Officer’s school changes recognition program

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MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFPN) --  The Air Force leadership school for company grade officers has changed the way it recognizes its graduates who excel in all facets of the curriculum.

Squadron Officer School, which has been educating company grade officers for more than 50 years, has implemented a new Top Third Graduate Award.

Effective with Class 04C, which began Feb. 23, the new award replaces the long-standing distinguished graduate program that was used for most of the school's history.

The decreasing length of the course is one reason for the change, said Col. Jonathan Klaaren, SOS commandant.

Over the years, the length of SOS has gone from 14 weeks down to its current five weeks. With the shortened course, SOS leaders said they believed the distinguished graduate program carried disproportionate promotion and intermediate developmental education selection weight, the colonel said.

"The Top Third Graduate Award still identifies top performers, but on a broader spectrum," he said. "This change also de-emphasizes individual recognition, supports SOS's team-building approach and is in line with other Air Force professional military education programs."

The Top Third Graduate Award is based on each student's leadership performance score. Flight commanders evaluate each student in the areas of leadership, team building, problem solving, communication skills and physical conditioning. These evaluations, along with peer recognition and the student's performance in academic testing, comprise the leadership-performance score.

The students who score in the top 33 percent of the class will be award winners. Previously, up to 10 percent of graduates were recognized as distinguished graduates.

Graduates' records will carry the distinction between the two awards. For the 2004 and 2005 promotion boards to major, board members will be made aware of the change during the preliminary practice scoring sessions, Colonel Klaaren said.

"The (Air Force Form 475) education and training report will now indicate that there isn't a DG program," he said. "Also, for the remainder of fiscal 2004, the reports will have a line in the 'comments' section stating that the DG program was replaced by the Top Third Graduate award. These actions will ensure promotion board members are aware of the distinction as they score records."

SOS will continue to recognize flights that achieve success in academic testing, problem solving, field leadership and overall performance. Individual recognition can also be achieved by being selected as a flight outstanding contributor or through the student-voted Lieutenant Clebe McClary "Together Everyone Achieves More" Award. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)