I am still learning Published Oct. 30, 2012 By Ashley M. Wright 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. -- "I am still learning," said famous artist Michelangelo. In contrast, with the reality that is life, many of us find no time to continue professional development. If we do find time, we focus on education that expands only our knowledge of our craft or trade. Yet, the Air Force offers civilian employees opportunities to learn and lead through force development programs, and we must take advantage of the openings. As a civilian employee, I recently had an eye-opening experience in one of those courses - Squadron Officer School. As a former employee of Air University Public Affairs, I thought I knew what I was getting into at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. I had written enough articles about the Intellectual and Leadership Center of the Air Force to have a basic understanding of what they threw at me. Wrong! Never in my wildest dreams would I think swinging from a rope one day and shaking hands with a Tuskegee Airman the next constitutes learning. For that, I owe the Air Force a lot more than a continuing service agreement. SOS offered a different, foreign curriculum to me. They focused on the whole person concept -- physical and mental. Squadron Officer College Commandant Col. Mark Czelusta stated the school's philosophy best in his welcome letter. "In SOS, students identify and reflect on their personal leadership styles as they are exposed to educational and experiential opportunities that challenge them to become more effective leaders for our Air Force," Colonel Celesta said in the letter. The physical challenges pushed me out of my comfort zone, the team building wasn't always easy, and the introspective wasn't always pretty, but it was all worth it. Translation: Drink the force development Kool-Aid! According to the most recent Air Force Personnel Center demographics, 43 percent of the Air Force's 142,000 civilian employees have no prior military service. I'm one of those. However, sitting in a classroom with fellow "students" of different backgrounds, I learned more about the depth of the Air Force mission and an understanding of what my company grade officer counterparts are dealing with than I ever could from an online course. In addition, being one of only 17 civilians out of class 825, I was able to dispel common misconceptions about civilian employees to career fields that rarely work with us. We owe it to our employer and our Air Force family to bridge that gap. Yet, the recent demographics showed only a little more than 5,000 of us had completed SOS. I can't tell you if that number includes the online SOS course or not, but I can tell you that not applying for these available opportunities is a mistake. How many other "companies" send their "employees" to Harvard or Princeton and allow them to return to work and use that knowledge, not for profit, but for the benefit of our nation? Basic civilian programs include Squadron Officer School, education with industry and others, according to a recent AFPC article. Intermediate programs include the Air Command and Staff College, Air Force Institute of Technology, international services program opportunities, and a variety of fellowship and internship programs. Senior programs include Air Force and Defense fellowships, Army War College, ACSC with an Air War College follow-on, international services senior development program opportunities, and more. In 2012, according to the article, the Air Force selected 700 candidates for these various programs. The application process was very simplistic. It involved getting the right forms in order and working with my leadership for the appropriate signatures. In exchange, I received my first-ever Professional Military Education experience. My eyes opened to whole new train of thought and understanding of the Air Force. For more information about developmental education programs, application documents, and submission instructions, go to the MyPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.