Establishing a Communications Officer Force Development Program

Abstract

Senior Air Force leaders tout its Airmen as its most important asset. Nonetheless, Airmen take a back seat to acquisition programs, Battle Dress Uniform redesigns, and fitness uniform procurement. In 2003, the Air Force launched the force development program, and yet it still has not produced the momentum and results emphasized in the worldwide fan-fare in 2004. Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 1-1, "Leadership and Force Development" doctrine explicitly outlines the underlying themes of force development: experience, skills, training, education, and performance feedback. However, the Air Force has not instituted the structure, supplied the resources, or mandated the governance to make the program a success. Yet, in every sight picture, senior briefing, leadership articles, flight plans, and transformation plan, people constantly read about how force development is transforming the Air Force and its people. This is not the case, as there is a disparity between force development strategy and intent as well as the implementation and execution of the program. The program, as a whole, is not working in today's Air Force. To illustrate the deficiencies, the author has dissected the communications officer force development initiatives and developed actions for leadership to take to implement a Communications Officer Force Development Program. The program encompasses career field strategy, career field management, competencies management, development processes, and metrics. The result is a fully comprehensive career field program that institutes force development concepts outlined in AFDD 1-1. This research paper uncovers critical deficiencies with the communications career field force development initiatives as well as the Air Force's program, and proposes a blueprint for the Communications Officer Force Development Program.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA453981

Entities

People

  • Brian J. Jenrette

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Information Systems
  • Knowledge Management
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).