I'm aware - we use Hawk T1 still on our side of the pond. But the guys on the course at Nellis could well have just come from a few months doing CAS over Iraq and Syria. I'm not a patch-wearer (QWI over here) but I imagine their course starts in a similar way to ours; the ability to max-perform your aircraft, and do (and more importantly be able to brief/instruct/debrief) the basics to an excellent standard before you move on to the advanced warfighting bits...