Education benefits Airman, Air Force

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Sandy Richardson
  • 60th Equipment Maintenance Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Airmen give the United States Air Force its source of power.

Power can be achieved through physical and mental strength. Physical fitness training is important to maintain strength and education is needed to maintain a smart force. In addition, education provides an immediate benefit to the Air Force and there are benefits for the individual Airman as well.

The benefits to the Air Force include innovation and a clearer understanding of current initiatives. Innovation can be as big as the design of the next generation aircraft or a new way to utilize our current equipment. Innovation within a flight or section can also simplify and improve the way of life for the people who work there.

The corporate Air Force is dynamic and constantly introducing new concepts as well.

For example, quality and variation of production can be fully understood through the concepts of six sigma for an automated process and four sigma for a manual process. The concept of increasing efficiency (Air Force Smart Operations 2 for the 21st Century) was formally accepted in the Air Force nearly 15 years ago as a means to eliminate waste and focus on value. Another concept gaining recognition is visual work place, where everything has its place and processes are depicted visually instead of verbally.

The personal benefits include marketability, high salary and dual applications. First, a formal education improves personal marketability because of the increased breadth of knowledge. In high school, everyone is taught basically the same subjects. College courses allow a focused education on a single subject employers value. Additionally, formal education typically shows an employer the applicant has the discipline to finish a project. Second, higher education typically means a higher salary. The educated person is perceived as a higher value to corporation and a corporation is more willing to pay a higher salary. Finally, the basic concepts of higher education can be applied at work and home. An elective in cost analysis can also help build a framework for home finances.

Education can be achieved through formal or informal programs. Formal education is achieved through colleges, universities and trade schools. Since these schools can be expensive in terms of time and money, it's important to identify goals and expectations before enrollment. A great resource is the base education office.

On the other hand, there are opportunities with an informal program. An informal program is as simple as reading a group of books on a single overarching subject. A good starting point is the base library.

Education is a continual process which extends well beyond high school. While the Air Force has an aging fleet of aircraft, smart Airmen are keeping these aircraft in the air and optimizing their performance every day. That is why smart, educated Airmen are a big part of the Air Force slogan, "Above All."