Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe announced a series of changes to the enlisted professional military education Aug. 11 during his keynote address at the Air Force Sergeants Association's Summit 26, outlining an effort to make professional development more continuous, accessible and connected throughout an Airman's career.
The changes, known as the Enlisted Professional Military Education Modernization, standardizes installation professional development centers into a three-tier structure and consolidates installation enlisted development, including the Airman Leadership School and Noncommissioned Officer Academy schoolhouses, under them.
"We are taking the pieces that already exist, organizing them into a more coherent system, clarifying who is responsible for that system, and filling the developmental gaps between formal EPME experiences," Wolfe said.
During the initial phase of the EMPE Modernization, what Airmen learn does not change, and neither does who sets and certifies it. All EPME and Foundations Course curriculum development and accreditation remains with Air University's Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. The Barnes Center continues to schedule Noncommissioned Officer Academy classes, and the Air Force Personnel Center continues to schedule students.
ALS and NCO Academy in-residence education continues.
"Over time, [EPME Modernization] will allow us to build a more agile, adaptive and dynamic delivery model for the development and education opportunities…," Wolfe said.
Wolfe knows the schoolhouses firsthand, having taught at ALS and the NCO Academy at the Elmendorf Professional Military Education Center from 2004 to 2007 and serving as that center's commandant from 2014 to 2016.
What changes is the role of the professional development center, which is identified as Professional Military Education Centers under the new reorganization. The PME Center becomes the single point of oversight for enlisted development on an installation, with the ALS and NCO Academy schoolhouses aligned under it.
Three tiers
The structure scales to installation size and existing infrastructure.
Eight installations will operate large PME centers with a development advisor, ALS and NCO Academy. Fifty-seven will operate medium centers with a development advisor and ALS, while 15 smaller centers will be built around development advisors at installations without a resident ALS or NCO Academy.
Development advisors will serve as connective tissue across all three PME center models and continue overseeing programs such as Foundations Courses, the First Term Enlisted Course and Informed Decision Seminar.
They will also continue providing career counseling and retraining advice for more complicated cases requiring deeper analysis. Wolfe announced the Air Force is developing an artificial intelligence agent intended to help Airmen more readily understand applicable policies and career opportunities, allowing development advisors to focus their expertise on cases requiring greater analysis.
Reporting and oversight
PME Centers will align under the wing command chief and command team for staff supervision, integration and administrative oversight. The wing commander retains command authority. The wing command chief exercises functional oversight for enlisted development and serves as the principal enlisted adviser for PME Center priorities, curriculum integration and developmental outcomes.
Command chiefs already carry the responsibility to develop their wing's Airmen; the EMPE Modernization gives them the corresponding oversight of the organization that delivers that development.
Installation command chiefs will also track and report a Status of Professional Development covering a range of data across EPME, submitted through a dashboard now in development. The dashboard will provide information to the Enlisted Force Development Panel to inform strategy, policy and senior leader decisions. Specific reporting requirements will be published in forthcoming guidance.
Adjunct Faculty
The Air Force plans to build on the existing Foundations Courses through an adjunct faculty model that draws on qualified Airmen with specialized experience and instructor backgrounds to teach subjects in which they have expertise.
"We have more than 10,000 former 8Ts in our Air Force-I'm talking to you," Wolfe told the audience. "You have something to offer, and we are going to establish a method for you to be able to deliver your expertise to our Airmen on demand."
Air University will develop and deploy a virtual Foundations Course capability in two phases: Phase I, synchronous instruction delivered by video teleconference through a centralized integration hub, and Phase II, asynchronous, self-paced courses available on demand.
Implementation work is under way across the Air Staff, major commands, Air Education and Training Command and Air University, spanning organization, management, resourcing, policy, the virtual Foundations Course and messaging.
Additional Updates
Wolfe also used the keynote to announce changes to enlisted promotion processes and a new initiative supporting military spouses.
Beginning with the current cycle, the Stripes for Exceptional Performers nomination windows for promotion to staff sergeant and technical sergeant will align with their respective static closeout dates, giving commanders additional time to evaluate eligible Airmen after promotion results are released.
"Timing should not unnecessarily narrow opportunity," Wolfe said. "Extending the window gives commanders more time to evaluate performance and recognize Airmen who have demonstrated exceptional potential."
Wolfe also announced a change intended to prevent promotion vacancies from going unfilled when selected members decline promotion.
Over the past four years, 59 senior master sergeants selected for chief master sergeant declined promotion. Under the new approach, the Air Force will use the board-established order of merit to identify the next qualified Airman when a promotion vacancy is created by a declination.
The process begins with the 2026 chief master sergeant promotion cycle and is planned to continue with senior master sergeant and master sergeant boards in 2027.
Wolfe informed the Airmen in attendance of the Global Military Spouse Connection, a new Air Force Personnel Center initiative designed to better connect qualified military spouses with civilian employment opportunities across the Department of the Air Force.
The initiative uses a pre-vetted résumé repository to help connect hiring managers with qualified military spouses. The pilot is underway at Travis Air Force Base, California; Patrick Space Force Base, Florida; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Wolfe said the initiative is not a mandatory hiring directive but intended to create a more direct connection between military spouse talent and Department of the Air Force civilian workforce requirements.
The full keynote address can be found on the official Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Facebook page.
