Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Airmen’s Week marks first anniversaryPublished March 25, 2016
                    
                    By Staff Sgt. Marissa Garner
                    
                    
                    502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS)** -- The 37th Training Wing will mark the first year of the Airmen’s Week program here on March 25.
Airmen’s Week is a five-day course that helps Airmen better prepare for technical training school and beyond. The strategic curriculum further develops professional, resilient Airmen who are inspired by heritage, committed to the service’s core values, and motivated to deliver airpower, according to Kevin Adelsen, the Air Education and Training Command Airmen’s Week program manager.
Since its inception, instructors, course developers and, most importantly, Airmen have noted the positive impacts the program has had thus far.
“We are getting them to think more deeply about Air Force core values, about what it means to be a member of the profession of arms, and we have over an 89 percent approval rate from the Airmen that have been through Airmen’s Week,” Adelsen said. “From a qualitative, anecdotal standpoint, it is a resounding success.”
The concept of Airmen’s Week stemmed from Air Force officials, including Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and members of the 737th Training Group, evaluating the former 8 1/2-week basic military training program and assessing how to further enhance airmanship skills and emphasize a long-standing commitment to core values and morality.
“We’re trying to get into our Airmen’s hearts and into their minds earlier, and really develop the right culture, and what it really means to be an Airman serving their nation,” said Chief Master Sgt. David Staton, the AETC command chief.
Although the program has undergone changes since its launch, the goal of Airmen’s Week remains constant with curriculum focused exclusively on wingmanship, resiliency, leadership and followership, sexual assault prevention and response, the warrior ethos, and how Airmen can balance their personal and professional lives.
While the instruction of Airmen’s Week is curriculum based, a concept called active mentorship is also applied, which requires the instructors to engage with the Airmen to figure out what they want to know about the Air Force instead of waiting to be asked. By displaying the transparency to share both successes and failures, instructors can provide both relatable and ethical advice to Airmen as they begin their careers.
“Active mentorship is the idea that you don’t passively wait for an Airman to seek out guidance and advice,” said Lt. Col. Meghan Doherty, the 326th Training Squadron and Airmen’s Week commander. “You seek out the Airman to give them what they need and ask them what they want. You use your experience to help an Airman find their path in the Air Force.”  
For the students, Airmen’s Week is proving to have added great value as they transition from civilians to Airmen. 
Airman 1st Class Brianna Smith, a 20th Intelligence Squadron geospatial intelligence analyst at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, was one of the first Airmen to complete Airmen’s Week and believes the course will have a positive and lasting effect on her career and personal life.
“For me personally, when I think back on my experience, absolutely 100 percent, it was worth it,” Smith said. “I took a lot from Airmen’s Week and I was very, very lucky to walk away with an extremely unique and valuable experience.”         
The qualitative data from Airmen combined with quantitative data from the Air Force’s technical training schools will provide an even more accurate measure of where Airmen’s Week is today. Facilitators will process the information they’re given and determine the direction needed in order to continue developing and producing quality Airmen. 
"One year ago, we implemented Airmen's Week in an effort to help fundamentally shape the character of the Airmen serving in our United States Air Force,” said Brig. Gen. Trent Edwards, the commander of the 37th Training Wing. 
“During the last year, over 31,000 Airmen have transitioned through Airmen's Week and today, I am proud to state that we have successfully produced more professional, resilient Airmen, inspired by our heritage, committed to the Air Force core values, and motivated to deliver airpower for America,” Edwards said.JB San Antonio-Lackland 



airpower 



training 



Airmen's Week Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil