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2017/05/19 - Walter's Blog: Air War College

Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton

May 19, 2017

It goes without saying that Scott Air Force Base is an essential part of our community. We estimate that a third of O’Fallon’s population is connected to Scott AFB somehow, whether it is active duty, civilian, contractor, or retired. Last week I had the opportunity to learn a little more about the military at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Each year, the Air War College sponsors the National Security Forum, where 150 civilians from the around the U.S. spend a week with the students at the college to learn how the Air Force trains its up-and-coming officers and to deliberate national security issues. I was impressed with how thoroughly the students are educated in leadership and strategic thinking and I have a greater understanding for the many “wicked problems” the military faces daily dealing with Syria, Russia, China, terrorism, and cyber-warfare.

For those not familiar with the Air War College, it is an institution where the military sends some of its best lieutenant colonels for a year-long school to prepare them for future command. The college consists of officers from all military branches and even has 45 foreign officers. The National Security Forum that I attended occurs during the last week of the college and we were split up with smaller groups of students. In my group, there were students from the Air Force, Navy, Army, Hawaii National Guard, and Defense Intelligence Agency. There were also officers from Canada, Brazil, and the Czech Republic.

I met two students at the Air War College who will be stationed at Scott Air Force Base after they graduate. I plan to get in touch with them when they arrive to welcome them to our wonderful community and help their families get settled.

While the U.S. military is significantly larger than the O’Fallon city government, I was able to see some parallels. The Air Force Chief of Staff and the Air Force Legislative Liaison to Congress both spoke to us and emphasized how the military are non-political professionals that provide objective analysis and recommendations to the President and Congress, who then makes the policies for the military to implement. While the number of zeros and the scale are drastically different, the City of O'Fallon operates under the same principles: the staff provides professional advice and the City Council decides policy.

Attending the National Security Forum gave me a better appreciation for the military’s challenges and will help me to support the critical missions at Scott Air Force Base.