‘LEAD’ership opportunity opens for Dover Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Interested and qualified Dover Airmen have a 'gold bar' opportunity to trade their enlisted stripes for second lieutenant insignia.

Dover enlisted Airmen interested in earning a degree and commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy must submit their completed forms before Jan. 31.

If Airmen miss this year's deadline, there are 135 slots available for enlisted Airmen each year through the Leaders Encouraging Airman Development program.

"If Airmen are interested in the LEAD program or commissioning in general, I encourage them to attend our commissioning briefings, which are held the last Friday of each month at 10 a.m. at Building 659, room T-1," said Frank DiNatale, Dover AFB education services counselor.

The LEAD program was initiated in 1995 by now-retired Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, the former Air Force chief of staff, and delegates authority to unit and wing commanders to nominate highly-qualified Airmen to attend the Academy. Commanders have the opportunity to identify outstanding and deserving Airmen with officer potential for this commissioning program.

"The LEAD program is an ongoing effort to give our best and brightest Airmen the opportunity to excel by offering them appointments to the Air Force Academy in," said Chief Master Sgt. Arvin Davis, the Academy command chief master sergeant.

There are 85 slots available for active duty Airmen who qualify for direct entry into the Academy. These individuals must be no older than 23 on July 1 of the entry year.

The additional 50 slots are reserved at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School for Airmen who do not meet direct entry criteria, with the intention of an Academy appointment to follow upon successful completion of the Preparatory School curriculum. These Airmen must not have passed their 22nd birthday by July 1 of the entry year (this cannot be waived as it is a stipulation of Title 10, United States Code).

An Airman must be U.S. citizen or be able to attain citizenship before entry in the Academy, be unmarried and have no dependents, and be of high moral character.

"I get a lot of interested parties (for commissioning programs) daily," said Mr. DiNatale. "We (promote) attending a commissioning briefing to familiarize yourself with all the available opportunities as well as the (Air Force Officer Qualification Test) requirements, college credit and other exams needed to apply. My briefings give Airmen an overview and save many hours explaining the fine details of putting together a successful package."

Once an Airman is truly interested, Mr. DiNatale works with them one on one.

"Each candidate will spend at least 4 - 6 hours with me (one on one) fine-tuning their application," he said.

According to the USAFA Website, there are 85 direct-entry slots for active-duty Airmen to enter the Academy, as well as 50 slots for active-duty Airmen to enter the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School.

There are also 85 direct-entry slots for Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen.
Attending the Academy Preparatory School is an option for Airmen also, said Mr. DiNatale.

The academy preparatory school is a 10-month school which provides intensive academic preparation to make applicants better qualified to enter the academy, according to the Website.

Unlike the potential civilian Cadets, Airmen do not need to seek presidential, vice presidential or congressional nominations since the Airman's commander is the nominating authority.

For information, call Mr. DiNatale at 677-4624. Also, information about the Academy can be viewed at: http://www.academyadmissions.com or by calling the Academy Directorate of Admissions at (800) 443-9266.

(U.S. Air Force Academy contributed to this article)