Political-Military Affairs Officers and the Air Force: Continued Turbulence in a Vital Career Specialty

摘要

The Air Force's system has many deficiencies for preparing and utilizing political-military affairs officers to help develop and implement the military dimensions of US foreign policy. Important policy-making and implementation billets are routinely filled by officers with inadequate education and regional expertise to perform their duties competently. Meanwhile, officers who have acquired such skills remain untapped for sensitive political- military positions due to the personnel system's inability to track them and assign them to billets where their skills are needed. The paper clarifies the need within the post-Cold War environment for officers with both general international relations skills and specific regional expertise. Specific recommendations are provided aimed at improving the development and use of political-military affairs officers. A specific career field should be created that is capable of providing well-trained officers to fill billets requiring expertise in political science, international relations, or a specific region of the world. Thousands of staff jobs should be reevaluated to determine which positions require specific advanced degrees and language skills. The report offers suggestions for striking a balance between getting a sufficient payback in follow-on tours for the specialized education and training and ensuring that these officers remain credible within their operational specialties.