Force development changes, opportunities: Let’s empower our Enlisted force

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Terry Goines
  • 301st Fighter Wing Command Chief Master Sgt.
NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas --  Empowering our Airmen is central to the wing's fiscal year 2015 vector check.  How can we equip our Airmen to become leaders? By mentoring. Effective mentoring is the key that unlocks the successful development of our Enlisted force.  Understanding the tools at your disposal will aid you and your Airmen in this development.

Late last year, the Air Force made four significant changes to the Enlisted Force Development.

· Airman Comprehensive Assessments (ACA) replaced the old feedback forms. Feedback can empower Airmen to move in a particular direction and facilitate the mentoring process. Remember, your Airmen should know where they stand before receiving their performance report. Timely feedback is always imperative to ensure your troops are on the right path and stay on it.

· A new Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) format is available. This format now helps clearly identify our top performances and those deserving a promotion.  Please contact the Manpower and Personnel Flight for additional information regarding the implementation and guidelines.

· Professional military education has incorporated a blended learning approach for the Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA) and Senior NCOA.  It now combines distance-learning with in-residence to deliver high-quality education.  Airman Leadership School and the AFRC NCO Leadership Development Course have also undergone changes to facilitate the learning process.  There's a limited quota for in-residence PME so please encourage your personnel to apply as soon as possible.  Check with wing training for additional PME guidance.

· A Community College of the Air Force degree is now required for E-8 and E-9 promotions.  The requirement has been incorporated into AFI 36-2502, Enlisted Airman Promotion/Demotion Programs.

There are other Reserve-centric force development tools available to assist us in empowering our Airmen - Reserve Enlisted Development Plan (R-EDP), Enlisted Development Education Board (EDEB) and Air Force Reserve Stripes for Exceptional Performers II (STEP II), formerly known as Promotion Enhancement Program (PEP).

The R-EDP is a tool where members identify short -, mid-, and long-term career goals. Those Airmen receive feedback and mentoring from their rater and rater's rater regarding those goals. Drew Brees, the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, once said, "Each and every year I feel like I've gotten a little bit better and that's always been my goal, was just to get a little bit better." Start getting a little bit better today. Identifying your goals and receiving feedback are two ways you can measure where you are toward achieving your career goals.  Completing your R-EDP is one of the necessary steps for meeting the E-8/E-9 and Functional Development Team (DT) boards. The boards establish a key personnel list (KPL) identifying top performers within functional areas across the Command. Hiring authorities use the KPL to fill key billets at the unit and MAJCOM levels.

EDEB is another way we can invest in our Airmen. Applications are used to apply for Sister Service Academies and other leadership courses beyond the required PME. This serves as additional leadership training opportunities for top performers.

Last, we have STEP II. This tool enables supervisors to submit packages for top performers who are limited in their promotion opportunities due to the grade of the position they occupy.  Top performers will compete at the MAJCOM level for promotion to the next higher grade. For the past several years, stripes have gone unclaimed for the grades of E-6 and E-7 due to the limited number of submissions from the wings. If you have top performers you would like to submit for STEP II start working those packages NOW! The Wing STEP II board is slated for May.

Talk with your Chiefs, First Sergeants or subject matter experts in the Force Support Squadron for addition information about these Force Development Tools.

Remember, it is not only supervisors who enable Airmen. Everyone must be proactive in managing his or her career, because "Force Development" is not "Forced Development."