I see your point to some extent. But most of our "training" in the Herc community was very very mission specific. It was not in instrument flying skills, overwater navigation etc. We DID have local proficiency trainers but that was because when you went out and flew a 4-5 hour local tactical airdrop training mission there was very little time for co-pilot landings or logging your required instrument events. It wasnt so much learning to fly instruments as it was in keeping and honing those skills which might not get alot of use in our normal tactical training cycle. I can tell you when I worked as a wing current operations scheduler ( basically scheduled all of the wings flying for a week at a time ) that training and JAATT missions were doled out based on a squadrons need. ex. A squadron just returned from a 70 day European deployment ..ie. BRAVO SQD, this was basically a rotating deployment amongst conus c-130 squadrons that deployed to Mildenhall England and essentially flew scheduled and unscheduled airlift in Europe and the middle east. Lots of instrument flying and approaches thus that squadron would get very few profiency trainers when they got back as it was expected that the squadron was up to snuff in that area. Course in those days we did our training and checkrides in the actual aircraft so allowances were made for that but I think you see the reasoning.

I do see your point as it relates to continuing training as a young pilot is new in the squadron, and in a fighter squadron I would agree that much of his or her flying would be that way. But in a 130 transport squadron, there was some of that but not tons of it...EXCEPT for airdrop training and tactical airland training.... that was a totally different ball of wax.

Let me clarify something. I do not know how I personally feel about ab-into programs, but I do think they could be effective given the correct training environment.