I spent the July-October training season as the XO for DCAF's 335th and co-designed the curriculum and training schedule with the leadership team. I have to say I am incredibly proud of the squadron this year, having pushed up the standards they were already exceeding previously. I have spent the last 3 years in DCS looking for the most performative and immersive experiences that virtual milsim groups in the DCS World community can offer, having specifically gone out of my way to develop relationships with other large groups in the search for an elite experience.
I can confidently say that DCAF's 335th FS holds the most detailed, comprehensive, and immersive set of curriculum and standards that I have seen from any DCS group in the world.
My opinion is that DCAF's greatest strength is in its comprehensive online training library and dedicated instructor cadre. We have made it our business to take the best available information from aircrew manuals and infuse it with context and input taken from an extensively developed subject matter expert (SME) network, rendering material that is both dense in content as well as engaging with bespoke visual supplementation and an involved examination process to reinforce learning development. Our IP crew is not only experienced and well-trained in instruction and teaching techniques, but is also a personable, humble, and approachable crew as well.
The virtual 335th Chiefs admin team has specialized in beyond visual range air-to-air combat tactics, having come from an F-14A-135-GR and virtual aggressor background prior to Strike Eagle release. We house ED/HB beta testers, SATAL/SATAC competitors, real world pilots/controllers, former international military service members, and some of the most dedicated military aviation enthusiasts the community has to offer, culminating into a melting pot of knowledge and dedication to the best immersive experience DCS World by Eagle Dynamics has to offer.
I am immensely proud of being involved in this project and humbled to observe DCAF in its evolution to up the ante as a premiere experience in the international military simulation community.
To provide some visual foundation to the opinions stated above, here are a few examples of the DCAF learning and operations experience taken from bits and pieces of curriculum and past gameplay: (Next Post).