page_title: Air War College
section_title: Professional Military Education
hierarchical_section_title: Air War College / Professional Military Education
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jeremy T. Sloane welcomes U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, before he speaks to Air War College students at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; April 30, 2019. (DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann)
context_page_description: The Air War College is the senior Professional Military Education school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operations. Headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, its higher headquarters is the Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. It is one of six war colleges within the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Professional Military Education Phase II Education Program for commissioned officers.
context_section_description: In 2006, the Air War College (AWC) curriculum was certified as a JPME Phase II program by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for AWC classes in Academic Year 2007 and subsequent.
  According to the most recent posting on the official Air War College webpage, "The AWC resident program class membership includes senior officers in the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel (O-5) and Colonel (O-6), or, in the case of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, Commander (O-5) and Captain (O-6), from each U.S. military service (both Active Component and Reserve Component, the latter to include the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard).  AWC students also include civilian employees of federal government agencies at the grades GS-14/GM-14 or GS-15/GM-15, and equivalent rank military officers from the international community of nations."
  In addition to its resident program at Maxwell AFB, the Air War College also conducts two non-resident distance learning programs for eligible U.S. military officers or equivalent Department of Defense or Department of the Air Force civilians (e.g., O-5, GS/GM-14, O-6, or GS/GM-15).
  The first of these programs is a 10-month seminar course in a traditional classroom setting that tracks in parallel with the resident course at Maxwell AFB.  Seminars are overseen by the Air War College staff and are conducted annually at the Pentagon and selected USAF installations.
  The second program is a CD-ROM based correspondence course that can be taken at any time during the year and typically takes two years to complete.
  Eligible senior member lieutenant colonels and above of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the civilian U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, are also entitled to enroll in the Air War College. Although they are precluded from attending in residence, CAP senior member officers may complete the AWC curriculum in a traditional classroom setting with U.S. military officers and senior DoD and DAF civilians as part of a year-long on-base seminar program at an active USAF installation, or through "distance learning," e.g., individually via the correspondence course/CD-ROM option.
  The AWC resident program at Maxwell AFB consists of ten (10) months of postgraduate level courses for a total of 36 semester credit hours.  Graduates receive a Master of Strategic Studies. Non-resident AWC students attending the parallel track 10-month classroom seminar program at either the Pentagon and/or at other USAF installations worldwide, are also eligible to receive graduate level academic credit, albeit at a lesser number of credit hours.
  Completion of the Air War College via in-residence, seminar or correspondence/CD-ROM formats, or in-residence completion of an equivalent senior level war college program of another service, or that of a senior level joint institution such as the National War College or the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, is considered a de facto requirement for all lieutenant colonels (O-5) in the U.S. Air Force, to include the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, to promote to colonel (O-6) and to be competitive for future selection as a general officer.
caption: Outside the Air War College in 2019
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