Professional Military Education for Company Grade Officers: Targeting for "Affect"

Aerospace Power Journal, Summer, 2001 by Alisen Iversen

Editorial Abstract: A crucial part of Air Force education in leadership occurs at Squadron Officer College (SOC), located at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base (AFB), Alabama. This article explores curriculum changes in SOC's focur-week Aerospace Basic Course (ABC) for newly commissioned officers and Air Force--equivalent civilians, and five-week Squadron Officer School (SOS) for junior and midgrade officers and Air Force--equivalent civilians. A majority of SOC students are members of "Generation X."

THROUGH THE YEARS, the professional military education (PME) curriculum for company grade officers (CGO) has been dynamic in order to meet Air Force needs as well as the changing characteristics of CGOs. Recently, SOC has initiated important changes by increasing its emphasis on the affective domain of learning in response to the demonstrated traits of the most recent generation of officers entering the Air Force.

This article outlines the characteristics of these officers--members of "Generation X"--compares them to those of the "baby boomer" generation, and provides some opinions of Air Force leaders regarding their expectations of these CGOs. It discusses how PME plays a role in preparing CGOs to meet the challenges they will face in their Air Force careers and shows how the SOC curricula have been redesigned to enhance effectiveness in educating our future Air Force leaders.

Changing of the Guard

A shift in leadership roles from one generation to another has begun. As baby boomers retire, more and more Generation Xers enter the workforce. [1] By the early 1990s, they had surpassed baby boomers in total workforce population. [2] Soon, today's Air Force senior officers--consisting predominantly of baby boomers--will begin turning over the reins to Generation Xers.

Much has changed in American society over the last two generations, including the educational system. Some "progressive" educational movements produced curricula and methods that failed the average student. In fact, some curricula and methods have tended to create observable differences between Generation Xers and baby boomers so that today many of the nation's graduates do not share a common body of knowledge, common body of principles, or common moral and intellectual discipline. [3] Yet, to remain effective as an institution, the Air Force needs members who share those commonalities. PME can play a critical role in this endeavor.

PME and the Affective Domain

Education includes two main categories or domains of learning: the cognitive domain of facts and figures, measurable in levels of knowledge or comprehension, [4] and the affective domain of ideas, reflected in attitudes, values, and feelings. [5] Air Force PME has traditionally concentrated on cognitive learning, which will continue to take place at SOC in lessons on Air Force doctrine, theory, and history. Yet, some of those subjects--history, for example--also contain important affective elements. In some subject areas, the affective domain is dominant. Concentrating on this domain is only one of many recent changes at SOC.

PME at the CGO level helps prepare newly commissioned and junior officers for leadership roles at the tactical level. In PME they acquire many of the skills needed to fulfill the expectations of senior leaders. According to Gen Gregory S. Martin, US Air Forces in Europe, "the role of PME is to broaden CGOs' understanding of the Air Force's structure and mission, as well as provide an exposure to the teamwork and functional interrelationships necessary for the Air Force to succeed." [6]

But PME falters in this role because curricula written to teach boomers aren't nearly as effective for Xers. For the most part, Generation Xers want to be entertained while they learn, and they don't look forward to hearing auditorium lectures from guest speakers who don't have dynamic, technologically savvy presentations. This is not to stereotype Xers as people who lack the boomers' attention span, patience, tolerance, or discipline. They simply appear to learn better under some circumstances than others. Why? They grew up that way--captivated by the media, advertising, and, most notably, educational methodologies designed to entertain and teach only the necessary requirements in minimum time. [7] Years ago, auditorium presentations were the standard practice, largely because of the available technology. A speaker's measure of merit was based on the power of words rather than the razzle-dazzle of his or her electronic slides. Students also accepted the premise that someone of higher rank was worth listenin g to and deserved their respect. Today, students might have respect for a higher rank but at the same time feel that guest speakers owe it to the audience to be entertaining. According to Dr. Hank Dasinger of SOC, "data [collected from SOC student critiques] suggests Generation X learners prefer to be engaged in their learning instead of [being] passive recipients." Seminar sessions are more likely to appeal to them because the environment is conducive to open discussion and interaction between student and instructor. [8]