Deployed airman attacks educational dreams

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Ellen Kowalchuk
  • Air Force Institute of Technology Public Affairs
Most airmen serving overseas supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom use their spare time catching up on sleep or writing to loved ones back home. But one sergeant kept education as a priority in his busy schedule.

Master Sgt. Craig Pate is the first student to complete an Air Force Institute of Technology distance learning certification program while deployed overseas.

The institute offers technical professional continuing education to servicemembers across the Department of Defense. Pate began taking several professional continuing education courses through the school’s Software Professional Development Program while at his home station of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. In the midst of his educational courses, he was deployed to Southwest Asia for OIF. Overseas since March, Pate has successfully completed a monthlong course on software testing, part of an 11-course series in software engineering and management skills.

The program has transformed from in-residence short courses to satellite distance education and now to Internet-based distance education. The educational possibilities are practically endless, said AFIT officials. Students are no longer tied to satellite downlinks at education centers on military installations. They can take courses wherever they are or whenever they need them, an advantage that allowed Pate to take a software course even while deployed.

The continuation of Pate’s education while deployed was possible because of off-the-shelf Internet streaming equipment and a Web-based learning management system.

“Thanks to this new broadcast method, AFIT students may now take professional continuing education classes anywhere, anytime, whether at the office, home, (on temporary duty), or even deployed,” said Maj Brian Hermann, a faculty member. “Due to the diverse duty situations of our students, flexibility is key, and these tools offer us that flexibility.”

Besides allowing more flexibility in reaching students, the move to Internet streaming has also saved AFIT 95 percent of its former satellite broadcast costs, said officials. Students no longer require videotapes when missing a lesson; they can simply watch online at their convenience.

“AFIT’s use of the latest technology will continue to make education easier for the troops,” said Pate.