'Just painful': Pentagon mulls an overhaul of mandatory training policies

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Military leaders have said they’re overwhelmed by unnecessary training requirements, but seasoned officers at this airfield in southern Afghanistan said they see signs of a turnaround as the Pentagon looks to streamline military policies.

To illustrate the excesses, a group of Army chief warrant officers listed some of the 23 mandatory computer-based modules they had to do before deploying here to train Afghan helicopter pilots. None had anything to do with their jobs as advisers, they said.

Standing on the flight line, the four officers said they’re required to submit three times as many forms to request leave back home as they do to fly an MD-530 Cayuse Warrior attack helicopter over this largely Taliban-controlled Afghan province.

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