Figuring out the differences between the enlisted and officer assignment systems was one of the first administrative challenges I experienced as a prior enlisted officer. In theory the processes are the same. First big Air Force determines how many people need to fill which slots, people are matched, then the formal assignments are dropped into the system. In practice there are small nuances which make each process unique. On the enlisted side although requirements are projected and advertised for each assignment cycle, the individual’s “dream sheet” never expires. A computer will compare an Airman’s Date Arrived on Station (DAS) against the Airman’s dream sheet and match assignments accordingly. If Thule AB, Greenland is on the dream sheet, five years later the enlisted airman may find themselves with an assignment. On the officer side the process is a lot more deliberate. Although the form officers fill out (called an Airman Development Plan) may last from one assignment to the next, the last thing you want to do is use the ADP you used three years ago for your next assignment. Deliberate action from the member is required for each officer assignment because the officer’s career track plays a role in where the officer should go.
I view the officer assignment process as a two stage process. The first stage is the personal stage where you have to decide for yourself where you want to go and communicate that with your leadership. For me personally, this was the most difficult aspect of the entire process. The second stage is the administrative stage where you have to actively track the different assignment process milestones and be prepared for each one long before they arrive. The purpose of this post is to provide my perspective of both stages of this process.
Career Field Expectations
As a space operator you will hear debate after debate about what the Air Force wants you to do. For example, “they” will say you have to work for the NRO, the NRO is a career killer, depth of experience is more important than breadth, breadth is more important than depth, your next assignment idea will ‘take you off the command track,’ you must do two ops tours; the perspectives you get are going to be as diverse as the people giving them. The truth is, what you choose should depend entirely on your own personal priorities and goals. You have to analyze the “why” behind the advice people give you. For example, someone who works very closely with the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles may say you as a 13S should do a tour there, but you personally may have zero interest in acquisitions. Similarly, a retired Major may tell you it doesn’t matter at all and you should go where you want based on location alone, but you may want to be a commander someday. The decisions you make can open and close doors for your career down the road. The good news is that it is that closing doors for your first or second assignment is a fairly minor concern.
Command Track
One of the differences I have noticed about being an officer vs. being enlisted is how success is measured. As an enlisted member there is a lot of emphasis on rank. An enlisted member’s awesomeness is often measured by how many years it took them to sew on a rank or whether or not they made each rank the first time. As an officer it is a little different. We try not to talk about our own rank or promotion. Our mentors will rarely ask us what rank we want to achieve. Instead, one question I have heard several times is, ‘Do you want to be a commander someday?’ Knowing this, I am gathering that an officer is considered successful if they have been selected for command. Being a commander is a special badge of honor. Once you earn the commander insignia, you never lose it and you are part of the club of graduated commanders.
All of that said, it is generally accepted that choosing a non-command career path is completely acceptable. We as officers just need to understand the difference between each path. There are a club of officers who are on the command track and part of that club, and the rest have different priorities such as pursuing higher education, a triple-figure private sector job after retirement, or placing the needs of their family ahead of their career. All paths fit into the necessary cogs of the Air Force machine. I should mention that for your first and second assignment you are too junior for any of this to have any meaningful impact. This is the type of thing you keep in the back of your mind as you plot out the second decade of your commissioned service.
The Next Step
Our career field is divided into four different shreds:
- Satellite Command and Control (13SXA)
- Spacelift (13SXB)
- Space Surveillance (13SXC)
- Missile Warning (13SXE)
The letter at the end of the AFSC identify the shred. You don’t pick a shred, you pick a base and receive whatever shred is allocated to that squadron. As an example bases like Thule AB, Greenland or Clear AFS, AK are easy because they are warning bases; Cape Canaveral AFS, FL is a Spacelift base. The general consensus is that the career field wants you to do two ops tours in two different mission sets or shreds.
This brings up the “depth vs. breadth” controversy again which many people are very passionate about. Does the ideal space officer have experience in all four shreds (breadth), or is he or she an untouchable expert in just one shred such as Missile Warning (depth)? In my opinion, the ideal space officer will be a technical expert in two shreds and will have a high-level understanding of a third. I am not saying that you need to be an operator at two bases of two different shreds… I am saying that you need to be able to speak intelligently, often drawing on technical expertise, on how to apply different weapon systems to solve future problems.
From a different perspective, one of your goals as a 13S should be to understand how our career field contributes to the following space capabilities outlined in Joint Publication 3-14, Space Operations. Our career field is unique in that one assignment can help us understand several of the space capabilities. Having a grasp on each will help us understand how we can better leverage our efforts to fit into the larger strategic picture.
- Space Situational Awareness
- Space Control
- Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
- Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance
- Satellite Communications
- Environmental Monitoring
- Missile Warning
- Nuclear Detonation Detection
- Spacelift
- Satellite Operations
Personal Desires
The first consideration I outlined was related to your long-term career goals and aspirations. The second consideration was related to your foundation of tactical and technical experience you will draw upon later in your career. The third consideration you should consider are your own personal desires. Where do you want to live? What location would be best for your family? Here are a few things I thought about as I considered my second assignment.
Location
I have lived in many different locations which have ranged from small communities to large cities. Over the years I have learned that I prefer the conveniences and diversity of large cities instead of small rural communities. This provides my family and I with benefits such as public libraries, theater or arts, local sports events, or museums to choose from. Another consideration is the local climate. Do you prefer mountains or beaches? Deserts or plains?
Schools
If you have children a primary consideration for you is likely the quality of the local schools. How do the schools of the city rank among other cities in the state? How does the state’s education system rank among other states? Are the schools large schools or small schools? Will this PCS cause your children to PCS for their senior year of high school?
Conclusion
Once you have a general idea of where you want to go it is time to familiarize yourself with the administrative requirements of the officer assignment process. Since this post is getting a little long already, I will break that into a second post.
Leave a Reply