An airman’s advanced academic degrees will now be considered as part of promotion to the ranks of major and lieutenant colonel, reversing a 2014 policy that kept that information hidden. The change is designed to help the service fill some jobs where it has faced a lack of qualified service members.
The new policy, which went into effect Jan. 1, is aimed at highlighting the academic prowess of applicants as tensions with China and Russia grow, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said in a Dec. 30 press release.
“To compete with China, Russia, or other potential threats, the Air and Space Forces must incorporate new technology more rapidly and effectively than our competitors,” Kendall said in the release. “To do this effectively, we need leaders and supporting staff throughout the [Department of the Air Force ] at all levels who have deep expertise in emerging technologies and their applications to military operations.”
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The service said the new policy means those advanced academic degrees “will be considered but will not be a requirement for, or a guarantor of, promotion.”
The Air Force began hiding an airman’s advanced academic degree during promotion boards in 2014 as an initiative to highlight job performance and challenge long-standing norms that those degrees were necessary to get promoted.
“We understand…
