Students compete in an integrated base response and recovery practicum that pits teams against each other to test their base contingency readiness skills as part of the first offering of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Air Force Civil Engineer Intermediate Course (WMGT 201) in February 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Andrew Fenner)

The Air Force Institute of Technology’s Civil Engineer School successfully completed the first offering of the Air Force Civil Engineer Intermediate Course (WMGT 201) in February.

The objective of the intermediate course is to enhance officer development in tactical and technical areas of installation support, contingency operations, and organizational leadership for captains with four to seven years of CE experience.

The course was the first at the School to be developed from the 32E Civil Engineer Officer Occupational Competencies, and is mandatory for all active-duty captains in the 2019 year group and younger in order to be awarded the 32E Senior Occupational Badge upgrade.

In addition to bringing in senior civil engineer leaders and technical experts as guest instructors, the course emphasizes small group discussions and peer-to-peer learning, leveraging the diverse experiences of the students.

The course is completed in two phases—a distance learning phase and an in-resident phase. In the first phase, students complete 35 hours of online modules at their own pace covering topics such as contingency and readiness, asset management resources, contracts, and civil engineering strategy.

The second phase is two weeks of in-residence instruction at Wright-Patterson AFB, focusing on application-level discussions and small group projects. “The in-residence portion had significantly more interactive pieces for the students,” said Capt. Andrew Fenner, a course director at the Civil Engineer School. “Students worked in teams to complete practicums, or small group projects, where they create products or experience something that replicates the real world. They also interacted with senior leaders and attended panel presentations with SNCO's and other flight leads within the CE career field.”

Panel presentations included representatives from all Air Force major commands and included secret-level discussions. The AFIT instructors noticed a difference between the new lieutenants who take the basic course (WMGT 101) to the more experienced captains in the intermediate course (WMGT 201).

“From a learning perspective, new lieutenants don't necessarily know what questions to ask yet so panels are very much one-way,” said Fenner. “What we experienced in 201, which is awesome, was the increased amount of discussion and two-way communication going on between the students and the presenters. The questions being asked by the students were fantastic.”

The culmination of the first week of in-residence learning was the integrated base response and recovery practicum. During this board-game activity, students divide into teams and launch attacks on each other’s base requiring them to apply their knowledge of contingency readiness to respond and rebuild.

Maj. Michael Blaess, the course director for WMGT 201, developed the game. “The game caused emotional responses in the students as their bases were getting hit really hard,” said Blaess. “They were losing lots of equipment and personnel and struggling to get their airfield back up and running. It was exactly what the board game was intended to do—generate stress and push the viewpoint of what the next fight may look like versus what we've experienced in the past.”

During this course, instructors made a conscious effort to take advantage of the student’s experiences to further advance their skills and knowledge base. “With WMGT 201, it is just as much about learning civil engineer occupational competencies as it is building peer networks and inspiring the students to continue to learn and grow as CE officers,” said Blaess.

For this first offering, the instructors targeted more senior captains to attend to ensure comprehensive feedback on the course would benefit the next group of students. “It was a personal opportunity to invite back all of my cohort from tech school when we were all brand new lieutenants,” said Fenner. “It was a cool experience to get back together as more experienced officers and give different perspectives and outlooks on our profession as well as continue to build our professional relationships.”

The online portion of the next intermediate course offering is in May with the in-residence portion in July. For more information, visit: https://www.afit.edu/CE/course_desc.cfm?p=WMGT%20201