During a student leader round table, Maj Daniel Moomey, USSF, talked about his Air Force Institute of Technology doctoral program in space systems with Dr. Wendy Walsh, chief learning officer for Air Education and Training Command, February 8. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Katie Scott).

Air Education and Training Command’s new chief learning officer, Dr. Wendy Walsh, visited Wright-Patterson AFB in February to develop awareness of the learning requirements, capabilities and capacities at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.

“My time at Wright-Patterson has been impressive and inspiring,” said Walsh. “AFIT shared a broad view of the Air Force learning network in action. The interconnection and synergy between AETC, AFIT, AFRL, AFMC, NASIC, the 711th Human Performance Wing and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force are incredible assets for enterprise learning.”

During her time at AFIT, Walsh toured research centers and met with faculty and students to understand how AFIT’s graduate and professional continuing education enables the execution of the Department of the Air Force’s mission.

“Dr. Walsh’s valuable insights and enthusiastic engagement during her visit will advance AFIT’s educational partnerships internal to the DAF, with other federal agencies and with civilian institutions,” said Dr. Heidi Ries, AFIT provost and chief academic officer. “I look forward to both new and strengthened collaborations as a result.”

Walsh also met with the leaders of AFIT’s new Center for Innovation in Education. The CIE supports excellence in teaching, learning, and research by facilitating collaboration, showcasing best practices and technologies, and supporting writing and publication.

“I look forward to continued collaboration to advance force development through learning, technology, and innovation,” Walsh said.

Walsh joined the AETC team in 2021 and is responsible for providing leadership, support and technical direction to enable an Air Force culture of learning. Her focus is on connecting learning professionals to collectively build, share, and sustain an accessible, meaningful continuum of learning for Airman.

Dr. Robert Leishman, Autonomy and Navigation Technology Center director, discusses the center’s Mag-in-a-Box used to rapidly capture magnetic field data in operational systems to support magnetic-anomaly navigation with Dr. Wendy Walsh, chief learning officer for Air Education and Training Command during a visit on February 8. The Mag-in-a-Box recently flew halfway across the world on a C-17 and is slated for further tests in a C-17, C-130J, and B-52. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Katie Scott)

 

Dr. Wendy Walsh, chief learning officer for Air Education and Training Command and Dr. Robert Leishman, Autonomy and Navigation Technology Center director, discuss the center’s unmanned aerial vehicle testbed that is used to fly various alternative navigation experiments during a visit on February 8. This aircraft successfully flew two autonomous flights for over an hour each, at night, during heavy GPS jamming and spoofing for a recent Army Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross-Functional Team exercise. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Katie Scott)