Experts and Leaders: AFGSC A9 and the business of professional development

Published April 5, 2016
By Joe Thomas
Air Force Global Strike Command

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- “If we should have to fight, we should be prepared to do so from the neck up instead of from the neck down.”

This quote from Doolittle Raider and former Eighth Air Force Commander, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle speaks to the importance of professional development – whether it’s increasing the competence of Airmen or their ability to lead. Either way, Air Force Global Strike Command’s Innovation, Analyses and Leadership Development (otherwise known as A9) shoulders the responsibility of keeping AFGSC on the leading edge of deterrence by honing and sharpening the skills of “Strikers” who provide assurance and deterrence for the nation and its allies the world over.

“Our wish is that we develop high-quality Airmen who will lead with confidence and a skillset that is largely unmatched,” said Brig. Gen. Christopher Skomars, A9 director. “AFGSC’s mission requires this and it’s our responsibility as a directorate to provide it.”

Their efforts in this area began with a no-holds-barred approach to leadership development, with the implementation of the Leadership Enhancement Course. The men and women of A9 looked at traditional leadership courses, scratched more traditional practices and created a curriculum that forced Airmen to take an introspective approach at their own ability to lead. The result – Airmen leave with a more effective leadership style that is tailored to their personality and skillset, according to A9 staff.

“Providing this targeted opportunity for personal and professional growth fulfills a critical developmental need for our Airmen,” said Maj. Mike Green, A9 Leadership Enhancement Course Instructor. “It demonstrates the ‘all-in’ mentality of the command to foster the innovative culture required to lead our organization to an amazing future.”

So far, A9 has hosted the course on a near monthly basis, reaching 180 company grade officers, with a threshold of 35 students per class. It is designed for junior officers who are in, or entering, their first formal leadership position. A9 is beginning to include enlisted and civilian force in these classes.

The directorate also offers a Squadron Commander’s Course three months out of the year, educating new commanders on all-things global strike. This course helps first-time squadron-level commanders embrace their new positions with the knowledge and understanding they’ll need to succeed in a new command.

However, efforts in this area are not limited to this course alone. A9 also owns SANDS, the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies, which is an Intermediate Development Education course designed to grow experts in the nuclear enterprise. This year-long master’s degree program is designed to create masters of the nuclear enterprise, according to A9 staff.

During the program, students take classes in research design, operations management, leadership and weapons effects among other topics. Given the array of material to be covered, students will work collaboratively with some of the best faculty at the Air Force Institute of Technology and elsewhere. These Airmen are also expected make academic contributions covering every facet of the nuclear mission – from security to maintenance to employment and every topic in between. Graduates are permanently coded with an advanced academic degree identifying them as SANDS alumni.

Other programs seek to expand professional development throughout similar career fields, creating flexibility in the command’s ability to execute the mission. One such program – Striker Vista – is on track for a summer 2016 inaugural session. Vista is a new developmental program with the intent to expose high-quality aircrew to all three bomber platforms. This three-year immersion is designed to produce leaders of breadth and depth with the tools, background and understanding of all three bomber mission sets, enabling them to lead AFGSC and the Air Force in this crucial area of the nuclear triad and conventional global strike.

The AFGSC commander selected the initial cadre through a boarded process and the selected aircrews are in the process of being notified and will PCS this summer to their new assignment.

A similar, yet far more expansive course is Striker Trident, an exchange program that places a Sailor in AFGSC, while placing an Airman in the Navy’s Submarine Forces. The program is meant to develop officers with greater expertise in the nuclear enterprise and show how the three legs of the nuclear triad — bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines –work together.

In the end, these courses work in tandem with one another to produce Airmen with the professional expertise and leadership ability to lead AFGSC into the future — where new technology and skillsets will be needed to accomplish the mission, according to A9 staff.

Note: This article is the second article in a series on the Air Force Global Strike Command’s Innovation, Analyses and Leadership Development directorate.