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Military Hiring ConferencesOrion Military Hiring Conferences will be held at the following locations and dates:

Dates LocationMarch 3-4 Military Hiring Conference, Houston, Texas

March 3-4 Military Hiring Conference, San Diego, Calif.

March 4-5 Distinguished Military Hiring Conference, Houston, Texas

March 4-5 Distinguished Military Hiring Conference, San Diego, Calif.

March 10-11 Military Hiring Conference, Detroit, Mich.

March 11-12 Military Hiring Conference, Raleigh, N.C.

March 24-25 Military Hiring Conference, Chicago, Ill.

March 24-25 Military Hiring Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.

March 25-26 Distinguished Military Hiring Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.

March 28-29 Military Hiring Conference, Seattle, Wash.

April 7-8 Military Hiring Conference, Dallas, Texas

April 8-9 Military Hiring Conference, Atlanta, Ga.

April 14-15 Military Hiring Conference, Norfolk, Va.

April 14-15 Military Hiring Conference, San Diego, Calif.

For more information, e-mail careers@oriontalent.com or visit http://www.oriontalent.com/jobseekers_hiringconferences.aspx.

An Orion Military Hiring Conference is a chance for veterans to be interviewed and potential employers to select the best military job seekers. Veterans attending will be prescreened, qualified, and suit-ably matched with available opportunities.

Employers can interview up to 10 candidates in a single day, all in a private and professional interview setting. Orion carefully selects its hotels to enhance its clients’ experience. The afternoon prior to interviews, employers will have the opportunity to familiarize the candidates with their company and the position(s) for which they will be interviewing (highly recommended, but not required). Throughout the conference, veterans and potential employers will receive per-sonalized attention to ensure the best in customer service, including insight on the candidates, and advice on the most effective hiring strategy. Orion’s goal is that its candidates will have completed the hiring process and accepted employer offers within 14 days of at-tending the conference.

Army Taps PEO Aviation Employees as Future Project DirectorsARMY NEWS SERVICE (DEC. 4, 2018)Four members of Program Executive Office, Aviation were among 13 Army Acquisition Corps candidates identified by a centralized selection board as future project directors.

The fiscal year 2019 and 2020 acquisition Project and Product Director (PD) centralized selection board met Aug. 6–10 at Fort Knox, Ky., and the results were announced Nov. 16. Three PEO Aviation candidates made the principal PD list while an-other was selected as an alternate.

For the FY19 cycle, Ed Gozdur and Patrick Layden were primary selects, and Craig Besaw made the list as an alternate. Shawn Gresham was a primary selectee for the FY20 cycle.

Entering its fifth year of execution, this year’s centralized selec-tion board piloted a combined PD FY19 and FY20 selection at the GS-15 level in an effort to better align the PD selection cycle with the centralized selection list (CSL) product/project manager board’s selection process.

The civilian-centric board is a high-priority talent management initiative championed by the Director, Army Acquisition Corps (DAAC). The board identifies high-performing civilians pos-sessing leadership potential to fill civilian PD positions com-mensurate with their military counterparts, ensuring the Army meets the future needs of our Soldiers.

The standard tenure for acquisition PDs is three years. The Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office, in coordination with the program executive offices, centrally manages the positions.

SPAWAR Qualifies as Project Management Institute Registered Education ProviderSPACE AND NAVAL WARFARE SYSTEMS COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS (DEC. 11, 2018)Elisha Gamboa

SAN DIEGO, Ca.—Space and Naval Warfare Systems Com-mand (SPAWAR) has qualified as a Project Management Institute (PMI) Registered Education Provider (REP) and will provide PMI REP certified training to enhance employees’ pro-fessional development and to improve project and program performance beginning in 2019.

PMI is the world’s leading not-for-profit professional member-ship association for the project, program, and portfolio man-agement profession. PMI REPs are organizations that have been approved by PMI to offer training in project management while issuing professional development units (PDUs).

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As a qualified PMI REP, SPAWAR can now offer employees the opportunity to take courses, earn certifications, and receive PDUs in the field of project management while on campus, and during working hours.

PMI REP status is only awarded to tenured, quality project management education providers that are aligned to PMI core values and mature business practices. Organizations must show that course content is consistent with PMI global standards and how courses achieve the intended learning outcomes.

Upon receiving the qualification in September 2018, SPAWAR mapped out a training implementation plan that will benefit employees and the Navy.

Beginning in 2019, SPAWAR will offer the following PMI REP courses:

• PMI Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification Training Boot Camp—A four-day course for project manag-ers looking to acquire the PMP certification focused on proj-ect manager’s ability to lead and direct projects and teams.

• PMI Agile/Scrum Workshop—A workshop designed for project managers looking to apply agile principles and prac-tices to projects.

• Project Life Cycle Fundamentals Workshop—A week-long course focused on project planning, work breakdown struc-ture, cost estimation techniques, scheduling techniques, and performance measurement.

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 27, 2018) Nga Do, left, Acquisition and Program Management Development Head, reviews meeting notes with Craig Madsen, Acquisition and Program Management National Lead and Gary Ivarson, Program Management Development Lead, prior to a meeting at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)’s Old Town Complex. SPAWAR recently achieved qualification as a Project Management Institute (PMI) Registered Education Provider (REP). PMI REP certification permits organizations to offer training in program management and issue professional development units (PDUs), which can be applied by employees to commercial program management certifications. U.S. Navy photo by Rick Naystatt

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In November, the college conducted an innovative one-week course for 32 senior Navy officials that focused on expanding senior leader thinking and decision-making abilities, and also on strengthening relationships at the flag level.

The leader-development program—called Partners in the Navy Profession, Intermediate Flag and Executive Course, or IFLEX—is expected to become an annual offering.

The intent of the course was to invest in leader development, said Peg Klein, dean of the College of Leadership and Ethics.

“There are a lot of studies in the corporate world that say that executives are more effective when they have things like men-toring and coaching, and leader development courses,” Klein said. “We wanted them to understand their role as members of the profession of arms. So much of the trust of the American people depends on their ability to lead ethically.”

The college’s Leadership and Ethics faculty conducted surveys to understand what previous flag officers said they needed.

“Our desire was for this generation of flag officers to erase those gaps,” said Klein, who is a retired rear admiral.

The inaugural course was held in November 2017. Expanding on that model, Leadership and Ethics faculty conducted the second round this year at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia.

The course was the vision of Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran, who challenged the college’s leadership fac-ulty to develop it while visiting Newport in spring 2017.

Olenda Johnson, professor in the College of Leadership and Ethics, still has the napkin on which a small group jotted down the initial ideas over dinner with Moran. It’s framed on her office wall.

The result was a course specifically intended to be uncon-ventional.

“Our framework for the course was to move them from discov-ery to disruption, to reframing, and then fortification,” Johnson said. “We deliberately designed it to engage these leaders in a way that they shift from ‘receive mode’ into thinking in an active way.”

In his email inviting the senior leaders to the event, Moran wrote, “You can expect a challenging week of disruptive en-gagement, peer interaction, facilitated discourse, and directed reflection.”

• PMI Risk Management Professional® (RMP®) Certification Preparation Workshop—A course designed to prepare stu-dents for the RMP certification exam, focused on assessing and identifying project risks, mitigating threats, and capital-izing on opportunities.

• PMI Scheduling Professional (SP)® Preparation Workshop—A course for project managers looking to acquire PMI SP certification focused on developing and maintaining project schedules.

“The quality of our training courses will both enhance the skills of our workforce and allow our workforce members to more easily obtain commercial program management certifications in addition to their government-specific Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act qualifications,” said Craig Mad-sen, SPAWAR Acquisition and Project Management compe-tency lead.

With the newly earned PMI REP qualification, SPAWAR is recognized as an organization that offers quality and effec-tive training, meeting the standards of the industry’s leading institution for project management.

Additionally, PMI REP status provides SPAWAR with access to unlimited PMI intellectual capital including: compiled survey results, special investigations, research papers in the program management field across industry, PMI databases, tools, tem-plates, and guides.

SPAWAR identifies, develops, delivers, and sustains informa-tion warfighting capabilities supporting naval, joint, coalition, and other national missions. SPAWAR consists of more than 10,000 active duty military and civil service professionals lo-cated around the world and close to the fleet to keep SPAWAR at the forefront of research, engineering, and acquisition to provide and sustain information warfare capabilities to the fleet.

For more news from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Com-mand, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/spawar/.

NWC College of Leadership and Ethics Elevates Flag, Senior-Executive Leader DevelopmentU.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PUBLIC AFFAIRS (DEC. 17, 2018)Jeanette Steele

NEWPORT, R.I.—How do you give two-star admirals and se-nior civilian executives some time and space away from their offices to think intently about leadership?

The College of Leadership and Ethics at U.S. Naval War Col-lege believes it has developed an effective approach.

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Klein, Johnson, and their colleagues were pleased to receive feedback from participants showing them that their strategy hit the mark.

Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, commander of Navy Region South-east, called the course “enlightening and thought-provoking” in a recent email.

“The course was interactive and collaborative, and provided us with the tools to take a different perspective on addressing bias, asking the unasked questions, classifying challenges, and acknowledging cognitive complexity,” Bolivar said.

Participants received a homework assignment before the workshop even began. They filled out the Hogan Leadership Forecast Assessment, which evaluates personality in terms of strengths, challenges, and motivations. Afterward, Leadership and Ethics faculty members spent 2-3 hours debriefing each participant on his or her results.

Another aspect addressed in the course was the “lonely at the top” phenomenon.

In other words, as leaders move up the career ladder, they have fewer peers around them every day who are able to provide feedback. This course made a point of introducing flag and senior executives to each other to create a network they can use later.

“When you are a two-star, who do you have frank conversa-tions with?” asked Lt. Col. Erich Kessler, who teaches in the College of Leadership and Ethics. “A lot of these people didn’t know each other until they got into the room.”

During peer-to-peer coaching sessions, “they had an oppor-tunity to just talk about things that are important to them with their peers that they can’t necessarily share with anyone else in the profession,” Kessler said.

Moran also asked the college to develop a leadership course for three-star leaders.

Known as the Advanced Flag and Executive Course, or AFLEX, that offering debuted this summer. The event took place in Potomac, Maryland, Aug. 12–15 under the title Navigating Un-charted Waters.

The College of Leadership and Ethics was established in April at U.S. Naval War College by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson. One of the college’s missions is to shape and oversee all flag officer leadership development.

More information on flag officer development is available at the College of Leadership and Ethics.

For more news from Naval War College, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nwc/.

University Courses Promote Industry EngagementDEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Public Affairs (Dec. 20, 2018)Dianne Ryder

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia—Strengthening the bond be-tween government and industry, Defense Logistics Agency managers chose 35 employees to participate in the second iteration of the two-week Insights into Industry Management Course at the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The course curriculum provides students with training in cur-rent and cutting-edge business practices, helps them recog-nize business risks and opportunities, and anticipate potential changes in private sector businesses.

The October session was added after DLA acquisition officials received positive feedback from students who attended the inaugural course in May.

“We can be pretty good at our craft, but we need to under-stand industry’s perspective to really enhance what we do,” said DLA Acquisition Director Matthew Beebe. “It’s through understanding industry that we can better position ourselves to leverage what we need [them] to do for us.”

DLA directors and major subordinate commanders nominate eligible civilians at the GS-13, -14 or -15 level who are in cur-rent acquisition-coded positions and have achieved proper certification levels. Participants also ideally have strong busi-ness, finance, or accounting background, as the curriculum and projects depend heavily on these skills.

Quality and Quantity“I thought it was one of the better courses I’ve attended with DLA,” said Robbie Mitchell, a supply systems analyst in DLA Logistics Operations. “All of the instructors and presenters were very knowledgeable—you could tell they were subject matter experts in their particular field.”Mitchell has been with DLA for 20 years and said the course provided him invaluable information.

“Most courses we attend in DLA are geared toward you un-derstanding DLA better, but this course was the opposite—it was helping you understand our industry partners better,” he said. “The way the financial analysis and accounting was used in this course was a lot different than any other [instruction].”

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Tull said getting views on how industry’s business processes might differ from the government’s practices was very helpful. “When a vendor submits a quote, we’re making an assumption that they’re [trying to] undercut another vendor, and it may not necessarily mean that,” she said. “It’s their strategy because they haven’t done business with the government and that’s a means to get in.”

Camper echoed Tull’s perspective. “When we start seeing proposals from the companies we’re dealing with, we’ll have insight into their financial stability, which then gives us insight into whether they can perform [the work required] in the con-tract,” she said. “It helps us understand how contractors may be crafting their proposals.”

Wit and WisdomThe course brought together Darden Business School faculty and guest speakers who greatly impressed students.

Camper spoke about speaker Jared Harris, who co-wrote The Strategist’s Toolkit, a book all students received.

“He was a lot of fun—it wasn’t presentation-based, it was more examining the concepts in his book, in terms of forming a strategy,” she said. Concepts in the book dealt with acquisi-tion analysis and risk analysis, both of which Camper said are particularly helpful for her job.

Guest speaker and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness David Berteau inspired Tull.

“He said we have an opportunity to create value; that we have an obligation to distribute and share,” she said. “It’s about community; looking at relationships and building them—we have so much capability and that value we create is not just ours to keep for ourselves—we have to pay it forward.”

“I thought that was profound—something we need to take a peek at.”

Group ExercisesCamper noted that instructors participated in practical exer-cises. Role-playing as vendors, students realized the myriad factors that go into pricing structures.

“The course gave us that insight into what industry is thinking about—or what elements they’re considering when they’re costing their proposals,” Camper said. “It’s not easy—that was a reality check.”

Other exercises involved students negotiating as a group of individuals with conflicting objectives.

Kenneth Abrams, planning and industrial readiness division chief with DLA Land and Maritime, has been with DLA since 2005. As a retired Navy supply corps officer, he said he tries to remain relevant. “That requires retooling. There’s a lot of change we’re faced with on a daily basis and that’s a con-stant—it’s not something you can get away from,” he said. “You’ve got to be fluid and really committed to continuous development both professionally and personally.”

Charmaine Camper, director of expeditionary contracting in DLA Joint Contingency Acquisition Support Office, also took the course and said the course should be a regular part of required contracting training. “We take the CON 360 [class] and it’s good… but this would be more applicable to us and would make us a lot better at our jobs if we understand the mechanics of the financial reports and how to cost things from an industry perspective,” she said.

Camper, who also attended the Eisenhower School, said she expected this course to be similar, but the Insight into Industry course exceeded her expectations. “It wasn’t an easy class to take because it was a heavy requirement; a lot of reading, a lot of case studies—and there were three books that were issued to us to read ahead of time,” she said.

Mitchell confirmed the course required a lot of reading, but added that it wasn’t a bad thing. “Because it was so much information, it was hard to internalize it all; to give it some thought and fully digest everything that you were taking in,” he said. “However, when you went to class the next day, [the instructors] really did a thorough job of helping you to under-stand what it was that you read and discussed in your team meetings.”

Pamela Tull, an integrative supply team chief supervisor with DLA Troop Support, confirmed the work schedule was “very rigorous.” She said whether she was interacting with groups discussing case studies or preparing for projects, it was a con-stant grind. “It was no cake walk, for sure—you really were engaged 100 percent of the time.”

Industry EmpathyTull said working in a government agency like DLA can re-semble a silo type of environment when compared with private industry.

“We really need to broaden our understanding of the business structure or models of our partners and make better decisions in who we partner with and why we partner with them,” she said. “We need to have a holistic approach [and] work more collectively with these vendors who support our industry.”

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“Each of us had our own agenda in terms of what we were try-ing to achieve in that negotiation,” Camper said. “They made it into a game, too—that’s why it was fun. For every objective you achieved, you got points.”

Students were required to discuss reading assignments and case studies in groups whose members often changed.

“It was definitely a team effort. We had… to collaborate on and come up with a definitive type of solution or a strategy on how we resolved it,” Tull said. “You could see how it was useful to have a diversified group of people because they had perspec-tives that made you look at things differently as opposed to just the way you see it in your own supply chain.”

Camper agreed with Tull’s assessment. “The best part out of the case studies is the group work, because that’s when you re-ally see DLA’s expertise,” she said. “Based on their experience and their own knowledge and training that they’ve had—we’re all able to bring our expertise into the conversation.”

Abrams said the reading assignments were necessary to pre-pare for informed discussions with fellow classmates. “The culminating project [uses] all those days of case studies, dis-cussion, and analysis that has taken place in a group setting, where we’re learning from each other to build something at the end,” he said.

Lessons Learned“It’s a challenging course… it requires you to contribute to the group work because it’s a conversation—it’s a discussion about the case studies,” Camper said. “If you’re not the type of person who’s willing to participate, it doesn’t do any good for anyone.”

Mitchell said the course material was presented in a way to make government employees think outside the box. “I know it opened up my eyes and I didn’t hear anyone who gave any type of feedback other than it was really a great course and there were a lot of benefits to it,” he said. “I’ve already told a few people I work with that when it comes around again that they should try and get into it.”

ROW 1: Tiendung Nguyen, Maria Lumanlan, Rachel Ganaway, Clare Sanchez, Sonia Kitchen-Ohl, Lori Glass, Charmaine Camper, Russell Foye ROW 2: Clevan Wilson, Ace Acevedo, Crystal Barden, Cassandra Julien, Will Smith, Pamela Tull, Sharon Croll, Robbie Mitchell ROW 3: Jim Carver, Anthony V. Sabatina, Thomas Drew, Jacqueline Trevino, Alicia Williams, Connie Carney, Jeffrey Spratt, Adrienne McGeachy, Justin Ruth ROW 4: Travis Beasley, Kenneth P. Abrams, Dan Nugent, James Harkless, Mark Dobranski, Joshua Catlin, Vanesha Marshall-Alls, David Laughlin, Travis Dunn, Jason TaylorDefense Logistics Agency photo

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The response is overwhelmingly positive, she said. “As of now, one Troop Support employee is heading to Deloitte in January and about a dozen more companies want to get involved,” Hoapili said.

The other half of the equation is receiving people into DLA from industry. “We deal with acquisition-sensitive information, so it’s a little more complicated,” Beebe said. “Fortunately, [Human Capital Initiatives] is piloting the first real exchange for the department.”

Although the programs are currently focused on the acquisi-tion workforce, Beebe said participants need not be restricted to contracting professionals.

“Our acquisition workforce is much bigger than contracting,” he said. “There can also be people who are not part of the acquisition workforce who do other things within DLA that could very much benefit from an exchange with industry in some way—an accounting professional, or human resources professional [for example].”

Finding more ways to engage with industry means a more in-depth dialogue, which Beebe hopes will result in a mutually beneficial arrangement. “That is what these multiple efforts are trying to achieve,” he said.

Over the next couple of months, calls will go out to DLA lead-ers across the enterprise to nominate individuals throughout the enterprise for these programs.

Air University’s New Leader Development Course Helps Squadron Commanders ‘Thrive’AIR UNIVERSITY PUBLIC AFFAIRS (DEC. 28, 2018)Phil Berube

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala.—Air University’s newest course will help future squadron commanders thrive—not just survive—in command positions.

Structured as a foundational course that builds on leadership experiences and education, the new Leader Development Course for Squadron Command equips potential commanders with the tools to create more “effective, adaptive, and lethal” squadrons.

To aid airmen in developing these qualities within their squad-rons, the course’s primary emphasis is to instill in them a greater mastery of the “human domain,” or people skills. Even technical skills such as personnel and budget are presented in context of a squadron commander and the impact these aspects have on squadron members and the mission.

A key takeaway for Abrams was the “decision tree,” a support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences. “In the decision tree, you consider the options [and] potential outcomes,” he said. “You’d be hard pressed to find an absolute perfect decision. You’re going to find a solu-tion that’s best among several others.”

Exploring various outcomes leads to deeper analysis and pur-suing the most desirable option, he said.

Although Abrams has recommended the course to colleagues, he cautions that DLA will only send someone they believe can give them a return on investment.

As Beebe puts it, “This needs to be a quality program. The first thing I did when I attended the closing of the UVA program was congratulate all of them for being selected,” he said.

Regarding potential candidates he noted, “This isn’t just who wants to go, this is somebody who’s viewed to be appropri-ate from whatever their role is, but also … that they are of the mindset of the talent that we want to cultivate.”

Future OpportunitiesDLA Acquisition is building on the success of its university programs—with UVA and with the University of North Caro-lina, to expand into two other pilot programs.

One program, sponsored by DoD’s Human Capital Initiatives, will be a one-for-one talent exchange between the Depart-ment of Defense and industry. “Then there’s our own internal rotation program, where we’re sending folks out to industry,” Beebe said. “Each of those is 6 months.”

Beebe expects to send six individuals out from DLA’s acquisi-tion workforce to industry for the internal program.

“[The military] services have been sending people out to in-dustry for years; we should be doing that too,” he said. “It takes a little time to set up because you have to have an ar-rangement with these companies, and we’re working off of the arrangements that the Services already have rather than crafting our own.”

Betty Hoapili, chief of acquisition workforce development, said her industry initiatives program manager, Bethanie Healey, has been working hard on all these industry-focused programs.

“It’s Beth’s initiative and dogged determination that moved these programs forward,” Hoapili said. “We asked the MSCs and J Codes who they’d like us to contact… Beth originally went out to 23 companies.”

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“Squadrons where people know their pur-pose, feel part of the team, and are trained, empowered and trusted to achieve represent our highest performing organizations,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Hosler, Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development course director. “These conditions are set by leaders who cre-ate the right kind of environment with their people. The Air Force has some of the most highly skilled technical experts in the world, but leadership experts at the squadron level are people who can unleash Air Force capa-bilities.”

The eight-day course goes to the heart of Air Force senior leaders’ vision of revitalizing squadrons by strengthening the interpersonal development of leadership teams. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein identified the need to revitalize squadrons—calling them the “beating heart of the Air Force”—as the first of his top three focus areas shortly after entering the position in 2016.

Air Force and Air University leaders started looking at the need for a leader development course following a squadron revitalization survey of nearly 20,000 total force airmen and spouses in 2017. A common theme among respondents was that the Air Force needed to pay more attention to how it de-velops its leaders.

“Airmen expressed that leadership training and development should be taking place at all levels in the Air Force, particularly at the squadrons, as this is the key point where leaders can make a tremendous impact on the mission and the airmen they lead,” said Lt. Col. Michael Harris, deputy director, Revitalizing Squadrons, Air Force Strategic Integration Group.

While the course fulfills its purpose of preparing potential commanders to lead individual airmen, it also feeds into the Air Force’s broader “continuum of learning.”

The continuum of learning is the Air Force’s approach that recognizes that airmen development is not just a function of professional military education and technical training schools, but development and learning occurs across a continuum of education, training, and experience that takes place both for-mally and informally. Air Education and Training Command is leading a series of initiatives to put learning at the center

of Air Force culture and help make it part of an airman’s daily life in the squadron. The command fully understands that the military that can aggressively continue to learn and adapt the fastest will be more lethal and ready to win the next war.

“This course is a great complement to the Air Force’s leader-ship training and development continuum,” said Harris. “It also fills a gap and recognizes that leadership, like other skills, must be developed and practiced. Leadership is not simpler, more obvious, or any less important as to require less practice than any technical skill.”

Course content is built around seminar-based discussions, practical exercises, and case studies facilitated by recently graduated squadron commanders and augmented by civilian

Brig. Gen. Ronald Jolly Sr., 82nd Training Wing commander, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, engages with students attending a panel discussion on ‘Leading the Air Force Family’ during a Leader Development Course for Squadron Command session, Nov. 5, 2018, at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Along with Jolly, the panel consisted of a wing command chief, squadron commander, and first sergeant. U.S. Air Force photo by William Birchfield

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experts in leadership as well as adjunct professors and senior mentors.

The mentors are a mix of Air Force leaders, such as retired general officers and active wing commanders and wing com-mand chiefs, said Hosler.

“In both cases,” he said, “students will have a unique oppor-tunity to engage with current or recent senior-level Air Force leaders in small seminar-sized settings where frank and open discussions about leadership and decision-making occur.”

Open and honest communication with those up and down the chain of command, building self-awareness, valuing criti-cal thinking, and aligning Air Force core values with the unit mission are important aspects of effective leadership featured in the course.

“Students can expect to learn more about themselves and their tendencies, and more importantly, know what it’s like to be the person interacting with them,” said Hosler. “Most im-portantly, they’ll learn about the extreme opportunities they’ll have to impact the Air Force and its people. We hope they’ll come away inspired to thrive in command and make a positive difference in the lives of airmen.”

Learning, however, won’t stop at the end of the eight days.

While in attendance, each stu-dent will work with an instruc-tor to create a personalized self-improvement plan and a plan to further improve leader-ship development at his or her base. The plan will then be sent to the student’s commander to continue working on develop-ment.

“We think this unique aspect has a chance to inject some energy into squadron-level learning,” said Hosler.

Course candidates are wing commander-nominated ac-tive duty, Reserve and Guard officers with nine to 16 years’ time-in-service tracking to-ward command or GS-13 ci-vilians who could fill civilian-

equivalent director positions. The ideal student is about one to three years away from their first squadron command, said Hosler. Each class will be made up of around 66 students and, with classes running year-round, have approximately 1,000 annual graduates.

OTS Restructures Program to Increase Quality, Quantity of OfficersAIR UNIVERSITY PUBLIC AFFAIRS (JAN. 4, 2019) Airman 1st Class Charles Welty

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala.—The Air Force’s Officer Training School is changing the paradigm for building officers, pivoting away from separate programs for line and non-line officers and conducting merged classes beginning in January 2019.

The Total Force Officer Training and Commissioned Officer Training courses will be phased out over the course of 2019, according to Col. Pete Bailey, OTS commandant. They will be replaced by a combined eight-week course, which will offer an off-ramp for a limited number of non-line specialties.

“The purpose for this change is twofold,” Bailey said. “First, we are ensuring the best leadership training is offered to all who attend OTS, in a setting which better mirrors the environment in which they will serve. Also, this change assists in the devel-

Air Force Commissioned Officer Training course trainees stand in formation, May 24, 2018, on Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. OTS has recently merged Commissioned Officer Training with the Total Force Officer Training course to increase the quality and quantity of officers it can produce annually. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Samuel Contreras

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components to helping us build leaders capable of adapting to future challenges.”

The event was intentionally designed with an unorthodox for-mat, giving those in attendance the opportunity to build their own schedules to match their interests.

“Rather than sticking to a very military minded traditional for-mat of sitting in a large auditorium for hours, we really wanted to build in opportunities for both the speakers and attendees to engage in discussions, possibly have respectable debates on topics, and share ideas,” said Maj. Gregory Strong, ACSC instructor and lead coordinator for LEDx.

“The word “leadership” is difficult for some to define explicitly, and it means something different to people both in and out of uniform and across all ranks,” he said. “LEDx provides a mode for people to come together and understand that varying per-spectives is a good thing, and we can all learn from each other.”

Straying away from a traditional military-style format, LEDx aimed to open the minds of participants and encourage di-versification of thought at all levels.

“We want people to come away from LEDx with an enhanced understanding of the value of varying perspectives related to leadership, innovation, and strategy,” Strong said. “We see LEDx as a conduit to allowing people a few days to really step back, assess, engage, and digest varying topics under the over-arching theme of leadership. Specifically, there may be a topic or perspective that someone heard and completely disagreed with, but there is still tremendous value that can be gained from that perspective.”

Although hosted by AU, this event wasn’t only attended by Air Force personnel, but also members of all sister services, as well as many international officers and local civilian attendees, which created a unique forum for joint leadership collabora-tion.

“The very nature of this makeup serves to add value at the forefront; the Air Force gains a huge benefit from building re-lationships and partnerships while simultaneously engaging in conversations regrading topics related to leadership,” Strong added. “Obviously, all of us that serve receive a heavy dose of professional military education no matter what rank, and each of those PME sources certainly offer great opportunities to expand on leadership-related topics. However, LEDx seeks to build on those foundational focal points and allow people the opportunity to really hit the ‘pause button’ on the daily vigor of ops and share ideas. There is no exam, final paper, or

opment of a more resilient organization, which is effectively resourced to meet both steady state and surge requirements of the Total Force.”

The OTS “One Syllabus for One Officer” concept is enabled by moving from its current three-training squadron construct to a more efficient two-training squadron model, said Lt. Col. Erick Saks, 24th Training Squadron commander. With two squad-rons training both line and non-line officers, OTS can increase the quantity and quality of its officers. The initiative increases officer production capacity from around 2,700 graduates an-nually to 3,300 with a surge capability of up to 3,800. Students also gain the opportunity to train alongside officers who they would not have interacted with until much further along in their careers, providing a shared foundation for both line and non-line officers.

“The real nexus behind the new syllabus was to make the right training, for the right airman, at the right time,” added Bailey. “Producing good officers and good leaders is not only a force multiplier, but will also help revitalize the organization that we take to war, which is the squadron. When you have the responsibility of training over 54 percent of the officers who access into the United States Air Force annually, you have to get it right.”

Air University’s LEDx 2.0 Promotes Diverse, Innovative Thinking at All Levels of LeadershipAIR UNIVERSITY PUBLIC AFFAIRS (JAN. 7, 2019)Airman 1st Class Charles Welty

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala.—Air University’s Air Com-mand and Staff College Department of Leadership hosted its second annual Leadership Education Development eXperience (LEDx) last week, promoting the theme of “Diversity at the Intersection of Leadership, Strategy, and Innovation.”

The two-day conference provided attendees with a blend of keynote addresses, TED Talk-style speaker presentations, and interactive small-group lab sessions designed to promote an environment that fosters innovative and diverse thinking from a leadership perspective.

When not engaged in one of the formal events, participants were encouraged to continue the conversation and share their thoughts on what the theme’s message means to them.

“This year’s theme was intended to spark conversations and generate ideas,” said Col. Evan Pettus, ACSC commandant. “We invited speakers who could help [attendees] challenge their assumption about what each of these ideas mean. We believe that cognitive diversity and collaboration are critical

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briefing to ‘pass’ LEDx. It is truly a reciprocating experience in that you really get out of it what you put into it.”

LEDx truly embodies the chief of staff of the Air Force’s three primary focus areas of revitalizing squadrons, strengthening joint leaders and teams, and advancing multi-domain com-mand and control, he said

“In order to revitalize, strengthen, and advance, we must be able to come together with different perspectives and syner-gize in order to lead, innovate, and strategize,” Strong added.

LEDx representatives said they are planning next year’s event. For more information, visit https://www.ledxau.com/.

Army Materiel Command’s HR Workforce Leads Standards for Ready Army CivilianARMY MATERIEL COMMAND NEWS RELEASE (JAN. 8, 2019)Kari Hawkins

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.—With modernization and readi-ness at the forefront of Army priorities, the Army Materiel Command’s Human Resources (G-1) is setting the standard to ensure its civilian workforce is prepared to respond with support.

Coming on the heels of the Shape the Fight initiative to ensure the right level, type, and assignment of human capital required to perform the mission, efforts are now being made to incorpo-rate the Ready Army Civilian initiative—a movement focused solely on civilian readiness—throughout AMC.

“For our workforce to take on this initiative, they must first understand what are the real characteristics of a civilian em-ployee who we consider to be ready,” said AMC Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Max Wyche.

“How do we define Ready Army Civilian? What education and training do they need to do their job and be ready to support? The answer can be very complex with the extensive list of du-ties required for the mission. Even with job descriptions that are straightforward, there is still training—combined with their current job skills and experience—that will help employees master and perform their tasks in support of AMC and Army priorities.”

With its workforce being 96 percent civilian, AMC is develop-ing the Ready Army Civilian initiative with plans of it eventually being adopted Army-wide. AMC Human Resources (G-1) will have a major role in the initiative as it works to implement the initiative among G-1 employees, encourages its implemen-tation to employees throughout headquarters staff sections,

and helps to oversee its implementation through AMC’s major subordinate commands.

“Our subordinate commands have been asked to undergo the same analysis we applied in HQ AMC. The entire AMC enter-prise is being asked to become more efficient while enhancing our focus on lethality, readiness, and modernization. Shape the Fight and Ready Army Civilian are essential in our ability to adapt to and execute current and future requirements for our Soldiers and Department of Defense partners,” Wyche said.

The G-1 mission—to man the force, lead the human capital management program, cultivate and develop talent, oversee the health of the force, and execute the commander’s safety and occupational health program—puts it at the forefront of any employee development initiative. AMC’s town hall with Lisha Adams, the executive deputy to the AMC commanding general, in late 2018 helped set the stage to ensure employees are trained and equipped to support Soldier readiness.

“Ready Army Civilian gets to the heart of [AMC command-ing] General [Gus] Perna’s goal of having the right workforce doing 100 percent of the work 100 percent of the time,” Wyche said. “We’re in a stage within our organization where a lot is expected of Army Materiel Command employees while, at the same time, we are transferring some responsibilities and work to the Army Futures Command. There are high expectations of AMC, our workforce, and our leaders to take on different roles and tasks, and to maintain a high level of performance while doing so.”

Wyche expects supervisors within the G-1, and throughout AMC headquarters and its subordinate commands to “take deliberate actions to ensure our current workforce and future workforce are properly trained and aligned to perform the mission.”

Supervisors, he said, must be able to manage high-performing teams while also working with employees individually to en-sure each has the adequate education, training, and experi-ence to do their job. While Shape the Fight allowed the G-1 to better align with its mission to develop and sustain an innova-tive and responsive human capital framework, and to maxi-mize workforce capabilities and output, Ready Army Civilian defines the requirements of civilians so that solid pathways are clearly set to move the AMC enterprise toward mission accomplishment, he said.

“At the end of the day, employee performance must align to mission output,” Wyche said. “Ready Army Civilian ensures employees are fully equipped to perform jobs they are in. To

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do that, supervisors must effectively define requirements and expectations of each job.”

Just like Soldiers, Army civilians must be qualified to com-pete, perform, and serve in a way that positively impacts Army readiness. AMC supports this effort by providing policies, guidance, and resources needed to build and sustain a high-performing workforce.

“This is really about, number one, ensuring we are effectively using our resources in terms of people and money. As trusted agents of the Department of Defense and the federal govern-ment, we are obligated to do that,” Wyche said. “And, number two, forming a workforce that has the tools needed to do their jobs, that has the opportunity and is empowered to perform their mission.”

Following Perna’s guidance to “think big, start small” in design-ing a framework for civilian readiness, AMC G-1 will implement the Ready Army Civilian initiative by first doing an analysis of where employees are in terms of education, training, and expe-rience. Supervisors must be able to identify gaps in employee qualifications and training, and then work to fill those gaps.

“We want to provide tools to help supervisors assess our cur-rent workforce,” Wyche said. “We want to help employees assess themselves as well. We want to make sure everybody is effectively postured to perform at a high level in their cur-rent position.”

The DoD Performance Management and Appraisal Program and other performance assessment tools, career programs, supervisory support, and the Civilian Education System are all key to implementing the Ready Army Civilian initiative.

Steve Justice, To The Stars Academy aerospace division director, speaks during Air University’s Leadership Education Development eXperience (LEDx) Jan. 3, 2019, on Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. In alignment with this year’s theme of “Diversity at the Intersection of Leadership, Strategy and Innovation,” Justice opened the event with his keynote on diversity of thought. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Samuel Contreras

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“There are many opportunities for employees who want to grow and be empowered, who want to be high performers. There are several tools for employees and leaders that help them to develop their skills, solve problems, resolve conflicts, communicate better and focus on the mission, all elements of Ready Army Civilian,” Wyche said.

“The issue is that supervisors and employees must determine which training courses are the best for the right kind of output, and then plan on when that training can occur without having an adverse effect on the mission. That’s the challenge.”

But planning for those training opportunities is well worth it in the long run, he said. “When you enhance peoples’ ability to perform in a certain position and for the organization, then you have improved civilian readiness and responsiveness to the Army mission,” Wyche said.

“We want employees to be able to perform at top levels. If you take care of employees’ education and training needs, you pro-vide a positive and higher performing work environment, and you set a foundation of excellence that affects performance, retention, and recruiting.”

DoD Launches Talent Exchange Pilot Program to Strengthen the Acquisition WorkforceDEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS RELEASE (JAN. 9, 2019)WASHINGTON—This week the United States Department of Defense (DoD) launched the Defense-Industry Talent Ex-change Pilot Program. This acquisition-focused pilot program will enable 13 DoD and private sector participants to gain a better understanding of each other’s business operations and share innovative best practices.

“I am very excited about this groundbreaking program because it gives our DoD acquisition professionals an incredible op-portunity to gain experience and insight with their industry colleagues,” said Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord. “One of the key objectives of this program is to advance each participant’s professional and leadership development, so it’s a win win for the department and industry.”

The Defense-Industry Talent Exchange Program targets high-performing, mid-career civilians with demonstrated leadership potential.

“In its inaugural year, this pilot program implements Act-ing Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan’s July 2018 guidance on the use of a new public-private talent exchange authority provided by Congress,” said José M. Gonzalez, ex-

Defense-Industry Talent Exchange Program participants after the December orientation session in the Pentagon. Photo by Defense Media Activity

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refurbished or modernized, they will provide funding for that modernization to Anniston Army Depot where the work will be done.”

AMC Resource Management teams, which include a com-mand analyst, accountants, and auditors, conduct budget forecasting for appropriated funds and working capital funds.

“Appropriated funds are being projected right now out to fiscal year 2025,” Goodyear said. “With working capital funds, we are executing fiscal year ‘19 while also budgeting for fiscal year ‘20 and programming for fiscal years ‘21-’25. We are always looking five to seven years out at any given time.”

Under Shape the Fight, AMC Resource Management added a Current Operations Capability to be more responsive to shifts in military priorities. AMC funding to its major subordinate commands is impacted often by changes in Army strategies, such as the recent buildup of forces along the nation’s south-west border and the changes in strategy in South Korea.

“Any current operation, any change in current operations, can affect our funding and where that funding will be spent in the current year,” Goodyear said. “We need to know where we are spending dollars, if we are spending the right amount of dollars, and if we need to request additional funds to meet requirements. The Current Operations Capability cell allows us to stay better informed on how we can and should respond to changes in Army strategy.”

Another change through Shape the Fight was the addition of a new G-8 mission to more closely manage and monitor AMC contracts both at headquarters and throughout the major subordinate commands. The Contracting cell includes two AMC G-8 specialists and two Army Contracting Command specialists.

“We need a more detailed overview of contracts across the command,” Goodyear said. “We want to know the impact of those contracts so that we can provide the commanding gen-eral with information he needs to make the right decisions.”

AMC G-8 has tasked the Resource Management organiza-tions within AMC’s 10 major subordinate commands to also establish Contracting cells to more closely oversee contracts.

“Beyond monitoring current contracts, these cells will help build our contracting strategy for the future,” Goodyear said.

Shape the Fight changes have opened up new opportunities for AMC G-8 employees to grow their experience and to have

ecutive director, Human Capital Initiatives. “Harnessing the lessons learned from this pilot program will inform further expansion of this and future opportunities across DoD.”

For more information on the pilot Defense-Industry Talent Exchange Program, visit http://www.hci.mil.

Ready Army Civilian Standards Build Expertise To Meet ChallengesARMY MATERIEL COMMAND NEWS (JAN. 14, 2019)Kari Hawkins

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.—While the Shape the Fight initia-tive realigned directorates and divisions to focus more closely on mission, the Army Materiel Command’s Ready Army Ci-vilian initiative is now working to ensure all employees have the right levels of education and skills to ensure continued mission success.

As the director of Army Materiel Command’s Resource Man-agement (G-8), Sue Goodyear is leading efforts to ensure her directorate’s employees meet the Ready Army Civilian stan-dard.

“Shape the Fight has changed what it takes to be a Ready Army Civilian,” Goodyear said. “To meet that standard, our employees have to know how to adapt and how to be more proactive in recognizing issues that affect readiness and mis-sion success, and then work toward solutions. Operationally, employees need to know that what they are doing every day and how they are performing their responsibilities does influ-ence Soldiers.”

AMC Resource Management is responsible for requesting resources, receiving and executing funds, and ensuring man-power requirements are funded. G-8 employees manage ap-propriated funds—those budgeted for AMC by Congress and Army working capital funds. Those funds paid to AMC enti-ties by U.S. and foreign government customers for requested equipment or equipment modifications. In fiscal year 2018, AMC Resource Management oversaw the expenditure of $8 billion in appropriate funds, $8 billion in Army working capital funds, and $2 billion in research and development funds within the AMC enterprise.

“We allocate money from appropriated funds to the major subordinate command, and we manage and monitor how those funds are spent,” Goodyear said.

“With working capital funds, we make sure our major subor-dinate commands have the correct rates set so they recoup expenses. For example, if a customer—say the Program Ex-ecutive Office for Ground Combat Systems—needs a tank

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a more significant impact on the future direction of the AMC enterprise, she said.

“These changes help to improve AMC and help AMC to be more responsive to warfighter needs throughout the enter-prise,” Goodyear said.

Now, as AMC embarks on the Ready Army Civilian initia-tive, Goodyear and her team of supervisors are ensuring G-8 employees have the skills and experience as well as leader-ship capabilities to meet new, shifting, and expanding work responsibilities.

“Our employees are learning what it takes to be a Ready Army Civilian,” Goodyear said. “At headquarters, our responsibility is to ensure that resources are available to meet our missions, whether that involves tanks and helicopters or uniforms and ammunition. Through our work, we make sure the AMC en-terprise has what it needs to meet the Army’s mission.”

At its very basic, Ready Army Civilian begins with training, she said, adding that all her employees will strive to obtain their Financial Management certification. There are a host of

financial management and leadership courses that can add depth to the educational level of employees.

“We want to broaden the horizons for our employees. We want them to think strategically in their careers and in how they can develop themselves to be better employees,” Good-year said.

“Employees need to take opportunities for developmental as-signments and to learn other things—both professionally and personally—that make them better at their job. We want them to be prepared to meet challenges and to do 100 percent of the right work.”

Today’s Resource Management environment is growing with data that can be used to provide better management of Army funds. The issue is that employees need to be able to analyze that data, she said.

“We have to be able to look at the data and determine if it brings value to sustaining the mission or if it’s just data. Em-ployees need to be able to interpret data so that it can be used to make decisions,” Goodyear said.

Army Materiel Command Resource Management employees, from left: Senior technical analyst Steve Mosher and budget analysts Elle Johnson and John Chverchko review budget reports and tasks. The roles of AMC’s Resource Management employees are evolving through Shape the Fight and Ready Army Civilian initiatives to better support Soldiers.Photo by Kari Hawkins

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to make decisions that benefit AMC and the Army and its Soldiers.”

FORSCOM Supervisor Engagement CourseU.S. ARMY FORCES COMMAND (JAN. 16, 2019)What is it?The FORSCOM Supervisor Engagement Course offers super-visors leadership skills, best practices, and case studies that they may apply to remain effective leaders throughout their military and government careers.

What are the current and past efforts of the Army?The U.S. Army Forces Command G-1 and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School regularly sponsor a weeklong Supervisor Engagement Course for 30 Soldiers and Army civilian employees as part of Army leader development within FORSCOM.

The course, taught by the business faculty of the Kenan-Flagler Executive Development Program, highlights:• Innovative methods to increase and enhance leadership

skills for a more effective senior staff• Building trust• Improving organizational performance and teamwork• Valuable leadership insights for mentoring and coaching

subordinates to be more aware of issues involving diversity (such as race, gender, Generation X and Millennials)

During the course, FORSCOM students form small groups to explore specific solutions to topical issues facing Army lead-ers today, such as inspiring employee performance and highly effective workplace recognition initiatives.

What are the continued efforts planned by the Army?In support of Forces Command’s leadership priorities to strengthen leader development and to take care of Soldiers, employees, and Army Families, the command plans to con-tinue offering additional supervisor engagement courses. Fu-ture topics will cover:• Strategic thinking• Developing an innovative mind• Effective decision-making• Leading diverse organizations

Why is this important to the Army?The Army profession requires continuous learning, including a constant recommitment to the Army values as Soldiers and Army Civilian Employees grow in their responsibilities, rank, and roles. The U.S. Army Forces Command Supervisor En-gagement Course addresses workplace subjects that consis-tently rank high among employee surveys, such as the “Federal

At a recent AMC Resource Management summit, Goodyear led a discussion on upcoming changes in the Resource Man-agement field, and how those changes will require new skill sets and affect the mission.

“There is a lot of change in Resource Management and we are all working toward growing with that change so that we can better support the AMC enterprise,” she said.

Resource Management employees work in four key areas—Manpower, Accounting, Budget/Programming, and Audit.

“As we move forward, budgets will become tighter while the mission will continue to expand,” Goodyear said.

“Employees must be prepared to provide more intensive over-sight of resources and more intensive oversight of contracts. Employees need to be cross-trained so they understand how one key area can affect another key area, and how Appropri-ated Funds and Army Working Capital Funds are used to en-sure resources are available. Our employees need to have the knowledge base to be able to correlate spending with readi-ness and to be able to question if we are spending funds in the right way to support readiness.”

Resource Management supervisors must have the skills to coach, mentor, and teach their employees so they continue to have a positive influence in a challenging work environment. Developing both soft and hard skills—both people characteris-tics and work capabilities—is essential in moving the organiza-tion forward in its mission, she said.

“We want our employees to grow in their skill sets and be accountable for their work,” Goodyear said. “We want them to have confidence in their abilities and have the support they need to get the job done. As we work to improve the work-place, it is our hope that employees want to come to work, want to make a difference, and want to contribute to this workforce.”

It is imperative, she said, to develop high-performing employ-ees and a high-performing workforce. To that end, supervisors must make sure they have the skills to help their employees in their development.

“We want supervisors to be able to mentor their employees and pinpoint areas where their employees need to grow,” Goodyear said. “Better employees translate to a better work-force. Supervisors and employees must be adaptable to the situation. They need to be able to analyze the challenging re-source issues that we face and provide options for leaders

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Employee Viewpoint Survey,” and “Best Places to Work” rank-ings for government agencies.

The Army’s greatest asset is its people—the finest men and women the great nation has to offer. Engaged leadership con-tributes to the Army’s mission to fight and win the nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained, land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.