The Acquisition Instructor Course (AQIC) is the Department of the Air Force’s premier training ground for informed, connected thought leaders who are part of a larger network shaping the way the Acquisition community interacts with and supports the warfighter. As the Acquisition community’s equivalent institution to the United States Air Force Weapons School, AQIC is a highly selective, five-and-and-one-half month course based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for both Air Force and Space Force Acquisition officers and civilians. The AQIC schoolhouse maintains a strategic partnership with the USAFWS to create numerous integration opportunities for students and graduates, and its construct parallels the USAFWS curriculum methodology, requirements, rigor, and intent.
AQIC was established in 2019 under the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff’s direction to integrate with the USAFWS to accelerate the kill chain through constant acquirer and operator collaboration. The course employs an unconventional curriculum designed to build a cadre of graduates who bridge the divide between acquirers and operators, enhance workforce capability through instruction, and embrace a culture of innovation. In order to achieve its unique mission, AQIC’s curriculum was developed entirely from the ground-up. Some key aspects of the curriculum include:
- Cross-Functional Academics
- Operations Integration
- Intelligence Briefings
- Collaborative Case Study Exercises
- Debrief / Tactics, Techniques & Procedures (TTPs)
- Constructive Feedback
- Numerous Briefings
- Research Papers