Eaker rolls out civilian personnel course

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The changing world of Air Force civilian personnel is creating a new dynamic, and Air University is answering the call.

A new course offered by the Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development is helping members in the civilian personnel field meet the challenges of personnel systems delivery transformation.

Twenty students from 10 different major commands participated in the initial offering of the Civilian Personnel Advisor Course from Jan. 27-30.

"This is the pilot for the CPAC, and it addresses the changes in how the Air Force delivers personnel services," said Col. Tim Donohue, ECPD's Air Force Human Resource Management School director. "We are transitioning from a customer service centered system to a key advisory role, and this course will provide the necessary tools for the students to fill that role."

The colonel said base-level staff members used to "touch all programs" within personnel, but due to centralization and web-based delivery systems and smaller staffs, the Air Force needs them to serve as advisors to their base's leadership.

Retired Gen. Billy Boles, former commander of Air Education and Training Command, served as a mentor throughout the course. He said the course was a collaborative effort between the Air Staff, the Air Force Personnel Center and Air University. Subject matter experts were brought in from across the Air Force to design a curriculum that responded to the myriad of changes in the civilian personnel arena.

"The world has changed organizationally and in how we do business, and that's why we have set up this course," he said. "It is not intended to be a 'how to' course but more of a 'how to transition our thinking' course to better meet Air Force needs and big picture concepts."

The director of Plans and Integration and deputy chief of staff for Manpower and Personnel for Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Mark Doboga, provided a briefing to the class on civilian personnel transformation efforts. He observed the importance of this course.

"This course is an important step in ensuring our commanders get the best possible advice on managing the civilian workforce where the 'rubber meets the road,'" he said.

Charles Huerta, deputy personnel services director at the Air Force Personnel Center, said the course will also assist students in understanding the importance of teamwork.

"CPAC will give them a broader view on how decisions will affect other areas, and the course reinforces their need to rely on others for help," he said.

Lt. Col. Brian Schooley, chief of the Force Support Squadron Leadership Development Division for the Human Resource Management School, said the course opened with General Boles providing a senior leader's perspective on strategic advice. Students were then provided lessons on advisory skills; a commander's perspective; and briefings from leaders from the Air Staff and the Air Force Personnel Center. The course then centered on specific functional areas within civilian personnel with tools on providing key advisory services within each area.

Colonel Schooley said, he thought the initial course went "extremely well." He said students provided critiques to each lesson and would complete an end of course survey, and both efforts would be helpful.

"We have received some very candid feedback, which is good and exactly what we wanted," he said. "The students' inputs will help us refine the course and ensure we are hitting the target in educating our civilian personnelists."

Colonel Schooley also stated the course could be used as a template for other functions in the manpower, personnel and services arena.

"This course could be replicated into other areas of A1 training," he said. "We can look at what the functional career field needs are and modify this course to fit those needs."

Janet Wankowski, a student from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., said she enjoyed the course and believed course directors did a great job of bringing in quality speakers and offering great material.

"This course revitalizes us because we were with our peers and were able to share information and experiences," she said. "We are all going to end up in smaller offices and will have to know every aspect of our jobs."

Fellow student, Sherryl Benning from Kadena Air Base, Japan, said while she has been in personnel for many years, CPAC helped her better understand the larger concepts of Air Force personnel.

"Now I understand the other side of the coin and the importance of communication and team work," she said. "One thing I will take back to my job is you must do the best you can. The phrase, 'blossom where you are planted,' will stick in my mind."

Each day ended with a senior mentor session. On Jan. 29, General Boles provided his reflection and opened with a joke, stating the three hardest things in the world to do were "climb a wall that's leaning towards you; kiss a person that's leaning away from you; and keeping someone's attention for the last 30 minutes of a class." On a more serious note, he said as he moved up in his career, he never had any problems calling the person who knew the answer to a problem, and suggested the students continually work with their peers to build relationships.

Following his reflection, General Boles said he thought the course had gone "very well" and accomplished what course planners had intended.

"The big thing to come out of CPAC is the interaction from the students, many of whom have experienced some of the problems and issues we discussed and have ideas on how to fix them," he said. "The interaction opened up the students' ability to talk about ways to transition civilian personnel employees into advisory roles."

His final advice to the students was, "Go forth, do good, fight evil and keep smiling."