How can the AF improve preparing SrA for the NCO tier?

IMO you will not be able to accomplish that in a program. The Culture in the Air Force is to diverse. The ability to work and mentor, as well as the way you work and mentor; not only varies from base to base, but also from career field to career field. In my experiences I have seen this situation in Logistics Readiness Squadrons quite a bit, because they have some many different career fields in one unit. Though it sounds like a bad thing, sometimes it is a good thing that the mindset is different.

SSgt (Join to see) - Mentorship requires an open mind on behalf of the mentor and the mentee. It can be done, but it takes effort, and open mind, and desire. In my time in the military I learned from many people who are not in my specialty code.

That is true, but not all the time, and not all of it can be applied in one program. I as well have had many mentors from various career fields. But, when comes time to be mentored on my job, I have had no better mentors than those who have worked my job/career field.

I think we could start by not giving out E-3 for signing your name. Everyone comes in E-1 regardless. Then you can positively identify how long someone has been in. This will also add value to the ranks which at the moment E1-E4 are treated as equals. I agree with bringing back the buck Sgt as well. Not everyone wants to be a leader and we should allow them to be a SME so they don't poison their subordinates. Those who want to lead should be given the opportunity and sent to ALS as soon as they make E4. I also agree that if we learn the most from our mistakes then how will we ever learn in a one mistake Air Force. We need a little less micromanagement and empower our younger guys with tasks while mentoring them along the way.

As you know as well as I do, ALS was intended for SrA without a line number to prepare them for the next level and to be supervising and gaining the working experience before they promote to the next level as the transition is easier to adapt too as you have already been doing parts of the responsibility. How can the AF foster more of an active role in implicating the intended point of ALS instead of pipelining them through and then expecting results?

I don't understand what you're asking.

It sounds like you're saying that Senior Airmen should come out of ALS ready to be NCOs, but they're not; what can the AF do to fix that?

Is that right?

No, sir I'm saying that how can the AF fix the preparation for SrA to become efficient NCO when ALS is pipelining them through as soon as they make SSgt instead of targeting SrA before they have a line number, getting them through the training, assigning and hold them accountable as a SrA and then when they make SSgt all it is is a pay increase and responsibilities, I've seen too often where the AF is putting lower Airman and newly promoted SSgt's in trouble by not preparing them for the role that they will take on and instilling in them the leadership and understanding of the position they now carry. How can the AF as a whole and not as squadron or sections prepare all SrA to be an NCO as it was intended. Due to the changes in promotion rates, slots for ALS were for only SrA with line numbers, if this is to be the standard now how can the AF prepare SrA for this role i.e. pre-training school or courses like once a month that are mandatory. Just something to help them be better prepared, because a under prepared supervisor breeds bad results to everything. Hope that helps, sorry for the late reply. Thank you for your response

Thanks for the clarification. I don't think we're on the same page as far as where the responsibility lies to prepare SrA to be NCOs. PME is commonly called "reblueing" but I think of it as "rechambering". Rechamber a rifle to a higher caliber, you get the same results with more power at a higher range.

I'm standing by my original response, that it's up to NCOs to prepare our SrA. But if I had to come up with an AF level program to make that happen, it would be an intermediate level PME that focuses on teaching young NCOs how to mentor Airmen, recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and teach them when and how to place their Airmen in situations they can gain the best experience from. Something like "Know your Airmen 101".

I know you're asking from a standardized-across-the-AF standpoint, but when it comes to the level of responsibility, accountability, and technical expertise of NCOs; AFSC, Squadron/unit mission, ops tempo, etc. always come into play. An outstanding NCO in your AFSC may be a lousy one in mine, and vice-versa. A top-notch Airman at a duty station that doesn't deploy very often could be ready for NCO duties where they are, but a PCS to a high ops tempo assignment might put them right back at the bottom of the stack, and it's up to the NCOs in that new environment to get them ready in their new environment. We should give those NCOs the tools they need to prepare the SrA where they are. The younger the better.