Arm yourself with knowledge

  • Published
  • By Col. Karl McGregor
  • 452 AMW
Last year, I was chosen to attend the month-long Senior Executive Fellows course at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The course began Oct. 16 and, as I write this, I am in my second week.

I just received an excellent briefing on the importance of continuing education, with the thesis of the speech being that successful organizations invariably expend resources in this area. It has been estimated the military spends as much as two-thirds of its time in the training and education of its members.

I believe our strength is our members and greatness comes partially through education and training; growth opportunities come first to those who are armed with knowledge. The capacity to succeed and lead well comes from preparation, and preparation is education in its many forms.

In the near future, we will host an enlisted workshop for our first term Airmen, which will
begin their path toward excellence. We are also engaged with bringing instructors from the Coopers Institute to help us develop fitness and nutrition expertise. This forum will be for our physical training leaders and some select squadron volunteers, effectively putting fitness expertise at the unit level.

There are also plans for an off-site conference for our staff and technical sergeants that will concentrate on supervisory and leadership skills and preparing them for the top three enlisted positions. In addition, there's been a steady stream of applications for all levels of professional military education and, as we all know, PME is a key pillar for advancement.

I encourage you to continuously look for opportunities to expand your knowledge base and add tools to your kit. Please take advantage of the many opportunities this great country and the Air Force provide in the education arena. See you all in life's classroom!