Professional Military Education instructors go behind the scenes during joint exercise

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson — Professional Military Education instructors and curriculum writers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and abroad attended Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 to gain a deeper insight of mission command. The instructors intend to incorporate what they learned behind the scenes into the current curriculum to enhance understanding of joint warfighting capabilities, commander’s intent, and executing the mission through confidence.

RF-A 25-2 is a Pacific Air Force-wide exercise that provides joint and multinational forces with realistic combat training to enhance joint warfighting skills and interoperability in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Instructors gained a first-hand look at commanders' decision-making and order-issuing process, as well as personnel carrying out the commands. This front-line perspective will give the instructors and curriculum writers invaluable experience to impart to students.

“One of the things we teach in the curriculum for Airman Leadership School, Noncommissioned Officer Academy and Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy is mission command,” said Tech. Sgt. Sierra Jones, JBER PME instructor. “We talk about commander’s intent, tasking orders, the types of intentions that are set out ahead of time, and the command team’s responsibility to go forth and conquer. We teach it at an academic level, but we don’t necessarily get to experience it.”

Leadership at the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education wanted to inject key players involved in the curriculum process to participate in Red Flag, said Jones. With their experience, they can more effectively tailor the curriculum to real-life scenarios and expectations.

“Mission command has many facets, but it encompasses being able to take the commander’s intent and fulfill it through distributed control,” said Jones. “The commander doesn’t know how the team will accomplish the task; he just knows he has a team of qualified individuals who can do it.”

During the exercise, Jones and her colleagues observed joint training operations that included the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and the Republic of Korea Air Force. These scenarios included ground combat training, airborne operations, leadership strategy planning, and more.

“The purpose of sending PME instructors and curriculum writers to Red Flag was twofold,” said Chief Master Sgt. Adam Petersen, JBER PME commandant. “Professionally, we aimed to provide them with firsthand exposure to the practical application of mission command principles within a large-scale, complex exercise environment. We hope this experience will foster a deeper appreciation for the complexities of modern airpower and the crucial role of effective leadership and decision-making in achieving mission success.”

Petersen said teaching mission command is paramount to developing adaptable and agile leaders. By experiencing Red Flag, the instructors can now draw upon concrete examples and real-world scenarios to enrich what they teach in the classroom.

“[Red Flag] will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on their instructional abilities and contribute to the continued growth and development of our Airmen,” said Petersen.

Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 concluded June 27, and the Barnes Center and other PME centers will integrate what their instructors learned into the curriculum. For more information regarding the current curriculum, visit https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Barnes/.