Preparing Future Leaders

This paper has 4 recommendations: 1) Improve joint integration through coordinated Capstone Concepts , 2) Improve officer Professional Military Education (PME) curriculum by creating a USAF Officer Professional Military Education Continuum (OPMEC) enabling specific and clear guidance from senior Air Force leadership, 3) Institute USAFA's Institutional Effectiveness Program (IEP) at Air University (AU), and 4) Continue to evolve the officer continuum of education with emphasis on support from the private sector and academia including the attached collaboration proposal from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. All assessments agree future conflict will require more than a joint forces effort. Operations will combine other government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), coalition forces, and international agencies. The DOD must be organized to work as a unified organization in order to accomplish the desired outcomes in these complex environments. Finite resources, expensive, complex weapon systems and the ability of enemies to use cheap, off the shelf technology to fight us asymmetrically require the DOD to use manpower and money as efficiently as possible.