In a profession that demands leadership, it is essential to develop leaders with a solid moral foundation. To reach that goal, the Character and Leadership Education Division provides a variety of classroom, seminar, workshop and experiential-based learning programs to all cadets, beginning when they enter Basic Cadet Training (BCT), and continuing each year through their last semester at the Academy.

Each year, cadets experience a different aspect of character-based transformational leadership education. This education plan is built to fully complement the Officer Development System and presents character enrichment in a developmental fashion, beginning with personal understanding, moving to interpersonal skills development, followed by the formation of high-performance teams, and culmination in organizational improvement.

Fourth-class cadets begin this character development journey by encountering a program called VECTOR (Vital Effective Character Through Observation and Reflection). The program is a dynamic three-hour interactive seminar that focuses on self-reflection. Topics addressed include integrity, establishing personal life assessments, the importance of setting priorities, individual reflection, and finally, establishing a personal life vision. VECTOR illustrates to fourth-class cadets the importance of developing a strong personal foundation. Attendees are exposed to various leadership styles and qualities in the form of popular movies and are then challenged to form their own opinions on how an illustrated ethical situation should have been handled.

The third-class cadets complete the Respect and Responsibility (R&R) Workshop. This workshop is designed to take the cadets out of their normal environment and to help them discover valuable information about themselves and others. Students attempt a graduated series of activities, involving both emotional and physical risk, designed around human relations and diversity issues. The goals and benefits of the R&R Workshop are for participants to acknowledge differences and similarities in their own and others’ leadership behaviors. In addition, the R&R Workshop helps cadets appreciate the impact of respect, cooperation and trust on problem solving, decision making and command environment skills that foster and encourage open and honest communication; and to challenge views and biases that undermine a positive, productive command environment.

Second-class cadets will take part in the Center’s newest offsite seminar – Leaders in Flight Today (LIFT). Building upon the previous character development programs, LIFT includes a personality style assessment tool intended for cadets to better understand others as they better understand themselves. Experiential learning and case studies are employed in team building exercises designed to improve effective communications, interpersonal skills, positive motivation, trust and team-leadership accountability. A culminating exercise jumpstarts the journey as the cadets are energized to field-test the seminar’s major insights within their squadrons starting TODAY. Cadet commitment to follow-up and follow-through impacts their own performance teams.

The cadet’s mandatory character and leadership development journey culminates in our first program – Capstone ACES. ACES is a dynamic, one-day offsite program designed to focus attendees on the ethical demands placed on Air Force Officers. Capstone ACES helps not only the first-class cadets, but other staff and faculty examine their collective role in character development within both the Academy and the greater Air Force. Attendees are exposed to issues, concepts and experiences designed to convey the importance of character and leadership development to the positive transformation of the Air Force and the Department of Defense. Participants engage in dialogue throughout the day that focuses upon both ethical development and mentorship skills within the Air Force core value framework.

Our final character development program involves optional cadet participation at the Adventure-based Learning Facility (ABL). The ABL involves a series of high and low ropes course elements which help students develop trust, solve problems, build team unity and enhance effective communication. Participants receive a bold, discovery-oriented growth opportunity that illustrates the staggering potential of collaborative effort, team-learning and organizational synergy.