Commander selections get boost

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  The latest 503 officers selected as support commanders highlights a new way of identifying future commanders using force development, said Air Force Personnel Center officials here.

"Squadron commanders are the heart and soul of the Air Force and support command is a prestigious leadership position," said Col. Nellie Riley, chief of mission support officer assignments at the AFPC.

That is one reason for a push to make vacancies known both to officers who may want to become commanders and to the new development teams responsible for vectoring support officers' careers, she said.

Included in this year's list are names of those selected to command recruiting and training squadrons as well as those selected to command other support squadrons. Hiring authorities will continue to make final selections to fill specific support squadron command jobs, selecting primarily from a consolidated list of candidates identified by command screening boards.

"Recruiting and training squadrons are a vital part of the support force,” Colonel Riley said. “Consolidating the entire list of support commanders selected shows that all of these commander jobs are important developmental assignments. Some of these other command positions are a real option for our officers' career development that they may not have been aware of previously."

Recruiting and training squadron command screening boards have traditionally taken place at Air Education and Training Command. But using force development, the Air Force is retooling the process to identify strong support commander candidates across-the-board.

"Next year, recruiting and training commander selections will be incorporated into the Air Force's overall support squadron commander selections held here," the colonel said. "This is part of the overall effort to better allow development teams the opportunity to vector the right officers to these challenging command positions at the right time."

Selected officers will command logistics, security forces, civil engineer, communications-information, services, mission support, contracting, financial management, recruiting and training squadrons beginning this summer. A consolidated list of selected officers is available online at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/dpas/CY04SprtSqCCList.htm. (Courtesy of AFPC News Service)