CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Have you ever looked back at a period of time or event in your life and said, "I wish I had known then what I do now."
As I cross my mark of 20 years in service, I can't help but think about the things I wish I had done differently in my career. The one thing that stands out the most is not taking advantage of the time I could have spent pursuing my education early on instead of trying to play catch-up this late in my career. The Air Force and its members have changed considerably since I arrived at my first duty station. At that time, it was the exception to find an enlisted member who was actively and aggressively working on an associates or a bachelor's degree, but now it is much more the norm than the exception.
We do numerous things each and every day to make sure the mission and our people are taken care of, but very often we forget to take care of ourselves. One thing you can do to take care of the mission and take care of yourself is to further your education. By furthering your education, you not only provide the Air Force with a more capable and educated member who can manage and complete complicated and demanding tasks, but you are taking care of your future after you decide to separate or retire.
You have a great career in the Air Force, so how can pursuing your education benefit you? First, it keeps you competitive with your peers for awards and recognition. If you are a senior NCO, you need a Community College of the Air Force degree to get a senior rater endorsement. It can often be the best way to stand out among your peers. Education is also a big part of your enlisted performance report and can be a huge discriminator in award packages. Second, if you have looked into any special duty assignments, you know that a CCAF degree is one of the minimum requirements to even apply for a job. Lastly, the biggest long-term benefit for getting your education is it gives you a solid foundation to build on once you separate or retire and start your civilian career.
Getting started is as easy as walking into the education center on base and enrolling in CCAF. The counselors can evaluate the credits you have already acquired through just going to technical school and various professional military education courses and give you a clear picture of the classes needed to complete your CCAF degree. You can take College Level Examination Program and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support tests at the education center free of charge and get instant verification of your score. You can use tuition assistance and attend classes through one of the many schools that provide a large variety of courses here on base.
Don't procrastinate or fall into the trap of thinking you will have time to work on completing your education at a later time. I hear many members say they plan on taking classes after the kids are older or they've made the next rank or after they have changed jobs. The best time to get started on your education is right now. The longer you take to get started, the less time you will have available to work on your education.