Air Command and Staff College

The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate professional military education (PME) school. It prepares field grade and equivalent officers of all U.S. military services in grade O-4 or those selected for O-4 (i.e., USAF/U.S. Army/USMC Majors and USN/USCG Lieutenant Commanders, as well as Major-selectees and USN/USCG Lieutenant Commander-selectees), equivalent rank international military officers, and US civil servants of at least GS-12/GM-12 level, to assume positions of higher responsibility within the military and other government arenas.

Senior Members of the Civil Air Patrol (U.S. Air Force Auxiliary) in the rank of Major are also able to attend ACSC via "distance learning," an option often exercised by officers in the U.S. military services.

ACSC is geared toward teaching the skills necessary for air and space operations in support of a joint campaign, as well as leadership and command at the USAF squadron level or its equivalent in other services.

Mission
Prepare warriors to lead air, space and cyberspace forces in joint/combined operations

Organization
ACSC has three deans:
 * education and curriculum
 * services and support
 * distance learning

They provide academic leadership to the school's faculty and student body. The dean of education and curriculum, assisted by the vice dean for academic affairs and vice dean for operations, coordinates the integration of the final curriculum content and directs the planning and implementation of the academic programs. The dean of distance learning is responsible for planning, organizing, and delivering the non-resident program of instruction through the departments of Curriculum and Operations. The dean of services and support leads the efforts of cross-cutting organizations including personnel, fitness, technology, facilities, and security. The commander and staff of the 21st Student Squadron are responsible for the health, morale, and welfare of 600 resident students and their families.

Curriculum
The present 10-month curriculum focuses on expanding understanding of air and space power and on the growth of mid-career officers. It is meant to:
 * facilitate the air and space minded thinking of students
 * develop and enhances abilities for higher-level command and staff responsibilities,
 * enhance students' abilities to think critically about operational air and space concepts in a dynamic international environment,
 * broaden students' understanding of the nature of conflict and current and future threats to the United States and its allies, and
 * develop and enhances students' abilities to plan and execute the joint campaign planning process and air and space operations to support the joint force commander.

There are currently five curriculum departments at the ACSC:
 * International Security and Military Studies
 * Joint Warfare Studies
 * Leadership, Command and Communication Studies
 * Joint Education
 * Specialized Studies.

Facilities
ACSC is located in Spaatz Hall on Chennault Circle at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The building contains a 600-seat auditorium for lectures by distinguished speakers, a smaller 135-seat auditorium for special presentations, plus a variety of conference rooms, staff and administrative offices, and lounge areas. Seminar sessions are held in specially designed rooms featuring closed-circuit television, an array of multimedia equipment, and student access to a school-wide computer network and the Internet. Students are issued more than 80 books to expand their professional capabilities and a personal laptop computer to use to keep track of the academic schedules, on-line reading assignments, and for use in examinations throughout the academic year.

History
The Air Command & Staff College traces its roots to the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) located at Langley Field, Virginia, from 1926 to 1931, and Maxwell Field from 1931 to 1942. After World War II, as the independent Air Force was formed in 1947, grew, and developed, the requirements and expectations of the school evolved to fulfill the service's educational needs.

Major Jeanne M. Holm, in 1952, became the first woman to attend the Air Command and Staff School. She was the first female USAF officer to achieve the rank of Brigadier General and later Major General.

In 1962, the school became known by its current name, Air Command and Staff College.

During academic year 1994, the school undertook the most significant change to its educational program since its inception. The school transitioned from a lecture-based to a seminar-centered, active environment with an integrated curriculum geared to problem solving across the continuum from peace to war. In academic year 1999, the school began efforts to align its curriculum under the Air University commander's Strategic Guidance for the Continuum of Education. That program now functions as a portion of a comprehensive and integrated career-long professional military education program.