Sheppard, new NCO Academy make perfect fit

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Vernon Cunningham
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 82nd Training Wing received notification that a new NCO Academy will stand up at Sheppard. During a press conference May 7 in the new location of the academy, Brig. Gen. O.G. Mannon, 82nd Training Wing commander, said Sheppard was a perfect fit for an NCO academy.

"The young people that (NCO academy graduates) are going to be supervising are right outside there, marching back and forth to class," he said. "And, the officers they are going to support flying airplanes are right here flying airplanes; so they get the best of all worlds."

Including Sheppard's academy, the Air Force will have seven NCO academies in the United States and four overseas. The academies provide mid-level enlisted Airmen with the tools and training needed to take on increased leadership roles and responsibilities.

General Mannon said the academy is one of the missions that Sheppard has been actively pursuing to replace the medical mission that the base is losing due to Base Realignment and Closure. This will be beneficial for the local community by boosting the local economy, said the general.

"This is a great opportunity for us to grow," he said. "We get to show the Air Force off to the community and visitors attending graduations.

"We'll have seven graduations a year. Each graduation will have more than 200 individuals. All their bosses, first sergeants and families will come here for a formal ceremony. So, they will need rental cars, hotel rooms and airplane tickets. That will all be good business for the local community."

The Sheppard NCO academy will be housed in a facility previously used for enlisted medical training, which is moving to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

"This is a state of the art facility," said the general. "It will provide second level leadership training. The academy will allow them to study leadership, mentorship and the bigger operational perspective. What greater location to study than right here, where the Airmen just coming into the Air Force for training are right outside the door?"

The academy is scheduled to open its doors to technical sergeants in early 2011, with an expected graduation rate of about 1,300 annually increasing by several hundred more in the future.

The Sheppard NCO academy will train active-duty Airmen, Reserve and Guard members.