Date of Award

3-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Systems Engineering and Management

First Advisor

Tay W. Johannes, PhD

Abstract

The Air Force Civil Engineer officer career field has made dedicated efforts to the professional development of its company grade officers. In response to the 2015 Air Force Strategic Master plan, the Civil Engineer officer career field adopted a competency-based education approach. In 2020, the Civil Engineer Officer Career Field Education and Training Plan was published, officially integrating the career field’s operational requirements into a competency framework. However, since 2020, the Air Force has adopted an updated force generation strategy, and with it, changes to the way the Air Force assets are employed in contingency environments. This new scheme of maneuver for assets and combat forces was titled Agile Combat Employment. In addition to this deployment model, this new strategy also brought about the Multi-Capable Airmen concept. With the adoption of these new strategies and models; the roles, responsibilities, and duties Air Force Civil Engineer officers fulfill when deployed may change in response to changing environmental and operational conditions. This research purposed to determine if the adoption of Agile Combat Employment and Multi-Capable Airmen models call for modifications or additions to be made to the existing Civil Engineer Officer core competency framework. In this manner, potential new occupational requirements were integrated into the Civil Engineer competency framework. This research also investigated several current education and training opportunities to determine if the newly identified competency requirements could be satisfied with existing courses. To achieve this research goal, a systematic review of available Agile Combat Employment and Multi-Capable Airmen literature was conducted to identify potential knowledge, skill and ability requirements for Civil Engineer Company Grade Officers. These requirements were then validated using an expert elicitation from a panel of senior USAF Civil Engineer leaders. Finally, this list of requirements was compared with the current Civil Engineer officer competency framework to develop a list of recommended edits and additions.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENV-MS-23-M-244

Comments

A 12-month embargo was observed.

Approved for public release: 88ABW-2023-0381

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