Leadership in Fighter Squadrons

In the USAF, the average fighter pilot never supervises enlisted personnel in his first twelve to fifteen years of service. His first direct supervisory role may occur when he becomes an operations officer or, even worse, a squadron commander. Prior to the 1991 'objective wing' reorganization, when a fighter squadron commander led 30 officers and a handful of enlisted, such a late introduction to supervision of enlisted may have had little deleterious effect. However, since the current fighter commander leads an organization of 250-300 personnel, he or she must be ready to lead and create unit cohesion from day one. Unfortunately, current fighter career paths provide few opportunities to learn or practice that type of team-building and leadership. This research asks, therefore, how rated commanders learn the skills necessary for squadron command. Using a pilot study, interviews, and previously conducted survey research, the project examines the perceptions of recent fighter squadron commanders and senior non-commissioned officers to determine if the Air Force properly prepares rated officers for command.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.