Transforming the USAF Thru Tactical Leadership Development

This painting[i] sits outside my office here at USAF Air Command and Staff College. It’s a picture of General Carl Spaatz the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. General Spaatz was a 1925 graduate of the Air Corps Tactical School, ACSC’s predecessor, when it was located at Langley Field, Virginia.[ii] I’ll talk more about Gen Spaatz in the coming months but one of the things I appreciate about this painting is the reminder of the impact Air Command and Staff College has on the leadership of the United States Air Force. A long history that started with CSAF 1.

When I was invited to join the ACSC team a few months ago, I took time to consider what value Air Command and Staff College has to our nation. Could I put into words why this mission is singularly important? My answer; ACSC’s impact on airpower leaders. In a 2016 letter to the Air Force, General David Goldfein identified squadrons as “the Beating Heart of the Air Force.”[iii] He went on to say that squadron leadership teams have “the most profound and lasting impact on Airmen and families.”[iv] Squadron commanders provide tactical leadership for the United States Air Force and, if we want to transform the Air Force, squadrons are the place to start. Nowhere else in Professional Military Education can we invest in future air power leaders like we can at ACSC. More than 80% of ACSC graduates will be USAF Squadron Commanders within 5 years of graduating. This does not include the 83 international officers from 64 countries in our classrooms this year and the impact they will have in their air forces at home. Over a 10-month period, we have the ability to invest in the next round of tactical airpower leaders in a way no other school can match. In recognition of our ability to transform the USAF’s leadership development, our ACSC team has invested in airpower leader education like never before. This past Friday, our #ACSCNext curriculum completed an ACSC “first” by enabling Joint Air Operations Planner certification for all 511 students.  Today, our students started the first day of a 150% increase in leadership lessons in their core curriculum. One of our primary goals for ACSC over the next two years is to build a world-class leadership development curriculum which gives future leaders the tools to be successful. We’ve started this year making leadership development a major part of the ACSC curriculum. We’ve dedicated time for our students to learn and we will continue to drive improvements. We aim to follow through on General CQ Brown’s guidance to accelerate change by transforming the way Air University invests in the USAF’s next wave of tactical leaders.[v]

[i] U.S. Army. "Spaatz standing beside his B-17, "Boops", named for his daughter Carla." Library of Congress. 1944. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017650355/ (accessed August 9, 2022).

[ii] United States Air Force. "General Carl A. Spaatz." United States Air Force. n.d. https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105528/general-carl-a-spaatz/ (accessed August 9, 2022). https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105528/general-carl-a-spaatz/

[iii] Goldfein, Dave. "United States Air force." CSAF Focus Area Squadrons. August 2016. https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/csaf/letters/CSAF_Focus_Area_Squadrons.pdf (accessed August 9, 2022).

[iv] Ibid

[v] Jr., Charles Q. Brown. "Unites States Air Force." CSAF 22 Strategic Approach Accelerate Change or Lose. August 31, 2020. https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/csaf/CSAF_22/CSAF_22_Strategic_Approach_Accelerate_Change_or_Lose_31_Aug_2020.pdf (accessed August 9, 2022).