Professional Development

  • Published
  • By Col. Cassie Barlow
  • 48th Mission Support Group Commander
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Did you ever find yourself walking down a path, and when you looked up you weren't quite sure where you were headed? When was the last time you thought about your path and the professional development required to get there? Whether you're an Airman, NCO, Senior NCO, officer, civilian, dependent or Ministry Of Defense employee, professional development opportunities translate directly into future job prospects.

RAF Lakenheath has an incredible number of professional development opportunities available to our community, and I want to make sure everyone is aware and knows where to go to start building or executing their professional development plan. If there is an area of professional development you would like that we are not currently offering, please let me know and we'll see what we can do to add a new program.

First and foremost, we have five universities (University of Maryland, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of Oklahoma, University of Phoenix, Central Texas College) on our base. Each university provides different programs, and there are 45 different associate's, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Master of Science degree programs available to you. Active duty personnel, contractors and U.S. civilians - to include their dependents - are authorized to enroll in these university programs. If an MOD employee is also a dependent, they are also eligible to take classes.

Our 48th Force Support Squadron Education Services office offers a myriad of other programs such as Federal Aviation Agency Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic license testing and Pearson Vue Technical Testing in more than 90 different areas of study, to include computer and medical certifications. This office is also where you can find out about your benefits, such as Community College of the Air Force, Montgomery GI Bill, Post 9/11 GI Bill, Continuing Education, On-Base Education, Extended Leave of Absence and the Enlisted College Loan Repayment Program.

We also have some testing programs available: Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support, Professional Military Education and College Level Examination Program tests. Our National Test Center will be available soon and will offer an increase in CLEP opportunities and an instant scoring capability.

If you are an enlisted member and are interested in becoming an officer, there are many ways to make this happen. Our education office can walk you through enlisted commissioning programs including Officer Training School, Leaders Encouraging Airmen Development and Air
Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Professional development also includes professional military education. I encourage you to go and sit down with a counselor to talk about your professional development plan. The first part of our professional development program includes three Air Force Instruction-driven courses. One course is the NCO Professional Enhancement Course. This course is offered to all staff sergeants and technical sergeants who haven't attended formal Professional Military Education during the last three years. Lakenheath offers six on-site classes a year. Our partnership with RAF Mildenhall doubles that availability as they offer six classes a year as well. Another AFI-driven course is the Senior NCO Professional Enhancement Course. This is a mandatory course for all master sergeant selects. The course is offered twice during each promotion cycle. Our last AFI course is Career Choices. This course is offered to those individuals who are 12 to 15 months from their date of separation. Registration is not limited, so anyone can attend this course.

The second part of our professional development program includes our 21 locally-developed professional development courses. The most important aspect of these courses is that they are open registration for military, civilian or MOD employees. Some of the courses include: Mentoring, EPR 

Writing, Effective Writing, Awards & Decorations, Time Management, Airman Professional Development, Taming your Temper, Stress Relief, Air Force Heritage, Conflict Management, Manpower, Honor & Ethics, Customs & Courtesies, Leadership Styles, Standards & Discipline, Human Performance
Factors, CCAF and Beyond, Air Force Reserve/Air Guard, Palace Chase/Front, and Retraining 101.

As you can see, we have options for everyone ... and the best part is, you don't even have to go off base. Take a minute to visit an education counselor in Building 948, and find out what program is best for you!
We're looking forward to seeing you at the Professional Development Center.