ACC’s chief enlisted personnel manager visits Duke Field

  • Published
  • By Ms. Michelle Gigante
  • 919th Special Operations Wing
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  The 919th Special Operations Force Support Squadron recently hosted Air Combat Command’s chief enlisted manager of personnel and used the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues focused on maintaining readiness of Citizen Airmen throughout the wing.

Chief Master Sgt. Kelly Herndon shared her perspective on the current state of Air Force training and answered several questions from Unit Training Managers during her visit.

“We discussed the way forward and how Unit Training Managers can work with their commanders and other Air Force Specialty Codes to produce mission-capable Airmen,” said Herndon.

One item of interest among Duke Field UTMs was the recent transition from Advanced Distribution Learning System to the My Learning digital platform. The initiative is part of Air Education and Training Command’s efforts to provide a modernized and interactive training platform for Airmen.

The platform’s vision is to centralize Learning Management Systems across the Air Force and allow students to access multiple databases and training curriculum with a single login.

UTMs from across the Wing also talked with Herndon about ways to improve efficiencies across the education and training community.

“We are getting Airmen trained while also implementing new and innovative ways to accomplish our mission,” said Master Sgt. Shaun Martin, 919th SOFSS education and training manager.

“One example of this innovative approach is the trend by a number of career fields to move away from traditional Career Development Courses in favor of a Distance Learning Course,” said Martin. “This new process requires us to enroll Airmen into formal schools for five and seven skill level upgrade training. It’s similar to a college course that allows them to complete all of the requirements within the Distance Learning program without ever having to come to the testing center on base.”

The goal of the change is to streamline the process for skill-level upgrade and, in doing so, aligning steps for career development with warfighter readiness.

The commitment to ensuring Airmen are “mission ready” was not lost on Herndon who acknowledged the adaptive and dedicated nature of training managers by providing challenge coins to Martin and several other members as a token of her appreciation for their superior performance.

“I love visiting Airmen,” Herndon said. “There’s so much going on right now in our community I felt it was important to get out and talk to our teams. I want them to know we understand what they are going through in the field and offer solutions while recognizing their outstanding efforts.”

(Mr. Dan Hawkins, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs contributed to this story)