The Air Force Officer Development Program: What’s it all about?

By Major Jamie Davidson and Major Rainer Wosnitza

A program aimed at delivering the professional development education for officers of Canada’s Air Force is currently being developed. The Air Force Officer Development (AFOD) Program replaces the former Air Force Officer Basic Course and Air Force Officer Advanced Course. Unlike its predecessors, AFOD uses the blended learning methods of distance education and traditional in-house residential training. This is a new direction for professional development education for Air Command. Although the program is designed to develop Air Force officers, students quickly note that flexibility underpins the curriculum’s structure and application. AFOD is organized into five blocks. Block 1 is administered between initial classification training and the point where a junior officer reaches the operationally functional point (OFP). Although it may vary from one classification to another, the OFP occurs when a junior officer achieves occupational status during their first operational tour. Block 2, currently available, is optimally completed during the initial two years of an officer’s first  occupational posting. Block 3 and Block 4 material is tailored to meet the needs of officers approaching the end of their first tour and the beginning of their second tour. Block 5-the one and only residential component-is three-weeks in duration. Here, material learned through Blocks 1 to 4 is synthesized and applied during classroom instruction and practical exercises.  For more follow this link http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/cfawc/eLibrary/Journal/Vol2-2009/Iss1-Winter/Sections/11-The_Air_Force_Officer_Development_Program-Whats_it_All_About_e.pdf