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AFH 1 · Chapter 7 · Section 7.10

Enlisted Force Development Construct

Part of Air Force Leadership · 6 sections · ~1154 words · WAPS PFE study material

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EFD Construct Overview

What EFD Combines

Three-Component Approach
Enlisted force development combines:
  • Training
  • Education
  • Experience

…in a life-cycle approach to developing innovative Airmen prepared to accomplish the USAF mission and lead in a rapidly evolving global environment.

Deliberate Development

Deliberate Development Pillars
Deliberate development is essential throughout an Airman's career and is satisfied through:
  • Education on foundational competencies
  • Training on occupational competencies
  • Seeking a varied array of experiential opportunities
  • Utilizing additional force developmental tools for continued growth

Take Advantage of Opportunities

As developing Airmen, it is essential to take full advantage of the abundant opportunities and resources that exist both in a specialty and across the USAF.

The Enterprise Perspective

Operational and Strategic Leadership
What is imperative from an enterprise perspective is looking at how Airmen progress through their careers to successfully assume the responsibilities required in operational and strategic leadership positions.

Enlisted Development Teams

Purpose

EDT Purpose
Enlisted development teams are designed to leverage the development of qualified Airmen with the leadership capacity and acculturation necessary to support current and projected mission requirements.

How They Work

Career field managers use enlisted development teams to perform progression and succession planning to place Airmen in key leadership and developmental positions based on:

  • Defined education
  • Defined training
  • Defined experience
  • Defined performance requirements
Right People, Right Place, Right Time
Placing the right people in the right place at the right time is imperative.

Enlisted Force Development Panel

Purpose

EFDP Purpose
The Enlisted Force Development Panel is responsible for guiding enlisted force development initiatives.

Charge

The panel is charged with reviewing, evaluating, and making recommendations to senior USAF leaders regarding:

  • Education
  • Training
  • Experiences

…impacting enlisted development.

Panel Membership

Panel Members
Panel members include:
  • Command chief master sergeants
  • Career field managers
  • Representatives from Air Education and Training Command
  • Representatives from Air Force Personnel Center
  • Representatives from HAF

AF Senior Enlisted Leadership Council and AF Enlisted Council

Air Force Senior Enlisted Leadership Council

AFSELC Purpose
The Air Force Senior Enlisted Leadership Council is responsible for addressing deliberate development initiatives for Airmen with regard to opportunities for enhanced performance.

Council Composition

The council is comprised of:

  • Chief master sergeants serving in strategic/joint/combined commands
  • Major command command chiefs
  • Other senior enlisted leaders
  • Selected advisors

Council Goals

Efforts of the council aim to:

  • Elevate the caliber and performance of enlisted Airmen
  • Develop solutions to the highest priority issues and opportunities for Airmen and families
  • Counsel and advise the:
  • Secretary of the Air Force
  • Chief of Staff of the Air Force
  • Senior USAF commanders and leaders

Air Force Enlisted Council

AFEC Composition
The Air Force Enlisted Council is comprised of the current 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year.

Council Role

With mentorship and oversight of the Air Force Senior Enlisted Leadership Council, the AFEC serves as:

- Enlisted ambassadors for USAF enlisted recruiting and retention efforts

Active Engagement

The council also actively engages with:

  • The Air Force Association
  • Enlisted professional military education
  • Various enlisted USAF organizations

MyVECTOR

What MyVECTOR Is

MyVECTOR Definition
MyVECTOR is a Total Force, experience tracking, enterprise solution that supports USAF development priorities.

It is a web-based career planning and force development tool that allows individuals greater transparency into their development and career management.

Tool Functions

MyVECTOR is the enterprise information technology tool used to support:

  • Career field managers
  • Development teams

It also offers robust mentoring capabilities.

Mentoring Features

The modern online platform offers configuration, supporting:

  • Traditional by-name method of requesting a mentor
  • Mentor-matching capability based on weighted characteristics identified by Airmen searching for a mentor

MyVECTOR offers:

  • A real-time mentoring plan
  • Discussion forums
  • A bullet tracker to document accomplishments
  • The ability to dialogue on-line with a mentor

Developmental Special Experience (DSE) Catalog

DSE Catalog
MyVECTOR includes a Developmental Special Experience (DSE) Catalog in the Development Plan section.

What DSEs Provide

DSEs provide hands-on experiences that are typically outside of AFSC or career series formal training and help individuals gain or enhance competencies.

All DSEs Listed
Unlike assignment systems, the Catalog lists all DSEs, regardless of vacancies or application windows, to make users aware of all requirements or prerequisites.

Developmental Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment Tool
MyVECTOR offers a developmental self-assessment that helps members identify their personal strengths and areas for improvement among the USAF Foundational Competencies.

Immediate Feedback

The self-assessment provides immediate feedback on recommended online resources based on a member's identified areas for improvement:

  • Videos
  • Articles
  • Courses

360-Degree Feedback Option

360-Degree Feedback
To further self-awareness, members may use the assessment tool to request confidential feedback from:
  • Supervisors and/or subordinates
  • Peers
  • Higher-ranking members

Searchable Resource Library

Airmen can access the full searchable library of online resources associated with each foundational competency (e.g., Teamwork, Communication, Resilience) at any time to further personal and professional development.

Talent Management and Competitive Edge

Talent Management

Talent Management Goal
Our USAF culture should attract the right Airmen — professionals ready to represent the world's greatest USAF.

Where Talent Management Begins

Talent management begins with recruiting and is continued through training and education, where it is cultivated.

Why It Matters

The USAF's ability to continue to respond faster than our adversaries relies on the flexibility and adaptability of our Airmen. Not only do we want to be innovators — our nation also depends on it.

System Must Match the Force

System Must Be Agile
The way we manage talent directly impacts the way we fight and win wars. The system that is designed to manage people must be as agile as we expect our Airmen to be.

Competitive Edge

Innovation and Agility
The USAF as an institution recognizes the importance of an innovative and agile work environment for:
  • Maintaining a competitive edge
  • Being considered an employer of choice for our nation's best and brightest talent

Aligning Training and Education

Training and education are steadily becoming more aligned with capitalizing on talents of those within the USAF.

USAF programs are designed to develop, manage, and execute realistic and flexible training and education to produce a highly skilled, motivated force capable of carrying out all tasks and functions in support of the USAF mission.

Modernization Imperative

Continuous Modernization
Innovative Airmen power the force. To keep pace, we must continuously modernize our education and training to be relevant and responsive.

Retention Focus

The unpredictable landscape we operate in requires the USAF to continue to revisit, improve, and evolve our personnel management processes to ensure we retain our talented Airmen.

While some initiatives are force-wide and others are more targeted, they all have the same objective:

Same Objective
Increase our competitive position for top talent.

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