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Air Force implements AFMC's civilian orientation course

  • Published
  • By Nicole Singer
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
When Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley recently sought a way to provide initial training to new Air Force civilians, Gen. Bruce Carlson, the commander of Air Force Materiel Command, offered AFMC's existing, extensive training course created for that reason.

As a result, the Air Force is adopting AFMC's Civilian Orientation Course for use Air Force wide. The course is the first step in ensuring all Air Force civilians have proper career training and familiarizes them with their new work environment.

According to Terry Staley, a professional development analyst for AFMC's Personnel Directorate, all Air Force major commands were notified about the use of AFMC's program in January.

"The official policy is expected in April, but representatives from the MAJCOMs have been here at AFMC and have been involved so they know what is going on with the program," Mr. Staley said.

"We're trying to build a whole acculturation process for your entire career," Mr. Staley continued. "This is the first step for civilian training."

The second step in training will be in partnership with Air University and may include an in-residence course. It will provide any additional training requirements set by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. For now, the AFMC program is being pushed out to all commands as quickly as possible.

The course material covers information on Air Force heritage, customs, development and workforce safety and security. It provides civilians with the general information they need to navigate their way through a military organization.

Civilians will learn the Air Force Core Values and will better understand the Air Force. The Customs and Courtesies module explains military rank and protocol, while the Heritage and Today section gives an overview of Air Force history and the development into its current state.

There is also room for MAJCOMs to insert their own information with slides or videos, but the original course has not needed many modifications.

"There have only been minor changes in the course, for example, organization name changes, or names of commanders," Mr. Staley said. "The core course modules have remained the same."

AFMC first introduced the Civilian Orientation Course in March 2006 to ensure AFMC civilians had all of the training necessary to begin their civilian career. The program continues to grow, with two modules added last year and one in development for 2008.

"It makes sense for AFMC to have developed this for the Air Force," Mr. Staley said. "After all, AFMC employs about 40 percent of the civilian workforce in the Air Force."

While currently in use by Air Force MAJCOMS, AFMC's Civilian Orientation Course is still found under the AFMC Knowledge Now Community of Practice, a secure Web site. Later this year, the program will be moved to the Advanced Distributed Learning Services website run by the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph AFB, Texas.