911 officers, civilians selected for developmental education Published Nov. 14, 2013 By Debbie Gildea Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) -- More than 800 officers and 111 civilians were selected for intermediate and senior developmental education by the 2013 Developmental Education Designation Board which convened here Nov. 4, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced today. Despite the government shutdown that delayed board by a month, results were tallied and released within the timelines announced in March. Go to http://www.afpc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-131114-065.pdf to see the selectee list. "Developmental education helps develop strategic leaders who are able to train, equip and lead the force through the challenges ahead. As a result, selection is a very competitive and deliberate process," said Lt. Col. Calvin Daniels, the AFPC developmental education/force development branch chief. This year, the process was even more complex than in years past because the Developmental Education team faced an intermediate developmental education or IDE "bow wave," Daniels said. This year, 6,337 eligible officers were considered for 497 slots. "We had 28 percent more people eligible for IDE consideration than in previous years, and 16 percent fewer seats because of reduced funding over the past few years," Daniels said. "To overcome the bow wave, the Air Force sharply reduced the number of candidates that functional communities could vector to one candidate per development team. As a result, instead of sending more than 150 candidates to school, the Air Force will send 24." The "bow wave" situation -- driven by fiscal restraints that limit the number of seats available -- is expected to affect IDE selections for the next two years, the colonel added. Civilian Airmen are also selected for IDE and senior developmental education, or SDE, based on their potential to help guide the Air Force toward mission accomplishment, said Loretta Brown, the AFPC Civilian Force Integration Directorate leadership development branch chief. "Intermediate and senior developmental opportunities are critical to ensure civilian leaders are fully-integrated in leadership and decision-making teams," Brown said. Selection for civilian IDE and SDE slots is also very competitive, she added, explaining that 68 primary candidates and 43 alternates were selected out of 200 candidates. "While the civilian workforce was challenged with furlough and sequestration, there was a 17 percent increase in applications from last year," Brown said. Airmen selected for IDE and SDE will attend advanced training and senior leader development programs including Air War College, the Executive Leadership Development Program and more. For more information about the annual DEDB selection process and other personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.