You're telling me things I already know.
Why don't you actually do your job
and actually choose to represent me
the way you're supposed to!
Go away!
Narrator: Before these Air Force
military training instructors can do this ...
Instructor: Your eyes need to be straightforward!
[instructor yelling]
Narrator: ... they must first do this.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Narrator: They're practicing what's called
the command voice.
And once they master it,
they'll be able to lead a flight
of Air Force recruits.
Adam Parish: And we'll use it specifically as a way
to grab the trainee's attention
and to notify him that it's time to move
in whatever direction that is.
And so that way we can communicate
with the entire flight at once.
If you're not giving specific, clear directions,
then the task is not going to get done,
or it's going to get done in a way
that it's not supposed to be.
Forward, harch!
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Narrator: Military training instructors, or MTIs,
are the equivalent of Marine drill instructors ...
[drill instructor yelling]
... or Army drill sergeants.
Drill sergeant: Command at ease.
The soldier may move. However --
Narrator: And while there are similarities,
MTIs have their own unique methods and philosophies
when it comes to training new recruits.
Left face.
Narrator: We spent four days at Lackland Air Force Base
observing future military training instructors
during their 8 ½-week course
as they learned to lead new recruits in drill ...
Harch!
Narrator: ... and train them to meet the Air Force's
physical requirements.
But it all starts with learning how to use their voice.
Slide down, slide down, slide down!
Except for my guide, element leaders, and dorm chief,
if you're taller that the trainee in front of you,
say tap and move forward now.
Don't run, just go with a sense of urgency.
Alba: Raising our voice, what we call command voice
is just one of the many tools that we have
as military training instructors
in order to get that desired outcome from our recruits.
Flight: One, two, three, four.
Instructor: One, two, three, four.
Narrator: Military training instructors
use the command voice during drill when they order
a group of 40 to 50 recruits, known as a flight,
to move to different locations during the day.
Hut!
Narrator: In their first week
of military training instructor school, or MTIS,
students practice exercises that help them
tap into their volume and their ability to sustain it.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Cesar Silva: We repeat expelling our air from our diaphragm,
and it is just a matter of repeating "huh, huh, huh."
And that is used so that we can practice using our diaphragm
and also getting as loud as possible with our command voice.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Instructor: So, you gotta get that diaphragm for real active
so that you get it, like, it sounds stronger.
Narrator: Exercises include hunching over ...
Hey! Hey!
Hey!
Narrator: ... and hanging from a pull-up bar
while shouting ...
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Narrator: ... forcing them to use their diaphragm
to achieve the necessary volume.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
It doesn't sound throaty, like nasally,
because that would be your nose,
but you need to get down here.
Like, that whole, like somebody's punching you.
Huh, huh!
Narrator: But volume is just one element
of the command voice.
We focus on distinction, loudness, inflection, projection,
and snap of that command voice.
Column left, harch!
Right! Face!
So, the reason why a lot of the words sound differently
than what a lot of people are accustomed to
is to be able to provide the enunciation of the word itself.
Narrator: You can hear it clearly
in the way military training instructors deliver cadence.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Narrator: The added P or H
helps keep the command distinct and at a high volume.
The way you get the distinction in your voice
is by making sure you pronounce every letter
when you are using your command voice.
Let's say you are saying, "one, two, three,"
to keep everybody in step, or, "left, right, left."
You have to enunciate, so that way it is distinct
when it comes out as a command voice.
Right! Halt!
Get your cover, get your address.
Narrator: The command voice is also used
to give corrections.
Go away!
Narrator: This is what it looks like when an MTI
uses their command voice during actual boot camp.
Everyone's waiting on you, but you're taking your time!
It feels very empowering to use the command voice.
It's almost like a battle cry.
And so you kind of get to get that lion's roar out
to get command and control of your flight.
Narrator: While every branch of the military
has its own version of the command voice,
Air Force MTIs have a reputation for being less aggressive
than some of their counterparts
in the Army and Marine Corps.
In 2018, the Air Force ranked fourth
among the armed-services branches
for the number of hazing complaints.
Alba: We're very firm, definitely demanding,
but before everything, we're fair.
Left foot, left foot, left, right, left.
Narrator: Air Force MTIs will use everything they learned
about command voice when they lead new recruits in drill.
Left face!
Forward harch!
Hut, twop, threep, fourp.
Narrator: But learning how to to lead drill
requires its own training.
Left flank, harch!
Anthony Fitts: I would say it's more challenging
than it is exhausting.
It's just constantly focusing on being precise
with every single movement you make.
Narrator: MTI students spend 85 hours
practicing the movements,
relearning how to march and step
and make precise turns on command.
That carries throughout when you're doing left face,
right face, left flank, column movement.
You gotta understand where your head needs to be,
where your arms gotta be.
Fitts: Learning drill at basic training, it was all new.
It was foreign. However, as I learned those movements,
all I had to do was apply.
There's a huge difference between learning and applying
versus learning, applying, and teaching.
So now I have to come back,
break down each one of those movements
into individual steps,
and now share that and teach these trainees
how to actually perform the movements.
We're just going to be out here on this pad practicing
until 0900.
This is the go command, or the execution command.
Narrator: This student is in week six of training,
and this is a military training instructor instructor,
who is responsible for evaluating his ability
to teach the left flank,
which is a turn to the left when marching in formation.
Arm swing.
Twenty-four-inch step.
We focus on their ability to actually perform it
and to be able to break it down step by step.
How to effectively communicate the instructional portions
of the lesson while also performing it.
Trainee right here.
What do you think your responsibilities are?
Narrator: Students are evaluated on their ability
to follow the Air Force teaching format,
which includes how they present information
and how they ask questions.
I have my cover.
I do not have my cover again.
Do I have any questions over anything that I just went over?
Instructor: Biggest issue I would say with today's lesson
was your questioning techniques.
It was a lot of, "Do you have any questions?
Are there any questions?" You did that seven times.
Student: All MTIs across any squadron,
their using that standardized teaching format is important
so that any trainee, when they graduate from here,
they leave with the same knowledge
regardless of what squadron they were assigned to
during their time here.
So, all your transitions were seamless.
Tied it all back into your steps.
Your personalization is on point.
Narrator: Before they graduate from MTI school,
these students will teach drill to a flight of recruits
under the supervision of a certified
military training instructor
in the final phase of their training,
known as technical qualifications, or TQ.
Step!
You also need to suspend arms, right,
so bring those hands back to your side.
"Change step, harch!" right away, and then give cadence.
Student: Change step!
Harch!
It is a slight pause. You are not stopping.
At the end of the day, we are realistically training
not just our replacements but our upgrade.
Flight, ten, hut!
Dismissed!
MTI: Down! Flight: One!
MTI: Down! Flight: Two!
MTI: Down! Flight: Three!
Student: I think what drives the physical aspect
of being a military training instructor
is you are constantly on the move.
You're going to be constantly marching all over base,
taking your trainees to various appointments.
MTI: One, two, three!
Flight: Nine!
MTI: One, two, three!
Flight: 10!
Student: And then also in the mornings during PT,
you're going to be out there not just
showing them how to do PT,
you're going to be performing PT
and setting that example for them.
Narrator: Every morning, MTI students perform PT,
or physical training,
as if they're commanding a flight of recruits.
Five!
MTI: Out, in, out.
Narrator: Students take turns leading PT from a distance,
where they practice the lessons learned
in their command voice training,
projecting their voice across the drill pad
to call out the exercises ...
Next exercise is in and out!
Flight: In and out!
Procession of exercise right up!
Begin!
One, two, three!
Narrator: ... and call cadence.
Three!
One, two, three!
Narrator: Another student observes from the sidelines
and corrects their classmates as if they are recruits.
Arms are fully extended, back straight.
Hips over the air.
Parish: So, PT is set up that way for the MTI school,
so that way it gives the students an opportunity
to truly understand how to be able to lead organized PT,
and so that way they understand what are the key points
for each part before they step out to the line squadron
and they're standing in front of 200, 600, 800 trainees
and leading them in organized PT.
Narrator: Military training instructors
must pass a physical assessment outlined by the Air Force
based on age and gender.
To get into the training course,
students must be recommended by their leadership
and pass a psychological evaluation.
Military training instructors receive a special-duty pay
of $450 per month on top of their base salary.
Students: Ten, nine, eight, seven!
Narrator: Basic military training, or BMT,
also includes teaching recruits
how to meticulously make a bed and fold clothes.
Student: Pretty good. It can be a little bit tighter.
Narrator: And again, these MTI students
are expected to perform these tasks to perfection.
Instructor: For some of these students,
they haven't potentially made a bed
since they were last at BMT.
Narrator: In week five of their training,
students practice making beds, rolling shirts,
and other dormitory procedures to the Air Force standards.
And they inspect each other's work,
practicing the corrections they'll be giving recruits
in just a few months.
Student: Pick it up. You kind of want to
snap back a little bit. See the difference?
Alba: So, we teach them the current standards,
and then we evaluate them on their ability
to organize those items.
And then immediately following that,
we evaluate them on their ability to teach those standards.
So, the lesson we're going to be going over today
is the end-of-bed display.
Jeremy Hnatiuk: They have exact words they need to say,
so the trainees know the exact details
of what these lessons consist of.
So the level of corrections that we're looking for
with the students teaching this evaluation
is just their overall stage presence,
how comfortable they are with teaching this lesson,
how comfortable they are with
the actual lesson plans themselves.
To ensure it is draped evenly, we can pinch at the bottom
to ensure that they're flush.
Give it a little tug.
Instructor: These instructors are kind of
talking to the wall,
talking to their water bottle in some instances,
but they are going by the format.
And this is essentially the dry runs
that they're running here at MTIS
to where they actually get to the line
and then figure out how to master
what we're teaching here at MTIS.
When I look down at this shoe from the top,
I shouldn't be able to see any of your shoelaces.
Can you see any shoelaces?
Students: No, Sergeant!
Narrator: In their final phase of training,
they will be responsible
for instructing a flight of recruits
on the dorm lessons they learned at MTI school.
Silva: It is important for us to learn
how to teach this to trainees
because they need to know our standards,
and they need to learn as well
to practice their attention to detail.
The last 60 seconds, it was about
easily probably 90 seconds.
Well, honestly though, if you think,
trainees are probably going to do the same thing.
Hnatiuk: Whether it's you loading missiles, loading bombs,
whatever the case may be, the attention to detail
of you putting the correct amount into everything
is the importance that we are teaching here at BMT.
Announcer: At this time, Capt. Cole
and Senior Master Sgt. Morell
will present the class their graduation certificates.
Narrator: This class is graduating
from the basic MTI training,
but they won't receive their campaign cover
until they've completed the final phase of training.
Student: So, upon graduating from MTIS,
we'll have two weeks of cadre training
where we actually spend some time
with the standard eval section here at MTIS.
After spending two weeks with them,
we'll actually go out to our line squadrons,
where we'll begin the TQ process,
where we'll actually be on the line with a trainer
getting qualified to become a fully certified instructor.
Brandon Spacer: I found that I actually have a passion
for teaching, which, I didn't really know that before.
It's really taught me more about myself.
It's taught me a lot about my strengths
and the things that I need to work on as an MTI.
Hut, twop, threep, fourp!
Column left, harch!