Defining the 21st Century Airman: Cultivating a Technology-Based Universal Skill Set

Defining the 21^st Century Airman: Cultivating a Technology-Based Universal Skill Set

Rudy L. Novak, Major, USAF

Since the birth of the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1947, Airmen have struggled to define the universal skills or common knowledge that all Airmen share. The easy solution, and one adopted since the services’ establishment, is to instill a ground warrior’s mindset, with skills traditionally associated with the Army or Marines. While these skills have proven effective in shaping the current culture, do they mirror what Airmen will be asked to do in a 21st century near-peer conflict? While future, friendly and adversarial operations will include: stand-off munitions, unmanned vehicles, electronic & cyber-attacks, automated processes, robust sensor fusion, artificial intelligence, and supply chain interruptions, will the service be prepared to fully integrate or counter them through its own operations. When an Airman serves in a joint environment, can they contribute expertise that is unique to the force, regardless of their specialty or experience? Finally, is the service fully capitalizing on the talent that is recruited into its ranks every year? Presently, the answer to all of the above questions is an emphatic ‘no.’ To maximize the USAF’s contributions in the next conflict, it must supplement or replace current force-wide training with a cultivated universal technological skill set. This skill set must be shaped through a deliberate assessment of tomorrow’s challenges, instruction on transformational technologies, and the embracement of critical thinking. A new approach to talent management must also be adopted, focused on recruiting and capitalizing on crucial technological talent. This shift will not only alter the USAF’s identity, but it will also  significantly aid in continued air domain dominance well through the 21st-century. It was said that the “[p]en is mightier than the sword,” the future will prove that for the USAF, the computer will be mightier than the gun.

Current State

Image 1. Main image from the Official U.S. Air Force Military Training webpage. Note the Airmen wearing camouflage, low crawling through sand, while carrying a rifle. Is this what it means to be a 21st century Airman?

Every Marine a rifleman, every Airman a…Unfortunately, this question does not have a clear answer. It cannot be said that every Airman is “air-minded” or fully comprehends the air domain. Also, it cannot be said that the majority of the force has adopted the transformational technologies or skills available to all near-peer competitors and the commercial sector. Finally, it cannot be said that the USAF possesses a service-unique universal skill set. These limitations stem from the instruction Airmen receive at basic training and officer accessions, and its inadequacies are perpetuated through outdated professional military education and talent management systems.

What is the current state of force-wide education? In addition to Department of Defense (DoD) mandated organizational leadership and ethics training, most USAF personnel are instructed on the same traditional ground combat skills practiced one hundred years ago. From enlisted basic training to officer professional military education, Airmen are trained on introductory marching, weapons handling, and hand-to-hand combat, with infrequent rudimentary follow-on exposure to Self-Aid Buddy Care (First Aid) and Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear self-protection (gas masks). Is this the requisite knowledge that Airmen need in a 21st century conflict as identified in the National Defense Strategy against a peer or near-peer nation-state(s)? Are these skills what it means to be an Airman? If it is, should emphasis beyond rudimentary exposure be given? For example, should Airmen train to become better on-the-ground soldiers? Should they receive additional weapons training and drill in small unit tactics to seamlessly integrate or replace Infantrymen, Marines, or limited designated USAF Security Forces to ward off conventional ground attacks? Should enlisted recruits continue to spend an entire day fighting with pugil sticks (padded sticks designed for rifle and bayonet training)? There is an argument for this, especially with recent, albeit limited, attacks on tactical air bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. However, are these the situations Airmen will find themselves in during the next conflict? Or should conventional base defense, for example, be left to those specialized in the ground domain? Can the time spent on developing ground combat skills be better-spent training to another competitive skill, one that potentially sparks a professional interest and is beneficial to the service. Simply put, are these the skills that Airmen should identify as their basic skill set?

Professional military education for both enlisted and officers attempt to introduce awareness and build relationships between one’s specialty and the USAF core missions: Air & Space (sic) Superiority; Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR); Rapid Global Mobility; Global Strike; and Command & Control (C2). Unfortunately, the current courses are primarily conceptual, with few tangible skills to use in one’s current unit or mission. So again, are these courses sufficient to develop Airmen for future conflicts, or are more concrete, USAF unique skills required?

Tomorrow

Every Marine a rifleman, every Airman a….technologist. The USAF should adopt this maxim to transform from the current ground warrior training skill set to one that focuses on a robust assessment of tomorrow’s challenges, instruction on transformational technologies, and the embracement of critical thinking. This cultivated, technological universal skill set will translate to success in the air domain, create a forward-thinking culture and facilitate a unique identity for Airmen across the force. It would bridge the gap between the status quo and the desire of USAF leaders to have increased “air-mindedness” among Airmen throughout its ranks. The time is now. According to the USAF Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown’s December 2020 CSAF ACTION ORDERS: To Accelerate Change Across the Air Force, the Air Force must:

“recruit, access, educate, train, experience, develop, and retain Airmen ... with the attributes required to compete, deter, and win in the high-end fight…one way to achieve this is to find and enhance universal skill sets that are important to all Airmen regardless of their specific Air Force Specialty Code (job).”

Additionally, with the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass’s March 2021 memorandum: Developing the 2030 Enlisted Force- Ready to Fight & Win…Anytime, Anywhere and the forthcoming guide Developing the Airmen We Need-The Blueprint for Enlisted Force Development, Chief Bass and USAF leadership has firmly expressed the drive and appetite for change.

“…we must shift from the force we are today, to the force our Nation needs tomorrow; a force ready to meet the speed, agility, and nature of the evolving threat environment.”- CMSAF Bass, Developing the 2030 Enlisted Force

Two things must first be accomplished for this goal to be reached. First, to create and sustain buy-in across the force, the USAF needs to adopt an infinite mindset to develop a culture that admits what it is, the technology-based defense organization operating in an environment that has ever-changing rules and limitations. While other services utilize technology, none use it to the extent of the USAF and Department of the Air Force. As it did in 1921with Billy Mitchell’s sinking of the Ostfriesland, the USAF must shift the status quo and re-cement itself as the defense technology leader within the DoD. To do this, all personnel must be practitioners and view the organization through this lens. Through this shift, the entire force can now universally pursue the core missions while consistently evolving and adapting to the new technological landscape. Newly learned skills will allow all Airmen to understand a larger share of USAF priorities and continue domain dominance through innovation, collaboration, and technical expertise.

Second, for Airmen to focus solely on what the nation will ask of them in the next conflict, the joint force must protect Airmen on the ground and at air bases worldwide. DoD expectations that Airmen can supplement ground warriors in base defense, times of civil unrest, and general ground operations must be abandoned. Those taskings unrelated to the core missions must be shed. Lieutenant General Joseph Guastella, the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, recently explained it best in his call for other services to “pay the tax for Space and Air Power.”

“We (USAF) provide close air support. We provide airlift. We provide ISR…personnel recovery…airborne electronic warfare…command and control…and, as Department of the Air Force, we are expected to provide GPS, satellite communications, missile warning, and…intelligence from space. Those are all requirements asked of the Air Force and the Department of Air Force.”

With these roadblocks removed, the USAF would now be free to pursue a new path. To improve performance in the core missions, transformational technology adoption and instruction must be compulsory. Skills such as additive manufacturing, computer coding, data analysis & compilation, small unmanned vehicle operations, machine learning/artificial intelligence rule-building, and familiarization of the electronic spectrum must supplement or replace traditional ground combat skills like pugil stick fighting, marching, and M-4 carbine operations.

The vast majority of Airmen work in specialties that aid in core mission accomplishment but are not directly tied to its execution. For example, only a fraction of the force flies fighter, bomber, C2ISR, or mobility aircraft. The remainder support these functions, and with a new universal skill set based on transformational technology, they will be more effective in delivering solutions to future air power-related problems. Familiarity is the ultimate goal, not necessarily expertise. For example, in basic training, dedicate time to teach computer coding fundamentals in a language such as Python, Java, or JavaScript. Repeat this with other transformational technologies so that future Airmen have a baseline knowledge of these skills. The results will be two-fold. First, when an Airman comes across a problem, they can utilize their universal skill set to say, “this problem could be solved if we had a software program (for example) that did X and Y.” That Airman could then articulate to an expert what exactly needs to be accomplished, with little lost in translation. The second result would be developing a personal interest in a skill of value to the USAF. For example, replace pugil sticks with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) racing, utilizing first-person view technology. The competitive nature would remain, but familiarity with a skill of future value to the USAF would be obtained. Additionally, post-basic training, instead of purchasing a motorcycle with an Airman’s new “wealth,” how many would instead buy a drone to continue the skill? The piloting of UAVs or other transformational technologies may not have universal applicability today, but as technology become more mainstream, insightful Airman may discover further uses to increase warfighting capability.

To be clear, this is not a call to replace Self-Aid Buddy Care (First-Aid) with lessons on Microsoft PowerPoint. However, what it is is a pragmatic look at what challenges Airmen will face in a 21st-century near-peer conflict and the skills required to overcome them. In a future war, Airmen will be up against long-range stand-off munitions, electronic & cyber-attacks, significant supply chain interruptions, and antiquated legacy software programs. There is a considerable need for robust sensor fusion, data analysis, unmanned vehicles, and automated operations utilizing artificial intelligence. With the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept, Airmen will encounter a lack of sufficient parts that could be readily replaced with the skills and equipment necessary for Three-Dimensional printing. Technology will malfunction, but Airmen will need to fix it without relying on civilian contractors. Legacy software programs will need to be modified or replaced to become more effective to the warfighter. Yes, terrestrial air bases will be attacked. Airmen may have to defend themselves. But what does an Airman need to be?

Along with being a technologist, an Airman needs to be a critical thinker. It is not enough to learn about new technology, but the ability to challenge the status quo, suggest a different means to solve problems, and identify new processes to accomplish the mission is required. When an Airman is placed into a joint environment, the universal skill that they can now bring is a familiarity with transformational technology and the ability to analyze any problem critically using this unique knowledge. Imagine an Airman, when placed in an assignment with another service, who says, “if you look at X and Y data points and aggregate them, the real problem is Z, and this is how we fix it.”

To ensure domain dominance, a new approach to talent management must also be adopted. It must be focused on recruiting and developing these critical skills, along with a cultivated sustainment policy that maintains a level of proficiency and adapts to the latest technological innovations. The USAF needs to capitalize on American youth who are already entering the military with the foundations of many of these skills. Today, high school students are learning computer programming, and some have gone so far as to hack into government and corporate systems. Imagine if the USAF recruited these individuals, and their talents were fully realized. Their impacts could be felt immediately in an organization that values these skills. Enlisted recruiting needs to seek out individuals that have such talents and interests. The capacity for intellectual learning, an interest in transformational technology, and the ability to think critically should be of the highest value. While physical fitness is important for personal health, the inability to complete a set number of push-ups or a controlled medical condition should not preclude an individual from learning the impacts of the electronic spectrum, nor to inform a commander of an improved process for mission success. Contractors or government civilians cannot be everywhere; therefore, the USAF must recruit and develop this talent throughout all levels of the organization.

All USAF Academy cadets graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. The Reserve Officer Training Corp offers a majority of its scholarships to students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). With some limited exceptions, the majority of these officers’ STEM background is significantly under-utilized. The USAF has said with accessions, STEM is what it values; it is time for the USAF to put those skills to use and seek a better return on investment throughout an individual’s career.

How can this be accomplished? First, at the accession sources, both enlisted and officer, recruits and cadets must be instructed on the level of “familiarity” on the previously mentioned transformational technologies and those yet to be developed. To sustain and build upon this knowledge, deliberate recurrent training should occur at PME courses, unit-level Innovation Centers, or dedicated sites with STEM professionals. Like a unit-level Information Protection or Safety Office that sends out quarterly reports, a “Technology Center” can share the latest innovations, detail benefits to an organization, and provide mentorship in an area when required.

For a method to turn familiarity into expertise, post accessions, every Airman could choose a specific transformational technology or skill, self-selected from a predetermined list in which to focus. Increased proficiency in certain strategic skills, such as high-level language computer programming, could be measured and rewarded with monetary compensation, increased promotional opportunity, or options to utilize the skill in an operational or career-broadening capacity similar to the USAF’s Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP).

Conclusion

Airmen are woefully behind in adopting and training transformational technologies compared to the commercial sector and other state actors. The USAF proclaims a warrior mindset, different from the other services, but trains Airmen in ground-combat skills. Now is time for the USAF to instruct Airmen on the digital world and not focus on antiquated skills. In a 21st century near-peer conflict, America needs a defense organization fluent in transformative technologies and critical thinking. The USAF must supplement or replace current force-wide training to develop a cultivated universal technological skill set. This skill set must be shaped through a robust assessment of tomorrow’s challenges, instruction on transformational technologies, and the embracement of critical thinking. Talent management must be improved, and the USAF’s identity of Every Airman A Technologist must be adopted. If the nation must choose between a force of warriors that can code or shoot a gun, it must select the computer. It was said that the “[p]en is mightier than the sword,” the future will prove that the computer is mightier than the gun.