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First NPS AAP class graduates at Tinker

  • Published
  • By Brandice J. Armstrong
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  They are the first.
   Thirty-one Tinker Airmen and civilians graduated Sept. 13 from the Naval Postgraduate School's year-long Advanced Acquisition Program. Held at the Education and Training building, they were the first group to graduate from the course since the program was introduced at Tinker two years ago.
   "The shared experiences, the shared knowledge and the lessons learned that came out of this forum with this group of people is amazing," said graduate Bill Plasters, 540th Aircraft Sustainment Squadron Communications and Navigational Weapons Flight chief. "I've learned stuff that would take -- in the normal on-the-job type thing -- years to get, at least 10 years."
   Held on base, the AAP is designed and mandated by Congress for acquisition professionals seeking senior level positions such as program managers, said retired Army Lt. Col. Brad R. Naegle, NPS senior lecturer.
   Once the training is complete, acquisition professionals must serve an experience tour in an acquisition job before they are fully qualified for a senior level position, the retired Army lieutenant colonel said.
   To earn AAP certification, students are required to complete seven courses, earning 19.5 graduate quarter hours, and maintaining their daily workload.
   "One of the beautiful parts of this program is that the students never have to leave their home station," the retired Army lieutenant colonel said.
   The NPS certificate is equivalent to Defense Acquisition University's PMT-352 course for program managers and is accredited through the Accrediting Commission for Senior Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
   Students are taught the material through two 12-week video teleconference programs and in a classroom environment. The first and last course is taught through teleconferences. The middle five courses are taught by NPS instructors. Because NPS is headquartered in California, instructors travel to Tinker for each week-long class.
   "The people that were brought in to do the classes have a large reservoir of high-level experience," said graduate Ron Sandhop, 540th AACS Air Vehicle Flight chief. "They are literally experts in their field. As a consequence, you get to hear about what really happened behind the scenes, not just what the textbook tells you."
   Colonel Naegle said the length of the program depended on an individual's schedule and his dedication to completing the course within a year or thereafter. The first group of NPS AAP students began at Tinker in June 2005. About one-third of the graduating students are from that class. The remaining majority started a year ago.
   Mr. Plasters completed the program in a year-and-a-half. Mr. Sandhop started the program roughly two years ago.
   All Tinker AAP students were selected by their respective commanders.
   "The Tinker community is really in charge of which students go there," Colonel Naegle said.
   Due to scheduling, the colonel said, the next NPS AAP course will likely begin September 2009, with a graduation date scheduled for September 2010.