All Air Force officers are assumed to be leaders; fewer of them serve in leadership and mentor roles. Fewer still get the opportunity to truly lead, in the fullest sense of the word.  As a flight commander at SOS, you will be immersed in the art and science of leadership everyday. You will be solely responsible for 14 captains and the equivalents for five weeks at a time as a supervisor, a role model, an instructor, and a coach. You will not be able to guarantee that your students succeed, but you will be there to maximize their growth every step along the way. You will most definitely learn from them as they learn from you about leadership, officership, and the profession of arms. It is intensely human and intensely rewarding. 

Teaching - Be Impactful! As a flight faculty instructor, you will spend intensive time with about 84 diverse captains, civilians, and international officers over the period of about a year. While you facilitate their learning journey, you will also be a leader, mentor, coach, and role model.

Growth - Be a Lead Learner! You will have opportunities to enroll in Ivy League courses, both resident and distance learning (such as: Lego serious play workshop, Vanderbilt University Leadership coaching, Columbia University branding workshop, Libscomb leadership coaching, and Duarte public speaking). You will connect with a wide range of leaders, experts, and academics, both AF and civilian.

Experientials - Be Active! SOS is a leadership laboratory. Yes, we teach academics, but the very core of what we do is facilitating learning by doing. During normal time (not VIR-R), you will be spending about a third of each class facilitating experiential activities. If you have already attended SOS, think FLEX, Project X, and Commandant's Challenge.

Electives - Be Creative! Bring your passions and creativity to SOS. If you can link your hobbies, interests, and skills to the core curriculum you will be given an opportunity to design and teach electives. Current and past electives include a variety of topics such as: discussions on China (Chinese Influence) and Russia (Deep Dive), Leadership in Songwriting, Inside Skunk Works Podcast Discussion, AF Bullet Writing, Suicide Awareness, Join Spouse Challenges and Experiences, CIA and other agencies, Deliberate Force Deployment, and Human Intelligence (HUMINT) just to name a few. 

Leadership Opportunities - Be Influential! Not only will you be a leader in your classroom, but you will also have opportunities to lead others in the squadron.  You may become a Squadron or school Director of Operations, Director of Staff, Department Chair, or a Vice Dean. You will have other opportunities to lead projects. You will likely work with other schools, hear General Officers speak and question them, and represent SOS at conferences.

Hi speed, low drag - Be Agile! SOS is never the exact same class twice in a row. We pride ourselves on being relavant but not changing for change's sake. We are a short course with a large faculty teaching the same curriculum, therefore we have the opportunity to iterate from one class to the next and crowd source the writing and rewriting of lessons. That means you will be given the opportunity and responsibility of shaping the nature of the course while you teach. 

Family Life - Be Present! Great family assignment.  Much of the time you will have predictable hours and time off.  You will not be deployed. There may be an occasion to work longer hours should the mission require it. It is also possible to have a joint spouse assignment.

If this kind of career experience is what you are looking for, there are two methods to becoming a faculty member at Squadron Officer School.  The first is the Officer Instructor & Recruiting Special Duty (OI&RSD) process.  Instructor duty is a two-year assignment which is competitively selected each year via a board.  The second method is the AU Fellows program.  Under this process members are competitively selected to attend ACSC for a year, then serve as Air University faculty for a year.  Air and Space Force commanders may also connect with SOS Squadron Commanders or with former SOS faculty who are now commanders.  If you have questions about your personnel who are considering becoming a faculty member at SOS, email us at: SOS-jobs@au.af.edu. 

Officer Instructor & Recruiting Special Duty

This two-year assignment is open to USAF and USSF captains and majors interested in growing as a leader and mentoring others.  This 2-year non-deployable assignment as a Squadron Officer School flight commander allows you to receive instructor/recruiter special duty credit on your Officer Selection Brief (OSB)! Additional information regarding the Officer Instructor and Recruiting Special Duty (OI&RSD) process is available.

AU Fellow Information

Air University prides itself in providing officers with enhanced developmental opportunities through constant evaluation of processes and varying solutions to problems based on their findings. The Air University Fellows Program is a two-year selective developmental assignment that results in creating officers that are capable, innovative and better leaders than when they arrived. The AU Fellows is comprised of three separate groups with three different approaches to their goal. Some involve teaching Joint FGOs at the IDE level, others teaching inbound officer trainees at OTS. Those selected for the SOS path will influence CGO development by coming in as a teacher and helping modify the development experience through their experience as military professionals.

Developing as an officer often involves broadening one’s perspective beyond a particular occupational specialty. The AU Fellows undertake the “scholarship of application,” using academic knowledge to address real-world issues, such as overcoming operational challenges, participating in doctrine development, or recommending institutional changes.

JPME 1 credit is awarded upon completion and selectees can participate in all opportunities afforded at ACSC. Selection is through the Developmental Education Designation Board (DEDB) and those interested should refer to the most current IDE-SDE Program Description Guide on myPers (af.mil), or reach out through e-mail to AU.AUFP.FellowProgram@us.af.mil.

Contact info:
Telephone: DSN 493-3063, Comm 334-953-3063. E-mail to  AU.AUFP.FellowProgram@us.af.mil