Photo By Tech. Sgt. Noah Tancer | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Bronson Moss, the education and training section chief...... read more read more
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The U.S. Air Force relies on a constant flow of diverse knowledge and innovation to remain the strongest in the fight. Officers are required to have a college degree before commissioning and the enlisted must take tests to progress. Knowledge is Airpower and force development is the key.
To that end, AFCENT goes to great lengths to not hamper its Airmen’s education while deployed. Even at Prince Sultan Air Base a deployment location still listed as austere, WiFi and internet capabilities are kept above the standard requirements for online schooling.
But the commitment to education doesn't stop at suitable infrastructure. Instead, the 378th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron takes it a step further contracting and managing force development locations such as the Learning Resource Center and Testing Control Facility.
“The LRC is technically not a library but it does have over 3,000 books, games, videos and even audiobooks there that members can come in and get a ‘library card’ to check things out with,” said Master Sgt. Bronson Moss, an education and training manager assigned to the 378th EFSS. “It’s also a quiet place where anyone can study, read, play board games or gather to discuss topics.”
Furnished with stocked bookshelves emitting the smell of old parchment, padded recliners with built-in massaging, a wall of cubbies with on-and-off network computers and a large wood table in the back for group discussion. The LRC is a place to focus on oneself in the soft light.
Then there’s the Testing Control Facility, a more corporate design with rows of tables and seats facing the monitor at the front, for Tuition Assistance Briefs. Cubbied computers line both sides facing the wall, their screen projecting a blue-hued atmosphere of deep focus and hard thought, as the TCF is the proving ground of one’s studies.
“Our testing numbers are about 10 to 12 tests a week,” said Moss. “A lot of Airmen come and need to finish their Career Development Course exams. We give people the opportunity to take
Defense Language Proficiency Test and have recently started doing Federal Aviation Administration testing for pilots and ground crews, Air Force Officer Qualifying Test for potential officers and Armed Forces Classification Test for anyone wanting to get their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery score up.”
Air Force Reservists and Guardsmen can enroll in Professional Military Education through the Air University Global College and U.S. Soldiers deployed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, alongside the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing’s Airmen, can take both the DLPT and AFCT as well as the Defense Language Aptitude Battery exam, with more tests on offer to all still to come.
“We’ve just been approved to have College-Level Examination Program and DANTES Subject Standardized Test capabilities here at PSAB,” said Moss. “The University of Maryland will come to put the equipment in and provide people to do academic counseling. I don’t have an estimated time of arrival but the next person in my position will hopefully see it to fruition.”
As a testament to deployed force development, Moss a reservist assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, completed his Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy distance learning, got a couple of Information Technology certifications and increased his class of amateur radio operator license while deployed to PSAB.
“Take advantage of your time here and advance your career,” said Moss. “This is a great place to do it as it gives you something to work on in the evenings and a little bit on the weekends.”
Force development doesn’t only mean military education and classes. All forms of higher education whether in direct correlation to an Airman’s military career field or a completely separate major intended for future employment in the civilian sector matter. Every class can lead to a thought, theory or innovation with the potential to advance U.S. Air Power.
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2022 12:06 |
| Story ID: | 431896 |
| Location: | PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, SA |
| Web Views: | 621 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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