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Application window for in-residence developmental education attendance open to eligible officers in MyVector

  • Published
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
The window for eligible officers to input their preferences for in-residence Intermediate and Senior Developmental Education using MyVector is April 2 through May 4, 2018.

MyVector allows eligible officers to indicate their preferences for in-residence IDE or SDE attendance to their supervisor and senior rater, along with additional comments and considerations regarding their careers. Commanders and senior raters will also use MyVector to rank their eligible officers and then nominate those they believe should compete for in-residence developmental education. Previously, this process was done using an Air Force Form 3849.

All eligible officers should input their preferences, even if they have been advised they are not likely to be nominated during this board, as it provides an opportunity for them to learn the MyVector process, and receive feedback from their supervisor and senior rater.

Starting this year, senior raters will be able to nominate up to 30 percent of their eligible Line of the Air Force officers to compete at the Central Professional Military Education Board. Previously, senior raters could only nominate 20 percent for IDE, and 25 percent for SDE. This means more officers will compete for the estimated 530 in-residence IDE school slots and 245-plus in-residence SDE slots available each academic year.

Senior raters can still nominate 100 percent of their legacy DE “selects” – officers previously designated as IDE or SDE school “selects” from past promotion boards (majors or lieutenant colonels) – to the Central PME Board. Additionally, senior raters are still eligible to nominate up to 100 percent of their eligible medical and chaplain officers.

This process impacts in-residence IDE and SDE nominations beginning in 2018 for attendance in academic year 2019.

How does the process work?

Officers will enter their preferences for where they would like to attend in-residence IDE or SDE and submit it to their supervisors and senior raters via MyVECTOR.

Commanders and senior raters will also use MyVECTOR to review eligible officers’ preferences, then submit their inputs to the Air Force’s Personnel Center. Senior raters must make their nominations in the system no later than May 4, 2018 for the 2019 academic year.

Following these submissions, a multiple-step process determines who attends in-residence IDE and SDE, when they attend, and what schools they attend.

For the Line of the Air Force, the first is the Central PME Board, which scores the records and ranks them by order of merit. This is Air Force Specialty Code-blind for Line-of-the-Air Force officers.

Functional development teams for both line and non-line officers will then meet to provide recommendations on school placement and follow-on assignments. This is each career field’s opportunity to participate in the in-residence IDE and SDE selection process, and provides another input on these officers’ development overall. The development teams also identify the primary and alternate in-residence attendees for the following academic year.

Next, a school selection board is held, which decides school placement. Considerations in this process include: officer preferences submitted through MyVECTOR, commander and senior rater input, rank order of merit at the Central PME Board, development team inputs and family considerations such as officers with join spouse intent.

The final board in the process is the Developmental Education Designation Board, during which the Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services approves all school selections; results are typically released in late fall. Officers designated as “primary” in-residence IDE or SDE attendees will attend school in 2019; “alternates” may attend if additional school slots become available due to school declinations or other circumstances.

The opportunity to decline in-residence attendance is still applicable. While there is no official deadline for declinations, officers are encouraged to make their chain of command aware as soon as possible of a declination so alternate attendees can be identified as soon as possible.

What about distance learning?

“We want to provide officers the largest window of opportunity to complete PME in order to improve themselves and remain competitive for the next rank at a time that best aligns with their personal, professional and family situation,” said Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein.

To provide officers the largest window to complete professional military education, distance learning will not be a prerequisite for nomination to attend in-residence developmental education, squadron commander selection, or below the promotion zone consideration.

“As leaders, we must change the cultural norm of using distance learning Developmental Education completion as a measure of an officer’s commitment and performance,” said Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services. “This outdated thinking weakens the importance of developmental education as a tool to enhance institutional and occupational competencies and degrades our officers’ trust in Air Force leadership.”

For more information on the IDE and SDE process, visit the Air Force’s Personnel Center website at https://myPers.af.mil. Personnel questions should be directed to local military personnel flights or the Total Force Service Center at 1-800-525-0102 or (210) 565-0102.

Definitions:
Eligible officers: Officers who meet the Date of Rank and other criteria in the Developmental Education Personnel Service Delivery Memorandum (PSDM)
Legacy select: An officer designated as a school “select” from a previously-held promotion board – applies to Line of the Air Force officers only
Nominees: Eligible officers designated by their senior raters to compete for school
Central Professional Military Education Board: A board held at the Air Force’s Personnel Center, comprised of command-seasoned colonels and one general officer which scores all LAF-nominated officers records to develop a 1-n rank order of merit list
Development Teams: Career field leaders responsible for functional review and ranking of nomination packages, vectoring programs and follow-on assignments
Developmental Education Designation Board: A board convened to finalize DE results

Resources:
myPers: The official online source for Air Force personnel policy, information and day-to-day transactions
MyVECTOR: An Air Force enterprise solution that supports the Air Force’s goal to provide a standardized process available to all Airmen for career development and mentoring
Total Force Service Center: The Air Force’s Personnel Center customer-focused support center for military members and their families