Air Force print news: AF unveils force development plan - In the News

WASHINGTON (Oct. 10, 2003) -- Air Force leaders are launching a spread-the-word tour in November to explain force development, a new system that transforms how the Service will train, educate, and assign people to meet mission challenges.

Teams led by major command general officers will visit every base to explain the details of this initiative and to ensure officers understand the concept, policies, and procedures.

Although the first phase of implementing force development targets processes affecting members of the officer corps, all elements--enlisted, civilian, Reserve, and Air National Guard--will eventually benefit from the force development construct, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper.

"Force development is all about getting the right people in the right job at the right time with the right skills to fight and win in support of our national security objectives, now and in the future," he said. "It will result in significant changes to our current program of officer progression."

As the chief of staff's "change agent" for force development, the Air Force Senior Leadership Management Office is leading this effort. AFSLMO officials are working with key Air Staff and Air Force Personnel Center leaders to reassess and transform how the Air Force educates, trains, and assigns the total force.

Current and future phases of this transformation will include adjustments to officer academic and professional military education and professional development processes, enlisted professional development and professional military education programs, management of senior enlisted leaders, and development of Air Force civilian employees.

According to the AFSLMO director, Brig. Gen. Richard S. Hassan, force development doctrine consists of three levels: tactical, operational, and strategic.

At the tactical level, airmen will continue to concentrate on learning primary skills.

At the operational level, airmen begin developing complementary skills and an understanding of the broader Air Force perspective. They will learn how a wide variety of individual capabilities combine to complete an organization's mission as well as the Air Force's and its joint partners'.

At the strategic level, airmen combine skills and experiences to develop a knowledge base that extends beyond the Air Force into Defense Department, interagency, and international arenas.

"This is a huge cultural shift for our institution," Hassan said. "Force development is about better development and better utilization of the total force. It also takes into account that all airmen will not necessarily need to be, or want to be developed through all three levels. We need great tactical and operational leaders in our Air Force and as the chief said, we will value each and every one of them, at all levels."

Hassan compared the force development construct to the way the Air Force fights.

"When we've gone to war we [have] thought about it in terms of doctrine--how we would employ forces," Hassan said. "For example, you don't send an [Airborne Warning and Control System] or [Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System] over enemy territory uncovered. We deploy our assets in an integrated fashion, not one at a time. But we didn't do the same thing with our people. In the current system, we think about officers and everybody else all separately, and in some cases leave them uncovered."

It is all about taking care of the Air Force's most valuable resource, Hassan said.

"What force development does is recognize their value, consider their expectations, and provide them with the right set of skills to help them be the best they can at what they do," he said.

Tech Sgt. David A. Jablonski, USAF

COPYRIGHT 2004 Defense Acquisition University Press
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group