Deliberate path ahead for Airmen

  • Published
  • By Sheila Boozell
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
New co-chairs assumed their leadership positions as the Enlisted Force Development Panel met at the Pentagon Aug. 5.

Daniel R. Sitterly, the force development director for the deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Roy, are now steering the panel, which is chartered to guide enlisted force development.

"I thank Chief Roy for co-chairing this important panel with me," Mr. Sitterly said." While there are differences between the officer, enlisted, and civilian force development panels, they all share the common theme of 'deliberate' force development."

Mr. Sitterly has served the Air Force in all three Airman roles: enlisted, officer and now as a civilian member of the senior executive service.

Chief Roy, recognizing the panel's efforts to date, also expressed his expectations.

"I would like to see this panel set its sights on strategic-level issues," he said. "We need to think five, 10, even 15 years down the road, and holistically address how the Air Force will develop the Airman of the future."

The full panel meets three to four times per year, while its working groups tackle specific issues throughout the year. They examine all three areas of the force development construct: education, training and experience, looking for opportunities to further develop enlisted Airmen.

Professional military education has been the primary focus for the past several months, with special emphasis on capacity and timing issues.

"The work of this body in taking a deliberate approach to force development will be observable and appreciated ten to thirty years from now," Mr. Sitterly said.

Panel members include Maj. Gen. Stephen Miller, the commander of the LeMay Center at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala., and chief master sergeants from around the Air Force.

For information about all of the total force development visit the Air Force portal home page at https://www.my.af.mil, and select Force Development under the Life and Career tab.