Agency makes civilian development a priority Published June 19, 2009 By Danny Warren AF ISR Agency Manpower and Personnel LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The Air Force is paying more attention than ever to civilian career development, enhancement and expanding various developmental opportunities. The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency understands the direct correlation between civilian career development and mission success, and is strengthening its focus on growing ISR civilian leaders. There are a number of training and education opportunities sponsored by either the Air Force or its ISR Agency that civilians can use to posture themselves for future leadership positions. The Civilian Developmental Education Program is among these Air Force-sponsored opportunities. According to Air Force Personnel Center officials, the development and leadership opportunities offered by the CDE program are designed to prepare future leaders with the skills to meet both corporate Air Force and functional leadership requirements. This program is divided into intermediate developmental education and senior developmental education. Schools include the Air War College, the Air Command and Staff College, the Air Force Institute of Technology, the Harvard School of Government, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Air Force Legislative Fellows Program. During the past five years, the Air Force ISR Agency has had 28 high-potential civilians nominated to attend, and 15 selected for a 53 percent selection rate. IDE and SDE are offered through the annual CDE call, but that's not all. Several AF-wide calls are advertised during the year with the same intent, preparing future civilian leaders. These calls include in-residence programs such as the Air and Space Basic Course, Squadron Officer School, the Air Command and Staff College Distance Learning Master's Program and the National Defense Intelligence College, formerly known as the Joint Military Intelligence College. Each of these programs and schools targets specific grades, and most importantly, provides civilians the same experience and knowledge as their military counterparts. During the past few years, Air University selected six agency civilians to attend SOS, a 38 percent selection rate. In 2008, the Air Force opened the ACSC Distance Learning Master's Program to civilians, allowing graduates of the 24-month program to earn a Master of Operational Art and Science degree while completing intermediate-level Professional Military Education. In 2009, one agency individual has been selected and will begin the courses in October. Air Force ISR Agency-sponsored programs include tuition assistance, the Command Intern Program and various training opportunities. Tuition assistance, officially known as the Civilian Tuition Assistance Program, offers civilian employees funds to pursue their post-secondary academic goals. This program pays for accredited college courses related to job or mission requirements. The AF ISR Agency will pay 100 percent of the tuition up to $750 per course and up to $4,500 per fiscal year. Since CTAP started, the agency has paid for more than 500 undergraduate and graduate level courses, benefiting more than 150 agency civilians each fiscal year. For civilians already attending college, there's the Command Intern Program. Since its inception in 1998, this dual-tier program has focused on technical, intelligence and professional developmental positions at entry-grade levels. Its participants can be stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas; Langley AFB, Va.; Patrick AFB, Fla., or Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. While in tier one, CIP allows individuals to work during school breaks to hone certain skill sets. Upon graduation, they're appointed, non-competitively, to a permanent over-hire position and enter into tier two, where they're placed on a formal training plan and eventually into a permanent billet. Thirty-seven have graduated the program. Sixteen are serving as command interns across the enterprise. Training, both mandatory and mission essential, is also a significant ingredient in developing the civilian force. Common mandatory training includes the New Employee Orientation, the Air Force Supervisor Course and the Civilian and Military Personnel Management Courses. Each year an average of 135 employees attend the New Employee Orientation, 80 attend the Air Force Supervisor Course and 170 employees attend the Civilian and Military Personnel Management Courses. Meanwhile, mission-essential training is anything job related that provides the needed tools or skill sets to perform a particular job. Approximately 1,200 civilians have completed some type of mission essential training in 2009. To ensure there is an overall goal or plan in place, the agency, the upcoming conversion to the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System will mandate the use of Individual Development Plans, which are action oriented and focused on specific career goals. The IDP will include well-defined activities directly tied to performance objectives. An IDP will help posture civilians who want to take on additional responsibilities in leadership positions. Maj. Gen. Bradley Heithold, the Air Force ISR Agency commander, has made developing and caring for ISR professionals one of his key tenets. That focus will continue to be a high priority as the enterprise grows its civilian leaders.