employable on the outside should they ever get out,” said Puglia.
The establishment of the AEC and RTA will ensure that Sailors in the Med are well trained for years to come.
For related news, visit the Naval Air Station Sigonella Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/nassig.
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