Document created: 15 September 03
Air University Review, November-December
1975
To Know and To Grow
THE USAF Social Actions (SA) program includes a broad range of activities, including training in the control of drug and alcohol abuse. A former director of the Social Actions school made the following remarks at an American Psychological Association convention in Montreal, Canada, in August 1973:
The field of social actions has had a greater growth and development during the past two years than perhaps any career field within the military structure since World War II when science re-created with new dimensions the entire structure in minimum time. New vocabulary, new concerns, new techniques, new reports,–all were part of the new structures created then, and now in social actions. I do not mean to imply that social actions grew from nothing during this period of time. That’s not true. It developed from concerns that already existed in fragmented ways. It adapted vocabulary from other military structures and from civilian counterparts. It built on techniques that were available, in and out of uniform, in and out of social actions kinds of activity. But the integrity of a single career field, the unity of action and concern, the consolidation of programs, energy, and focus came rushing along like a swollen stream headed for surrounding lowlands. Only with the establishment of a permanent career field and new training courses did we begin to catch our breath (not because we had more time, but because we had greater need) and take time to look carefully at the task, or the tasks, that Social Actions personnel in the Air Force are attempting to perform.
One of the primary tasks SA personnel perform is the management of drug/alcohol abuse education and rehabilitation programs, and it is this area of training that this article will describe.
Department of
Social Actions Training
The Department of Social Actions Training is part of the School of Applied Aerospace Sciences, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. It is accredited by the Southern Association Colleges and Schools, Vocational Training Division. Its courses are listed with the Community College of the Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas, and Social Actions personnel may earn up to two years of college credit through their SA courses.
The purpose of the department is to provide training and support for SA programs throughout the USAF. This is accomplished through resident courses at Lackland AFB, through Special Training courses conducted by the department, and through the USAF Resource Center at Lackland. The Resource Center is built around a library of behavioral science books, documents, films, and unpublished papers. It also houses a remote terminal with direct on-line access to the computerized data banks of the National Institute of Mental Health. These include the National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information, the National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information, and the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol Information. The Resource Center is thus able to provide the latest information to the paraprofessional drug educator or counselor in a timely fashion as both inquiries and replies may be made by telephone, teletype, message, or letter.
The school aims to impart a maximum amount of cognitive data in a highly charged, affective learning environment. Although students are required to know facts, it is considered equally (or more) important, because of the nature of SA work, that students be given the opportunity to grow as human beings. This is possibly the only USAF school in which personal emotional/psychological growth is encouraged as part of the program of instruction. Students are expected to examine their own behavior and that of their peers and through structured and unstructured small group experiences learn patterns of behavior appropriate to the Air Force environment within which they work.
school curriculum
The curriculum will be described in terms of its three aspects: cognitive subjects, small group activities, and practical application. It is noted that SA came into being officially in October 1971 and that the present school curriculum has developed out of the experience of both the school faculty and the SA personnel in the field, who knew, perhaps best of all, what was needed in terms of training.
The following subjects were taught by lecture and/or guided discussion. The presentations were given by school staff and other USAF speakers or by guest speakers serving in consultant status. With few exceptions the caliber of these speakers was excellent, and their professional credentials were excellent as well. Several subjects covered pertain to the human relations aspect of SA work and were presented as supplementary to the core curriculum.
Administration of Social Actions
Offices
Cross-Cultural Differences
Women Personnel’s Concerns
Social Actions Interaction with the Judicial System
Social Actions Interface with Law Enforcement
Psychological Labeling
Administration of Drug/ Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Programs
Drug/Alcohol Pharmacology
Introduction to Transactional Analysis
Principles of Instruction
Values Clarification and Viable Alternatives to Drug Use
Counseling Principles and Practices
As an adjunct to didactic learning, time was set aside daily for small groups of students to process, with the aid of a faculty facilitator, the cognitive data presented in the lecture hall. At the onset of the course, small groups of eight to ten members were organized, and they remained together throughout the course. In groups, opportunities were provided to “try out” theories and techniques introduced in the classroom, e.g., values-clarification exercises would follow lectures on that subject. Additionally, much time was spent in groups getting each student to evaluate himself both as an individual and as a group member. The primary means of accomplishing this was through structured experiences taken from the Pfeiffer and Jones series of Handbooks for Group Facilitators and from other sources.
Cognitive and affective learning forms the foundation for the practicum work that climaxes the overall training. There are four areas of practical application:
(1) Practice teaching. When students return to their bases of assignment, they will be required to present drug and alcohol abuse training to all assigned military personnel. Therefore, at the school each student is required to prepare lesson plans and then teach drug/alcohol abuse control to military personnel assigned to Lackland AFB. Students are critiqued both by a faculty member and by the students in the class they taught.
(2) Counseling of drug/alcohol abusers is an everyday task for SA personnel; therefore, emphasis is placed on developing counseling skills while at the school. Students do practice counseling with fellow students on closed-circuit television and are appropriately critiqued. Students are finally given an opportunity to counsel, under supervision, airmen assigned to Lackland AFB who have been identified as drug abusers. These sessions are also critiqued.
(3) SA personnel are frequently asked to give talks on various aspects of drug/alcohol abuse. As an opportunity to develop speaking ability, each student must present a short (l5-minute) talk on some aspect of drug/alcohol abuse to his classmates. These talks are recorded on videotape and later critiqued by the student and a faculty member.
(4) Group work is frequently used by SA personnel as one aspect of rehabilitation of drug or alcohol abusers. Therefore, students are provided opportunities to serve as facilitators in their small group. This work is critiqued by faculty members and also by other group members.
student evaluation
While enrolled, students are constantly evaluated to insure that they achieve the highest possible level of professional and military standards before returning to the field. A triangular system of evaluation is used:
Failure to perform satisfactorily in one or more of these three areas will result in elimination from the school and from SA.
My own reaction to the course is that of a graduate student in guidance and counseling, a USAF drug/alcohol educator and counselor of twenty months, and a graduate of a four-week version of the course just completed. In general, I believe the school is excellent. Academically it compares very well with other schools I have attended, both military and civilian. It is apparent that a great deal of time and effort has been put into making it an academically sound course. On the affective side, I am a little awed with this Air Force school and its mandate to bring about changes in student attitudes, values, and maturity levels. My impression is that the school is effective in promoting these changes.
I found the videotaping of speeches and counseling sessions to be a most helpful technique for critiquing. This was particularly helpful in the nonverbal things that transpired during counseling, not only for the client but also for the counselor.
In summary, having worked in the field for some time prior to this school, I can confidently state that the training is definitely job-oriented and will serve students well in their base-level programs. In providing both knowledge and opportunities for personal growth, this school has a uniqueness in keeping with the uniqueness of the Social Actions career field.
Hq Tactical Air Command
Erratum
Our thanks to Colonel William C. Ferguson, Hq PACAF, who called our attention to the incorrect definition of CEP (circular error probable) footnoted on page 40 of the July-August 1975 issue. The definition should have read: “The circular error probable is the radius of a circle encompassing 50 percent of the weapons delivered.”
Captain Frederick M. Bell (B.S., Florida State University) is Command Drug/Alcohol Abuse Control Officer, Tactical Air Command. Prior to this assignment he was Chief of Social Actions for two years at K. I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan. He previously served as a Special Agent with AFOSI for six years with assignments in Miami, Florida; Clark Air Base, Philippines; and AFOSI Directorate, Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Squadron Officer School.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this
document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression,
academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official
position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air
Force or the Air University.
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