Is Air War College Teaching the Right Leadership Skill Sets?

The Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, appreciates and recognizes the importance of teaching the right leadership skill sets and has taken several approaches to accomplish this challenging task. The Air War College's commitment to developing and enhancing students' leadership skills is not in question in this paper; however, the author will attempt to determine if the Air War College is equipping students with the right senior officer strategic leadership tools. In this paper, the author attempts to answer the following questions: Is the Air War College teaching the right leadership skill sets? What are the right leadership skill sets for Lieutenant Colonels and higher? What leadership skill sets is the Air War College teaching at present? The author consolidates common themes throughout several leadership models and theories to determine the proper skill sets for Air War College future strategic leaders. He then compares the right leadership skill sets versus the leadership skill sets being taught. He wraps up the paper with several recommendations based on the research.