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Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe on Aug. 11 unveiled a broad effort to overhaul enlisted professional military education, pledging a system that is more continuous, accessible and integrated across an Airman’s career. Speaking during his keynote at the Air Force Sergeants Association’s Summit 26, Wolfe detailed a reorganization that consolidates installation-level enlisted development under standardized Professional Military Education Centers and introduces new tools, faculty models and reporting requirements.
“We are taking the pieces that already exist, organizing them into a more coherent system, clarifying who is responsible for that system, and filling the developmental gaps between formal EPME experiences,” Wolfe said.
Under the Enlisted Professional Military Education Modernization, professional development centers at bases will be formalized into a three-tier structure and will subsume key schoolhouses such as Airman Leadership School (ALS) and the Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA). In the opening phase, course content and accreditation remain unchanged and continue to reside with Air University’s Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. The Barnes Center will keep scheduling NCOA classes, and the Air Force Personnel Center will continue assigning students. In-residence ALS and NCOA courses will proceed as normal.
“Over time, [EPME Modernization] will allow us to build a more agile, adaptive and dynamic delivery model for the development and education opportunities…,” Wolfe said.
The new PME Centers will serve as the single installation focal point for enlisted development, aligning ALS and NCOA under one umbrella. The structure scales with base size and infrastructure: eight large centers will host a development advisor, ALS and NCOA; 57 medium centers will have a development advisor and ALS; and 15 smaller centers will revolve around development advisors at locations without resident ALS or NCOA. Development advisors remain central across all models, continuing to lead programs such as Foundations Courses, the First Term Enlisted Course and the Informed Decision Seminar, as well as providing counseling on complex career and retraining questions.
To expand access and free advisors to focus on the most complex cases, the Air Force is building an artificial intelligence agent to help Airmen navigate policies and career opportunities. In parallel, Air University will roll out a virtual Foundations Course in two phases: first through live, centralized instruction via video teleconference, followed by self-paced, on-demand modules.
Reporting lines and oversight at installations are also being clarified. PME Centers will align under the wing command chief and command team for integration and administrative oversight. Wing commanders retain command authority, while command chiefs will exercise functional oversight for enlisted development, guiding PME Center priorities, curriculum integration and outcomes. Command chiefs will track a new Status of Professional Development via a dashboard now in development, providing enterprise-level data to the Enlisted Force Development Panel to inform strategy and policy. Detailed reporting requirements will be issued in forthcoming guidance.
The modernization also seeks to broaden who can teach. The service plans to expand Foundations Courses through an adjunct faculty model that taps qualified Airmen with specialized experience and prior instructor backgrounds to deliver expertise on demand. “We have more than 10,000 former 8Ts in our Air Force—I’m talking to you,” Wolfe told the audience. “You have something to offer, and we are going to establish a method for you to be able to deliver your expertise to our Airmen on demand.”
Beyond education reforms, Wolfe announced adjustments to enlisted promotions intended to create fairer timelines and prevent vacant stripes from going unfilled. Beginning with the current cycle, the Stripes for Exceptional Performers nomination windows for staff sergeant and technical sergeant will align with each rank’s static closeout date, giving commanders added time to weigh nominees after results are released. “Timing should not unnecessarily narrow opportunity,” Wolfe said. “Extending the window gives commanders more time to evaluate performance and recognize Airmen who have demonstrated exceptional potential.”
To address declinations at senior ranks, the Air Force will use board-established orders of merit to identify the next qualified selectee when a promotion is declined. Over the past four years, 59 senior master sergeants selected for chief master sergeant turned down promotion. The new backfill approach will begin with the 2026 chief master sergeant cycle and is slated to continue with senior master sergeant and master sergeant boards in 2027.
Wolfe also spotlighted a new initiative to support military spouses’ careers. The Global Military Spouse Connection, run by the Air Force Personnel Center, uses a pre-vetted résumé repository to link qualified spouses with civilian job opportunities across the Department of the Air Force. The pilot is underway at Travis Air Force Base, California; Patrick Space Force Base, Florida; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The effort is not a hiring mandate but is designed to streamline connections between talent and vacancies.
Implementation of the EPME Modernization is already in motion across the Air Staff, major commands, Air Education and Training Command and Air University, spanning organization, resourcing, policy, the virtual Foundations Course and communications. Wolfe, who previously taught at ALS and NCOA and served as commandant of the Elmendorf Professional Military Education Center, framed the changes as an evolution of existing strengths with clearer accountability and modern delivery.
The full keynote address is available on the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Facebook page.
