Outcomes: Series wrap-up connects Officer Development System dots

  • Published
  • By Col. David LaRivee
  • Department of Economics and Geosciences
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  For the past several months we have described each of the USAFA outcomes, but we have not spent much time discussing how they fit together to guide the Air Force Academy's Officer Development System. 

We all need to understand this relationship in order to fulfill our commitments as members of the Air Force Academy because, as General Creech, former commander of Tactical Air Command, was fond of saying, "the first duty of a leader is to grow more leaders." 

Our Officer Development System at USAFA develops officers through a simple framework. It establishes the identity of an officer by relating the most essential attributes of officership--character, professionalism, service to the nation, and warrior ethos--to our Core Values, Oath of Office, and the Constitution of the United States. 

It constructs a framework for presenting this identity to cadets and permanent party through role modeling, education, training, and experiences. This Officer Development System seeks to inspire a commitment to the officer identity through association, habit development, and the innate appeal of the core values. 

Finally, it provides a four-year course of instruction designed to develop and enhance the competencies associated with being an officer of character. 

The USAFA Outcomes are a key component supporting each of these four objectives.
While the four attributes of officership succinctly capture the essence of a leader of character and represent the familiar image of a good officer to the public, an effective developmental process requires the more refined description of the expectations captured in the 19 detailed Outcomes. 

When we witness character we see it through actions that exhibit courage, ethical reasoning, respect for human dignity, and other qualities. A military professional stands apart from her civilian counterparts by possessing and employing unique skills and specialized knowledge. 

Service, in its most demanding interpretation, requires discipline to sustain a lifetime of rigorous preparation, the willingness to sacrifice personal returns for national imperatives, and the stamina to stay the course despite the heavy burden associated with carrying the load for others. 

The warrior ethos that inspires those around us is the indomitable will that springs from the courage, discipline, and stamina through which we employ our skills and knowledge to make the critical decisions necessary to fulfill our responsibilities. Thus, the multidimensional personality reflected in the image of an officer of character is the composite presentation of the USAFA Outcomes. 

This means that when we develop these attributes, we must integrate our efforts across all mission elements of the Academy. Not one of the 19 Outcomes can be achieved by a single mission element. Likewise when our graduates serve as officers, they must blend them all together to deliver on their obligation to serve our nation. 

Recent events offer a glimpse how well cadets are already combining these talents to meet challenges similar to those they will face in the future. 

Recently, 26 cadets applied their knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to set a new altitude record for a collegiate-built rocket launch, highlighting their competencies in teamwork, engineering and science knowledge, and their understanding of the application of space power. 

Our cadet hockey team displayed its indomitable spirit and professionalism this past season, defeating traditional powerhouse teams, and just missing qualifying for the Frozen Four NCAA Championships. 

Our outstanding track record for placing graduates in international and national scholarship programs is a testimony to our ability to develop officers whose concepts of public service and civic leadership is comparable to the best from around the world. And, each day, our cadet-run honor system challenges cadets to maintain and enforce high standards of ethical conduct while facing heavy academic, athletic, military and social demands. 

Which of the Outcomes is most important to the development of officers? The brutal truth of the matter is that they all are. 

Col. H.R. McMasters recently said that the Iraq war has revealed a need for officers who are "open to change as an opportunity, have a tolerance for ambiguity, and adjust rapidly to evolving situations." So the challenges we face in developing quality officers are enormous. Our officers will be expected to lead much earlier and in more diverse fields of endeavor than ever before. 

As military members, our commitment to serve wherever we are needed makes us one of the few all-threat capable resources available to respond to world-wide crises. As a result, Air Force officers are currently serving in a myriad of roles ranging across the military, political, diplomatic, or economic spectrum of natural security issues. We will continue to need officers who possess sufficiently broad capabilities to lead successfully in such a complex environment. 

The USAFA Outcomes are soundly based on the experiences of these officers and their predecessors. 

The Outcomes point the way. 

In the words of one cadet, "Overall, the USAFA Outcomes successfully encapsulate and develop the type of leader vital to today's Air Force." Any significant deficiencies in any of the outcomes weakens the core capabilities of any officer and can lead to serious consequences measured in terms of lives, equipment, or national objectives.
As civilian and military leaders of all ranks and positions assigned to the Air Force Academy, it is our duty to grow more leaders who possess the vital qualities captured in the 19 Outcomes.