Role of Deployments in Competency Development: Experience from Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village in Saudia Arabia

摘要

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Developing Aerospace Leaders (DAL) initiative, according to the DAL charter, was designed 'to examine and recommend actions necessary to prepare the USAF Total Force for leadership into the 21st century.' DAL staff members have examined deliberate goals and means to develop and broaden current and future officers. The DAL approach features 'occupational' and 'universal' competencies and a range of potential developmental activities. We opted to focus on learning experiences specifically at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB)/Eskan Village rather than assess the development or officers at various contingency deployments. We surveyed officers and enlisted personnel in the continental United States (CONUS) who had returned from a PSAB/Eskan deployment within the preceding 12 months. Respondents selected from a list of settings all those settings in which they learned a specific competency or skill. They then indicated the single 'best' learning environment for the skill or competency in question. Settings included initial training, on-the-job training (OJT)/normal duty assignments, schoolhouse, professional military education (PME), exercises, deployments to PSAB/Eskan, other operational deployments, and settings outside the Air Force. The survey addressed 46 competencies (referred to as 'characteristics' in the survey) and kills, including the 41 universal competencies identified by DAB stall. competencies spanned eight categories: special aerospace skills/duties, Leadership, operations, organization, strategy, technology, perspective, and character.