Air Force Core Values: An Analysis of Mid-Level Career Officers' Values and Their Suitability to Instill Them.

摘要

In the midst of shifting societal values, the Air Force has launched a core values campaign to assure the traditional core values, essential to the correct functioning of the Air Force, are integrated into its members. The new effort calls for Air Force leaders to be instrumental in instilling the values in subordinates. To these concerns, this research seeks to evaluate the level of integration of Air Force core values in mid-level career officers, and their subsequent suitability to help instill the core values in subordinates. To provide an understanding of the context surrounding these issues, a review of American historical and constitutional core values is conducted; current societal shifts, from absolute values to relative values, and the subsequent threat to the Air Force is examined; the Air Force's new core values campaign, aimed at countering the negative impacts of encroaching relative values, is reviewed; and Air Force majors are evaluated to determine whether they have integrated the Air Force core values, rendering them fit to help instill them in others. The methodology used to conduct the research is a questionnaire with follow-up interviews. Integration of core values was measured by discerning consistency, level of commitment, and type of motivation driving the core values. Research findings point to a high level of integration of Air Force core values in mid-level career officers. However, the research reveals the Air Force had very little to do with integrating values, as officers core values are rooted primarily through God/religion and family influences. The author calls for a review of the current Air Force strategy which seeks to integrate the core values by secular means in exclusion of religious influences. The author recommends Air Force Chaplains be utilized to facilitate an integration strategy including God-centered influences.