Feedback from survey to improve civilian leadership development Published April 23, 2003 By Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- A sampling of Air Force civilians in the grades of GS-12 through GS-15 have received and completed the civilian long-term training survey via e-mail in recent days.The 12-question survey, which is being distributed through April 25, is an opportunity for people to express their thoughts or concerns about the civilian competitive development program, according to Bill Swigert, chief of civilian education and training at the Pentagon.The CCDP, designed to meet the long-term civilian leadership needs of the Air Force, prepares selected civilians for increased responsibility and leadership, Swigert said.It does so by offering highly qualified civilians the opportunity to attend in-residence professional military education, graduate-level programs in management and policy, and the Department of Defense executive leadership development program and excellence in government fellows program.Although the Air Force does well matching civilians to these positions, there are often too few nominees to select a pool of alternates, Swigert said."At times, we've had to leave some of these positions open when our primary has been unable to attend a course or program," he said. "This survey will help us identify our people's knowledge of the CCDP and whether any roadblocks exist that discourage more people from taking advantage of this great program."A former CCDP participant himself, Swigert said the experience not only broadened his knowledge of the Air Force mission and history but also let him interact with military officers."It gave me a greater understanding and appreciation of (the military) component of the total force," he said.According to Swigert, the program also benefits his military counterparts."Many (of the officers) I attended PME with never worked closely with civilians before," he said. "This gave me the opportunity to shed some light on what we, as civilians, contribute to the Air Force mission. The program brought our two cultures together to learn from each other."Survey recipients are asked to complete their survey within two weeks of receiving it, as the goal is to compile the data and give it to senior civilian Air Force leaders by the end of May.Because of the importance of the program, Swigert said he urges commanders to encourage their civilian workers to take advantage of professional development opportunities just as they do with company grade officers. The call letter for nominations for 2004 will be issued sometime in May.Roger M. Blanchard, assistant deputy chief of staff for personnel at the Pentagon, said the survey will help ensure the continued effectiveness of the civilian competitive development program "to prepare our civilians to be future Air Force leaders.""Developing our future civilian leaders is critical to the Air Force," Blanchard said. "We're asking our people for their feedback (through the survey) to get a better understanding of their wants and needs to improve our force development efforts."