Barnes Center single voice for enlisted education

  • Published
  • By Staff. Sgt. Brannen Parrish
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) --  Nearly one year ago, Air University officials embarked upon housing all Air Force enlisted professional military education under a single command at the Thomas E. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education here.

The sweeping venture brought the Air Force First Sergeants Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, the Community College of the Air Force, Enlisted Professional Military Education, the Enlisted Heritage Research Institute and the NCO Academies in the continental United States to the Maxwell-Gunter Annex.

The result is a center that speaks with a single voice for enlisted education highlighting Air University's continued commitment in developing a professional enlisted force capable of meeting the Air Force's needs.

"The great thing about the Barnes Center is not only do you have enlisted PME, but you have CCAF educating the enlisted force, helping every Airman better themselves," said Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Young, NCO Academy commandant at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. "You also have the Air Force First Sergeants Academy which trains first sergeants to support and take care of those Airmen."

Chief Young said the Barnes Center affects officers as well as enlisted.

"Ultimately our customers are the commanders who expect us to train and develop professional Airmen and NCOs to go out, do their jobs and accomplish the mission. I tell all of my classes, 'This has made you better, but you are going to take what you've learned here and make others better.' A class of 100 students has the potential to go out and transform thousands."

In the past year, the academies at the Barnes Center engaged in several initiatives that will impact the Air Force. The Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academyresponded to the Air Force's increased emphasis on physical fitness by revising the lesson plan for physical training and developing a fitness program for injured Airmen. The initiative, known as Condition Limited, creates workouts for Airmen with medical profiles.

"The bottom line is we lean forward," said Chief Master Sgt. Shelia Knox, the acting Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy commandant. "The Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy is a big part of implementing Air Force physical training standards."

Last summer, the Gunter NCO Academy rewrote the case studies used by NCO academies throughout the United States. The narratives are populated with dynamic characters whose personality types contribute to real-life scenarios. Students learn to apply the knowledge gained during the course and develop critical thinking skills in the process.

"During the summer break, we took the old case studies and redeveloped the characters," said Senior Master Sgt. Paul Mitchell, Gunter NCO Academy acting director. "The feedback we received during the testing stage was overwhelmingly positive."

The educational curriculum cadre approved the material for implementation last September, and NCO academies around the country incorporated it into their curriculum.

The Community College of the Air Force recently graduated its first class of students in the Air University Associates to Baccalaureate Cooperative program and began the General Education Mobile program, allowing students to earn their general education credits more quickly by through a single school.

CCAF currently partners with seven civilian schools in the program.

The First Sergeants Academy graduated its first international student, Warrant Officer Jay McLaren of the Canadian air force, in April. That initiative is one example of how the First Sergeants Academy accomplishes the second of the "broad priorities" outlined by Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz -- "Partner with the joint and coalition team to win today's fight."

Each Barnes Center organization continues developing innovative ideas that will ultimately impact every participant in the total force. But the transition under a single command has not been without its challenges.

Seeing the potential for synchronizing many of the organization's functions, Col. Charles Johnson, Barnes Center commander, recently called for an offsite meeting with 25 senior leaders from the schools recently.

"I felt like we had different processes occurring in the three organizations that came together to become the Barnes Center. They were all great organizations and still are. I believe the operational readiness inspection last fall and the recent SACS Accreditation visit validated that fact," said Colonel Johnson. "However, I felt that communication flow and the potential to build on various synergies between the organizations could improve enlisted education across the board."

Tyndall AFB NCO Academy participants in Florida developed a plan to streamline processes and enhance the center's ability to accomplish its mission. Offsite participants were selected for their expertise in one of the five functional areas including technology, finance, facilities, organization and personnel or force development. By the final day the team hammered out a plan that will allow the Barnes Center to be a more effective and efficient developer and disseminator of Enlisted PME.

"We were able to chart milestones in the five areas we reviewed," Colonel Johnson said. "Additionally, we were able to tie those milestones into our Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map. This approach allows us to review our milestones and check progress in each of the five areas."

Some key initiatives resulting from the offsite include championing enlisted heritage, developing partnerships with other academic institutions and conducting institutional research. Using technology to deliver Enlisted Professional Military Education is another area that will receive increased focus.

"The Barnes Center is moving along with the university to develop distance learning courses," said Jeff Geidner, the educational programs cadre for Enlisted Professional Military Education dean. "One of the initiatives that came out of the offsite is a more focused effort on the development and delivery of distance learning and the development of Barnes Center staff to be more effective in their roles as instructors and curriculum developers."

Colonel Johnson said the offsite will have a lasting effect upon enlisted education and Enlisted Professional Military Education.

"I think the result of the offsite is that we will push Air Force Enlisted PME to a higher level, and allow the leadership teams who follow us to raise the bar even more," he said. "The bottom line is building enlisted education that more effectively trains, educates and graduates America's enlisted Airmen in skills and competencies that enhance their ability to accomplish the Air Force mission."