ASOG 2019 Focus Area: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
This is a small ASOG post on a big tool in the average ASO’s kit. This tool is the “Post Flight Debrief.” For the senior ASOs, a debrief after an aerial remote-sensing flight is probably standard procedure. However, what if you’re new to the profession and haven’t had the exposer to this useful procedure which positively builds your knowledge from the first hour of your ASO career to 10,000 hrs. Building the discipline of debriefing every flight with your crew will only strengthen or improve your chances of success on the next go-around.
What is a debrief? In general, and from an aviation perspective, it’s the procedure of sharing and discussing information after a flight, training, or project event which leads to process improvement for both the individual and the group.
However, debriefs in many ways doesn’t get the same attention as pre-flight briefings do, unless your organization directs debriefs. If not directed, there’s a certain human habit, once your skin is back on terrafirma and safe, to overlook it and head to the parking lot and drive away. Try to build the professional habit of making serious time debriefing every flight and project. Once you get into a good rhythm of doing this, you’ll start to see the positive effects of doing debriefs.
So, with that said, what makes a good debrief? Without getting into specific line-by-line debrief items, I’ll leave that up to you regarding your specific operational needs & wants, here are the main elements of what I think makes a good debrief:
- Plan – Plan a debrief for each flight or project. Make debriefing an equal step to all the other steps in each operation. You could say the mission is not complete until the debrief is complete.
- Timing – Conduct the debrief soon after the event. Every hour and day that goes by, important details are forgotten (human nature) that could make a difference for the next go-around.
- Evaluate performance – Review the overall profile of the flight or project with a focus on purpose and objectives, what intended outcomes and outputs, what data was to be collected, who was involved and how they performed, what were the guidance and standards for the flight or project, and what were the conditions of the operation (environment, technical, bureaucratic etc.).
- Identify key events - Identify what went well and why and what can be improved on and how. Discussing and knowing what went well is just as important as what went wrong. By understanding why and how actions or equipment worked well or failed will strengthen or improve those things.
- Rules-of-Engagement (ROEs) – Last but not least, create a positive and professional atmosphere and conduct in chronological order of events. Additionally, use open‐ended questions, support self‐debriefing, point out underlying principles that lead to misconceptions/errors, use visual aids, and show alternatives. Again, concentrate on a few key learning points, and point out the good parts of the mission.
Bottomline, the debrief after a specific event or operation is a smart thing to do if you care “not” to repeat the negatives of history. Besides applying this useful concept or procedure to your ASO career, you can even apply it to your everyday life.
Fly Safe!
Author: Patrick Ryan
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