Thu Sep 19 07:27:35 UTC 2024: ## Air Force Revamps Training to Meet Great Power Competition Challenges
**NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.** – The Air Force is undergoing a major overhaul of its training and education system to better prepare Airmen and Guardians for the challenges of Great Power Competition, Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson, commander of Air Education and Training Command (AETC), announced at the Air and Space Forces Association’s 2024 Air, Space and Cyber Conference.
Robinson highlighted the upcoming redesignation of AETC to Airman Development Command (ADC), which will adopt a “mission over function” mindset. This new structure will break down functional silos and allow for more integrated training focused on specific mission requirements, rather than traditional career field boundaries.
“We train with the functional authorities we have now, but we train set requirements and deliver educational experiences and development along those functional boundaries without anybody looking across the aggregation of what the mission environment requires of us,” Robinson said. “Making this change to achieve a ‘mission over function’ perspective, we need a command that is organized in a way to see across functional boundaries.”
The ADC will focus on competency-based training, equipping Airmen and Guardians with the skills and agility needed to operate in complex and uncertain environments. This includes leveraging technology and human-centered learning approaches to accelerate learning and ensure readiness.
To further streamline training development, the ADC will establish a 25-person Enterprise Learning Engineering Center, which will collaborate with industry experts to explore new technologies and methodologies. This will enable the command to respond more quickly to evolving mission requirements, mirroring the rapid pace of change in the strategic environment.
“We made that change in nine months where other areas have taken two, three, sometimes five years to make changes to training curriculum,” Robinson said, referencing the security forces career field’s new Defender Next construct. “To quote (AETC command chief master sergeant) Chief Master Sgt. Chad Bickley, the People’s Republic of China builds islands in the South China Sea in less time than that. That’s why this is important.”
The transition to ADC is expected to be fully operational by October 1, 2025. The command will work closely with the newly established Integrated Capabilities Command (Provisional) to ensure training aligns with emerging operational capabilities.
“We are the world’s best air and space force because of our Airmen and Guardians,” Robinson emphasized. “The way we empower them, trust them, and develop their leadership skills is what makes them the competitive advantage vis-a-vis the PRC.”
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