Air Force senior enlisted leadership development: A strategic level examination

A vast amount of literature is available on military leadership and the majority of such work focuses on commanding officers. Studies exist regarding the commissioned officers and government civilians in determining their leadership development and career progression paths, and reflect the capacity of their assigned positions and possible future positions at all organizational levels of the Department of Defense. There are limited research studies focused on leadership development for non-commissioned officers, who hold multiple positions at various organizational levels. This research served to examine the current strategic enlisted leadership development path in relation to Air Force institutional and leadership competencies. The purpose of the research was to determine if current leadership and career development training, experiences, and professional development provided to today's non-commissioned officers prepare them for strategic leadership positions. The findings indicated that non-commissioned officers were not being provided the necessary strategic leadership development to prepare them for strategic level positions. The enlisted leadership development did not provide the necessary training and experienced required to fulfill the competencies required to meet the demands of enlisted personnel to adequately prepare themselves for the role as a competent strategic leader.