{"id":38743,"date":"2022-11-15T21:33:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/11\/15\/afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:16:17","slug":"afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/11\/15\/afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign\/","title":{"rendered":"AFA\u2019s listless leading professional development event needs a redesign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Force Association\u2019s <\/a>annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-force-association\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air, Space &amp; Cyber Conference<\/a>, recently held at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland, prominently bills itself as the \u201cleading professional development event for Air Force and Space Force officers, enlisted members, civilians, veterans and defense industry leaders and representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over three days, 47 public addresses and panels, a technology exhibition and a multitude of invitation-only side meetings, the independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization has indeed cultivated quite the occasion for industry dialogue and military officer speechmaking. But are the speeches unified around a coherent goal and agreed-upon audience, and does the format lend itself to the \u201cprofessional development\u201d publicity? For the association, and the Department of the Air Force, it is time to go back to the drawing board with these events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the intended audience and professional development-related messages were agreed upon by the multitude of flag officers on their platforms, then one would expect a greater degree of consistency from speech to speech. From \u201cmanifestos\u201d intended to rally airmen and Guardians to a greater concentration on \u2014 and enthusiasm for \u2014 air power-delivered lethality, to guided panel discussions intended to showcase industry leaders alongside staff decision-makers, there was clearly an intent to speak directly with the military professionals and their counterparts in the industrial base. These audiences, and the services\u2019 command echelons staking out specific goals and long-term objectives, make good sense within the professional development paradigm \u2014 even if the cross-cutting, take-home message was often confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there was a third audience, on frequent occasion explicitly named, and at others implied given the stage: the Congress. In the shadow of a looming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/11\/18\/what-is-a-continuing-resolution\/\" target=\"_blank\">continuing resolution<\/a> and fiscal 2024 presidential budget request, bolstering a force that is \u201cgetting smaller, getting older, becoming less capable, or all three,\u201d and bluntly \u201ctrying to get resources\u201d were clear messages aimed at the appropriators just up the river. This is to be expected; \u2018tis the season and the location, and even in accordance with the core mission of the AFA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Year on year, the organization\u2019s bread and butter remains an advocacy mission \u201cto favorably shape policy and resourcing decisions.\u201d The second and third named pillars to the AFA mission are based on public education and support<i> <\/i>to the total force. If this annual conference were grounded on the central organizing concept of professional development, one would expect the education pillar to be most prominent. It is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A multitude of professional development opportunities are out there for the serious military professional. Applying such a banner label to this conference simply strains credulity. It is time to reconsider the fundamental format of this annual affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, the Department of the Air Force, as the partner which is responsible for the content of most of the current speeches and the stewarding of the military participants\u2019 time and attention, must be central to the solution. It should start with identifying whether the forum benefits from all the myriad flag officers\u2019 scattered perceptions of who exactly is in the assembled physical and virtual crowds, and what they need to hear. A narrower set of official speeches \u2014 by the secretary, undersecretary and chiefs \u2014 would be easier to synchronize and deliver for effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, with the time surrendered back to the assembled multitudes, bona fide professional development may be realized by pinning the lapel mics on brilliant uniformed or civilian airmen and Guardians who have conducted research and authored important works over the preceding year. Air University \u2014 and other joint professional military education organizations \u2014 already host multiple annual conferences that may be used to identify the most compelling original pieces. The year\u2019s best are literally waiting in the wings. Industry experts may also be loosed to speak more than an inch deep about those trends and opportunities identified within their spaces. The department could work with AFA and put out a call for papers or presentations from industry on a discrete series of topics in the months leading up to the conference, then collaborate to nominate the best candidates for more detailed, live seminars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lastly, should these or other needed conference modifications not be explicitly in the works by mid-next year, department wing and delta commanders should strongly consider downsizing their accompanying temporary duty contingents. Numbered Air Forces, major and field commands and higher echelons will likely still see benefits to the forum \u2014 especially through their pre-coordinated side meetings \u2014 but the wider cast of tactical leaders and operators should alternatively be sent to more focused, actual professional development opportunities. There are also exceptionally complex projects to be supported, and connections made, over at the headquarters \u2014 should travel to the national capital region be a high priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AFA\u2019s annual Air, Space &amp; Cyber Conference is quite the opportunity for assembling a crowd, delivering speeches to set direction, and creating time and space for industry and government conversations. The advocacy pillar of its host, however, along with the event\u2019s timing and location, have allowed the visible forum to slide unmistakably towards a congressionally facing, make-the-case-for-resources focus. It may yet realize its stated professional development aim, but not without a significant break with tradition. Now\u2019s the time. We can do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Maj. Mitch Fossum is a staff officer at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an opinion?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>If you would like to respond, or have an editorial of your own you would like to submit, please <\/i><a href=\"mailto:opinions@militarytimes.com\"><i>email us<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Want more perspectives like this sent straight to you? <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/link.militarytimes.com\/join\/5b9\/sign-up-opinion\"><i>Subscribe to get our Commentary &amp; Opinion newsletter<\/i><\/a><i> once a week.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air, Space &#038; Cyber Conference, the \u201cleading professional development event for [the] Air Force and Space Force,&#8221; is not living up to its billing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":71526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":75,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["opinion","commentary","middle-column","home","newsletters"],"primary_category":"commentary"}}},"categories":[75,101,24,89,26,18],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4043],"class_list":["post-38743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZBYB364MKFC2PMJX2I5F6UAKZ4","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/11\/15\/afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AFA\u2019s listless leading professional development event needs a redesign - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Air, Space &amp; Cyber Conference, the \u201cleading professional development event for Air Force and Space Force,&quot; is not living up to its billing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/11\/15\/afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFA\u2019s listless leading professional development event needs a redesign\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Air, Space &amp; Cyber Conference, the \u201cleading professional development event for Air Force and Space Force,&quot; is not living up to its billing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2022\/11\/15\/afas-listless-leading-professional-development-event-needs-a-redesign\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-15T21:33:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:16:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maj. 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