Development teams up, running

  • Published
  • By Maj. John J. Thomas
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Every officer career field now has development teams set up to “vector” officer career development.

"They're up and running," said Col. Kathleen Grabowski, chief of assignment policy at the Air Force Personnel Center here. "They're applying a great deal of collective officer career experience to each Air Force Specialty Code and provide vectors to individual officers."

That feedback will be posted in the “Development Team” block on officers' online officer development plans, currently called the t-ODP, which replaced the former preference worksheet.

"Not all career fields are the same size and therefore not all officers will get the same type of scrutiny at every stage of their careers," Colonel Grabowski said. "Smaller career fields, with fewer jobs available may give individual feedback to captains, while some bigger career fields will find it more effective to give vectors only to majors and above, and to let assignments officers work the details of other officers' jobs directly with the individual and guided by the career planning diagram.

"These teams are the linchpin of force development." Colonel Grabowski said. "They will try to identify needs of the career field, and available training and educational opportunities, and set-up a plan that assignments officers can use to match the right person to the right job at the right time."

Each specialty code was represented when development teams convened for the first time this fall, meeting the deadline set by the chief of staff last year, said Col. Dave Nuckles, deputy chief of assignment programs and procedures.

"The development teams are all in the process of setting up the frequency and location of future meetings, depending on what best suits each career field," Colonel Grabowksi said.

One of their first tasks was to determine appropriate developmental vectors for officers completing commander tours and officers finishing developmental education programs, Colonel Nuckles said. Future DT meetings will also address officers who are projected to move during their normal assignment cycles.

Under force development, Air Force officials are seeking to build pools of experienced people to be ready to fill important jobs at each level across the Air Force. Development teams chart typical career paths and give officers feedback about what jobs, education and training will help them develop the capabilities to prepare them for future Air Force assignments.

Most teams consist of the career field manager, various colonels from within the career field community and an assignment officer from the personnel center. Not necessarily the same people will meet each time.

"Although there are some 'core' members of every DT, membership should be flexible enough to ensure the right leaders are present for each meeting," Colonel Grabowski said.

So far, most teams are still organizing and focusing on logistical processes and parameters for how and to whom they will give guidance.

"As always, it's more of an art than a science,” she said. “And we've gotten positive feedback from the teams that they are pleased to have the latitude to mold their DT processes to their career field as needed." (Courtesy of AFPC News Service)