<p>1st of all you need to be physically fit to become a TACP, to put it in perspective max the CFA. Our DS is getting his ppl right now, it is very expensive @175 an hr in NC. You can get EMT training as soon as you become 18, just volunteer at your local ambulance station. </p>
<p>This is from the AF link…notice the ruck walk! So either way, AFA or TACP you better start working out!</p>
<p>TACP training </p>
<p>The students take part in a 73-day technical training course broken down into six blocks of instruction, physical training and a weekly ruck march lasting up to four hours complete with up to 85 pounds of gear.
The first block covers basic career knowledge and associated publications. Part two is the portable communications section where they learn several different procedures and radio language skills. </p>
<p>The third block involves day and night foot navigation, vehicle navigation, convoy training and small unit tactics. It’s considered the “make-or-break” block of the school. </p>
<p>Students are taken out in the field for a six-day land navigation, global positioning system, map plotting and compass training exercise. Students live in the dirt and have only what they carry on their back. They’ll learn to overcome fear as they train, many times alone, on navigating with map and compass in the dark through the woods. </p>
<p>All the while, the instructors are observing their movements through GPS trackers. They will often ambush the students simulating an actual combat situation. The students are deprived of sleep and put under constant physical duress to see how well they work as a team. </p>
<p>Students on the six-day maneuvers have two opportunities to pass the navigation tests. Should they fail this portion, they fail the course and are gone. If the student quits during the six days, he’s not allowed to go back to Hurlburt Field, he’s banned to a “graveyard” where they spend the remainder of their time filling sandbags. </p>
<p>The next block of the training is aircraft and vehicle recognition and air support coordination. The students will be taught how to better understand joint air operation centers and the tactical air control systems. They will be tasked to operate several radios while utilizing aircraft in support of ground operations. </p>
<p>The final block is where all the training comes together. The students go on a three-day “real-world” scenario. They plot targets on maps, request aircraft for close air support using assigned call signs and work convoy procedures. The instructors have set up improvised explosive devices to make sure the students are moving in teams, keeping guard and helping each other as a team. </p>
<p>After graduation, the next step is attending Air Force survival school. A select few will then move on to Army basic airborne school. All the graduates then move onto their assignments at a Army combat maneuver unit. These units can vary from airborne infantry, mechanized or heavy armor tanks. For the next two to three years, they’ll be in training to eventually become joint terminal attack controllers or JTACs. After that, a TACP can try out for assignments where they would be attached to Army special forces teams and Ranger units their training in combat" said Tech. Sgt. James Zagorsky, Det. 3, 342nd TRS instructor supervisor. “It’s important they learn to do this right.”</p>