Jumper talks force development with career field managers

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. James Brabenec
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Nearly one hundred active-duty, Guard and Reserve officer and civilian career field managers gathered at the Air Force Personnel Center here recently to discuss the future of force development.

The three-day conference included a visit from Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, who thanked the career field managers for their part in shaping a performance-based total force.

The conference brought together the Airmen who oversee and ensure the overall health of their career fields for the first time since the introduction of this program two years ago. Enlisted career field managers are still in the initial stages of force development and did not attend the conference.

"Force development is changing the way we develop our Airmen," said Col. Lee Hall, AFPC director of assignments. "Through this revolutionary new approach, we are able to move beyond the next assignment mindset and look at deliberate career path development two to three assignments into the future."

The conference informed the Airmen about force-development progress and helped refine career-planning diagrams.

These planning diagrams offer Airmen progression, enabling them to chart their progress using experiences, challenges, education and training, officials said.

However, an Airman’s progression, General Jumper said, needs to remain focused around his or her duty core competencies and reviewed during periodic evaluations.

"We need to manage the force so the bulk of that force is ready to deploy and fight at any time," he said. "That metric is how we should all grade our performance in doing our jobs."

While initially focusing on officers, the program added senior civilians. Guard and Reserve developmental teams are beginning to assess the process to manage and develop citizen Airmen’s and the skills and experiences.

"Force development is a way of doing things better and smarter," said Col. Timothy Cashdollar, chief of the force management and analysis division. "Using the program's deliberate methodology enables a smaller, high-operations tempo Air Force that's becoming even more expeditionary to best use available time and effort to develop our most valuable resource -- our people."

Developmental teams provide perspective and feedback to Airmen on career-path recommendations, officials said.

"One benefit of this program is to develop a pool of candidates from across the total force for greater leadership responsibilities," Colonel Cashdollar said. "But, everyone doesn't aspire to high-level leadership. For the pilot who just wants to fly, that's perfectly fine. This system can help communicate that expectation and chart a career path that benefits the individual and the corporate Air Force as well."

On the civilian side, force development is not a new concept. Programs have existed for decades that manage senior civilians, said Elinor Gonzales, chief of the resource management and development division. However, those programs must be more corporate and deliberate, and must be integrated across the total force, she said.

"Our goal is to provide civilians the same types of leadership challenges and developmental opportunities as their military counterparts," she said. "If we're successful, then civilians will ultimately possess the skills and experiences necessary for them to serve whenever and wherever the needs of the Air Force dictate."

Although initial programs focused mainly on senior civilians, Ms. Gonzales said the career fields are developing career paths that reach across all civilian grades. This will assist civilians in setting career goals and identifying what is needed to reach them.

The challenge in the Guard will be to provide a force-development process within its culture and to leverage civilian experience, said Col. Janet Robinson, the Guard adviser to the AFPC commander

"Our goals are the same, we just need to tweak the methodology," she said. "We have an implementation plan (and hope) to begin developmental teams this summer."

Guard officials said they plan to launch prototype developmental teams in Kentucky, Hawaii, Kansas, Texas and the District of Columbia, as well as developmental teams within the statutory tour program.

The unique military and civilian backgrounds of reservists offer challenges to the force-development process, said Col. Roxane Towner, Air Force Reserve adviser to the AFPC commander.

"Reservists, whether seasoned pilots with thousands of hours in the cockpit or aircraft mechanics with 20-plus years experience on the same aircraft, offer the Air Force a reliable resource at the tactical level," Colonel Towner said. "Force development will help us further develop our reservists to provide the Air Force the kind of Airmen it needs."

Force development enables the Air Force to build focused leadership-development skills at the tactical, operational and strategic levels in a continuous and connected approach across the total force, officials said.