ACSC students tackle AF future in “Staff Challenge” Published June 2, 2015 By Staff Sgt. Erica Picariello Air University Commander's Action Group NCOIC MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Hundreds of students from the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force base sat in Wood Auditorium May 21 awaiting the Air University Commander to announce which paper would be selected. "Flight 7!" announced Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, Air University commander and president. Flight 7, comprised of 12 ACSC students, wrote a paper on "Cyber Maneuver Defense" and was the first group selected at the inaugural ACSC Staff Challenge. According to ACSC leadership, the ACSC Staff Challenge was a group project created to replace a traditional exercise at the end of the 11-month seminar with a practical application to tackle real-world issues of the student's choosing. "All 38 ACSC seminars of the 2015 academic year were broken up into teams of 12 to 13 and were given four days of general and informational readings over the period of a week to aid in choosing a topic," said Chris Stamper, ACSC Department of Joint Warfighting and Staff Challenge coordinator. Instead of directing topics to write about, the students were given real-time information and asked to help contribute to a solution. "They were not given a bank of topics, but were provided some guidance from Lt. Gen. Kwast outlining the landscape of 21st century issues and assigned an area of responsibility coinciding with one of the four geographic combatant commands," Stamper said. "Finally, they had to choose their topic based on what they saw as a strategic problem for the Air Force moving into the future in that area of responsibility and a potential solution." After choosing a topic, the students had 24 to 48 hours to research the topic and write a paper. "The students were only limited by imagination and time," Stamper said. "They had to scope an issue that was on the small enough scale to write a white paper in the period of time they were given. Depending on how collaborative the group was it could be as little as five pages and as much as 25." The groups then presented their papers to ACSC leadership who forwarded them to the highest ranking staff officer on base, the Air University Commander. The commander chose two papers and brought the members of those flights on stage in ACSC's Wood Auditorium to field questions not only from him but from an audience of their peers as well. "The challenge was meant to mimic the rigorous environment that commanders face every day in the field," Stamper said. "They may be presented with an issue and will have a small amount of time to use their resources and networks to provide a staff officer with a meaningful, completed product." In comparison to traditional exercises that provided the students with a hypothetical situation and strict parameters, some students found this new challenge project rewarding. "The opportunity to collaborate with a diverse and experienced group of officers on a topic that is critical to our combat operations was very rewarding," said Maj. Melissa Hull, a current ACSC student and future 355th Security Forces Squadron commander at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. "This challenge contributes to the Air Force's mission by creating an opportunity for feedback from those that have performed the mission and have dealt with some of the difficulties we addressed during the challenge. By codifying our issues, concerns and recommendations we hope to provide some paths forward or areas for consideration that may improve our ability to execute combat operations in any arena." The challenge also exercised the student's ability to incorporate insights from their international counterparts. "This project was excellent," said Lt. Col. Pedro Agapito, a current ACSC student, Flight 7 member and Philippine Air Force instructor pilot. "It encouraged students' participation and to think "outside the box" for possible solutions to the real world problem or scenario." Air University's top brass was impressed by the challenge and the ideas presented by the students. "The ACSC Staff Challenge brought students together in a joint-functional environment and challenged them to work together to enhance the future of the Air Force, allowing us to invest in our greatest resource - human capital," said Kwast. "Each paper was extraordinary and thoughtful. The bright young leaders we have today are the key to the Air Force's ability to continue to fly, fight and win ... across air, space and cyberspace."