Ep 322: The Team Fixes Professional Military Education
Vložit
- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- The title says it all- Professional Military Education needs an overhaul, and the team at Ones Ready (of course) has the fix.
How was your experience in PME? Probably not as cool as this podcast. Thanks for the support!
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @onesready
Collabs:
Ones Ready Merch: onesready.com
18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1Ready (18afitness.com)
ATAC Fitness - Follow the URL: shorturl.at/ackyD (onesready.com)
CardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADY (cardomax.com)
Dread River - Promo Code: ONESREADY (dreadriver.com)
Eberlestock - Promo Code: OR10 (eberlestock.com)
Hoist - Promo Code: ONESREADY (drinkhoist.com)
Trench Coffee Company - Promo Code: ONESREADY (trenchcoffeeco.com)
The views and opinions expressed by the OnesReady team and all guests are those of the team and themselves, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the DoD. Any content provided by our Podcast guests, bloggers, sponsors, or authors is their opinion and is not intended to malign the DoD, any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone.
I went to Iraq and Syria and I'd rather go back to either of those than back to ALS or NCOA
Hahahahahah. This is the best comment. Pinned. 🫡
To the points on the SNCOA, the instructors aren't really there to be SMEs, they're there to take this amalgam of experience of the 15 students they were handed, ask good questions, and guide them to a common understanding. Unfortunately, a lot of the instructors aren't good at guiding conversations, so it feels more like a normal school experience.
The whole goal is to build flights with varying experiences so the students can help teach each other.
Being an instructor there was the most enlightening and frustrating experience I had in the military. I learned how to think about problems differently there, but I didn’t fully realize it untilI I got back to the unit.. 🤘🕓
As always I love to see your comments bro.
If it was done correctly and it was truly a cross pollination of experiences and skill sets I would be all about it. However, I still believe that if it’s a requirement for all then the curriculum should reflect the majority of SNCO responsibilities and shortcomings. -T
@OnesReady I couldn't agree more, I'm just commenting on what the reality is. Most of the curriculum was terrible and irrelevant but not the instructors job to be SMEs. That would be impossible. Their job was to facilitate discussions. Most of the instructors with me when I was there were not able to do that effectively.
If we want better guidance on what should be taught in PME, we need better/smarter enlisted leaders who still grasp the true needs of the enlisted force. Then, it will take AETC curriculum writers 2 years to create and validate the new lessons. 🙄 🕓
FTAC was initially implemented to minimize base in-processing time for newly assigned tech school airmen to the base. Like a lot of good ideas it quickly morphed into a program with an informal graduation. Again taking away some responsibilities of Supervisors. The issues pertaining to PME as a whole have been the same for more than 30 years. Requirements for writing style/format are different at each Command, Wing, Squadron and Flight will always be slightly different in comparison to what is taught. Big AF will keep changing course names and material taught, but it will still be a guided discussion in the end to meet the curriculum requirements for accreditation. The UMD should be part of your upgrade training and in the infamous CFETP. It’s a Leadership failure that students wouldn’t know their unit’s role in supporting our national defense.
28:09, spot on Peaches. A lot of the people in my flights at SNCOA couldn't articulate to their people (think dental techs, base supply, TMO, etc) why their jobs were critical to our national defense. They didn't have the knowledge or ability to tie it all together. It's even harder these days when there is no official theater of armed conflict.
To Trent's point, AETC gets the final vote on curriculum so it often sucks. Example, when those nuclear weapons were accidentally flown across the contry and the 18 wheeler with a.nuclear weapon overturned, we had to start teaching nuclear weapons awareness. So freaking stupid. 🤘🕓
While correct AETC controls initial skill AFSC curriculums and PME curriculums it isn't absolute control. Further it's unlike man can explain how military rank and enlist NCO rank in particular is critical to an enlisted military occupation and unit lethality critical to sustaining combat readiness of units and the individual combat readiness of military personnel assigned to combat and combat support units. While AETC determines curriculums other Function command and control authorities outside of AETC do influence. The process of establishing each Career Field Education and Training Plan (CFETP) which first appear in the early 1980s is the strongest and clearest example.
The nuclear incident example being provided aren't exactly a specific AFSC initial skills or PME training problem as the incident after action reports reveal performance, lack of situational awareness, and decision-making failures involving personnel of several unit and levels of on-scene and off-scene command and control. Not to mention all the different AFSCs (rank, skill level, and qualification) held by the personnel involved. Thus, the corrective action training curriculum was generalized to accommodate all levels of the on-scene response and off-scene command and control of the response rather than being specialized to specific tasks and duty responsibilities. Arriving at the training solution has much similarity to the coordination to produce a CFETP.
Officer PME was mandated by Title 10 to be more joint operation oriented in 1995/6 by an act of Congress and the office of Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff has directed enlisted PME particularly at the SNCO levels become more joint operations oriented since 2009. It is this Office of the Joint Chief of Staff action that reintroduced a purpose of EPME to know why military occupations and military personnel are critical to National Defense, a purpose that sort of became ignored when enlisted PME became mandatory for career and skill level progression.
However, the Joint EPME guidance is significantly generalized and extends to include DoD civil service civilian personnel. The point being there is a lot of apples, oranges, pineapples enlisted PME has to accommodate.
Thanks for putting out so much stuff. If you guys were wondering if the membership is worth it: Ones ready membership and my music are the only subscriptions I have 😂
Started out as the INTRO program. Contained a First term Airman ,First duty station briefing.
40:22 Peaches had such an elegant Segway into that advert just for Trent to make sure no one buys a powder again with that one line
An emphasis early on, 1975 - early 90s, was that SNCOs could be utilized in other career fields. The emphasis was on management & leadership, not necessarily the nuts and bolts of a career field.
In regards to pacing of ANY course of Military Didactic education with rigor and importance, regardless of content, this should be considered: Monday: Understand that your students will be slow. Be there first and get them motivated. Set expectations High for Tuesday, Wed and Thurs. Most of important content should be on mid week. Give them what they deserve on Friday with either a early dismissal and a brew on you at the club if Superb performance or a grinder haul if really bad on Friday. You get down there and suffer with them. Don't ask them to do anything you would not do. Make it plain how they screwed up and how to fix it and why it's important. Leave them with a Reward for Excellence or a message and a lesson. Be both a leader and an educator. Be consistent. Be Fair. If you care for the outcome. Produce Superb Leaders. NCOs and Officers. Won't be long before they are the Lead Technicians, Managers and CEOs going forward. Train them Right. Lead by Example. Start fresh on Monday. It's a new week. doc in Galveston, Ret.
Enlisted PME isn't a Title 10 requirement as officer PME. Officer PME is command and being an executive authority (agent) of the United States government (reference Title 10, CHAPTER 107-PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION) oriented. Enlisted PME is more first line (level) supervisory and managerial oriented of day to day keeping the unit functioning effectively and the well-being of subordinates assigned to units. PME isn't about improving lethality, physical prowess and tactical ground combat leadership, other courses and training requirements such as the U.S. Army Ranger School have this purpose.
Further enlisted PME didn't transition to being a mandatory career progression-skill level requirement until the mid 1980s. The Air Force was actually caused the implementation of PME being required when it split the E-4 paygrade into SrA and Sgt ranks with ALS being required to gain eligibility and qualification to be promoted to the E-4 Sgt rank and Selective Enlistment Program (SRP) eligibility to reenlist as a first term airman. During the 1990s PME became connected as a requirement for award of 5, 7, and 9 skill levels. As far as the curriculum is concerned it has changed in purpose significantly since the transition from an optional voluntary training-education requirement to being a mandatory required training-education requirement.
FYI, BTW I still value what I learned by completing PME when it was voluntary and a bit more robust in curriculum and enforced stringent pass-fail standards as nobody cared how high or low student attrition was. Until 1996 E-7 MSgts could voluntarily complete SNCO PME and be awarded the 9-skill level. I was one of the last 9-skill level MSgts. My PME progression was NCO leadership, NCO Academy, SNCO Academy and Joint Officer Course (a staff action officer assignment requirement as CROs didn't exist).
Just to tease and be sarcastic the PME ribbon has outlived its purpose as it is the same as the Air Force Training Ribbon (as wear of uniform requires completion of a mandatory required accession program (BMT or initial commission accession program) as to hold enlisted rank these days required completion of the commensurate level of PME. [Sarcasm, all you youngsters deserve all the trophies (ribbons to accessorize the service uniform, all though not worn because of being overweight) just for being average and completing a mandatory training-education requirement.]
Furthermore: Take care of your people. If they deserve a Superb EPR/OPR and Medal, Get them that. Make it personal AND objective. Every Medal and Performance Report I wrote up was because the Person deserved it and the Service as well. Never one rejected. If you are a Rating NCO/Officer, be judicious and fair. Support it with objective demonstrations of how the person deserves this, as well as other things above and beyond. Do they volunteer to help in the Community? Are they a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT? Do they have a degree or are they helping others to learn? What makes this Airman Special? Not just a Special Operator. Does this Airman deserve promotion and/or a Medal in Our Air Force? "doc" in Galveston, Ret.