What's gained in professional military education?

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. James Duke
  • 60th Civil Engineer Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Why do professional military education?  Martin Luther King Jr. once wrote, "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." 

Part of the Air Force culture is to continue our education and achieve those milestones that are commiserate with our rank.

For officers, the standard path of increasing our professional Military Education is Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and Air War College. These are typically done either by correspondence or by going to the school in-residence. 

Other opportunities to achieve these include attending sister service schools as well as some fellowships to foreign countries service schools.

Enlisted also have a set path for obtaining military education commiserate with their ranks. Senior airmen begin with Airmen Leadership School where they hone their initial leadership/supervisory training.  This is followed by NCO Academy and culminates in Senior NCO Academy. 

While these various schools/courses train us for follow-on increased levels of responsibility, there are many other good reasons to continue our education outside of this structured system.  The Community College of the Air Force is an excellent way to partner your skill knowledge with courses that tie into a degree field.  By getting this education, you show that you are not only interested in increasing your personal knowledge, but that you also are interested in helping your team to be the best it can be.

For officers, advanced degrees are not required until you are meeting an O-6 board. 

However, this should not dissuade you from looking for opportunities to increase your education.  As a graduate of the Air Force Institute of Technology, I encourage my officers to look into it as a possible follow-on assignment due to the fact that you can get your advanced degree by going full time as opposed to after hours.  I extend that encouragement to any career field that has an opportunity to attend AFIT. 

While I was attending AFIT in 2003, they opened up the school to senior NCOs.  I welcomed this additional opportunity to allow the enlisted corps to obtain some of the same skills as officers.  Those graduating senior NCOs may run bigger sections than most of the officers coming out of AFIT.  There are also numerous educational classes that any military can attend at AFIT or any number of classes through the education center.  The key is to get out there and try to better yourself.

Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."  You should never stop learning.  I say this not from a military leader perspective, but from a human perspective.  Furthering your education opens up more doors of opportunity, whether it is in the military or after you separate.
 
There are many programs available to help you pay for this education.  It's just a matter of you taking that first step for self-improvement.  Nobody else can increase your education other than yourself.  So what are you waiting for?