Factors Affecting the Transfer of Basic Combat Skills Training in the U.S. Air Force

During Operations ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF), many Airmen in support career fields were deployed to hostile environments such Afghanistan and Iraq. Deployments of this nature are a departure from normal U.S. Air Force (USAF) operations where support personnel are normally far from the front lines of battle. The purpose of this research was to understand the factors that affect the transfer of basic combat skills training from the classroom to the battlefield. A 52-item scale measured the perceptions of active duty, USAF officer and enlisted personnel on their ability to transfer the combat skills learned in a classroom to the battlefield. This research found new relationships with perceived training transfer and provided insight into the factors affecting basic combat skill's training.