CAP, PEO-BES Sign MOU for IT Training

Katrina Jackson (center back) with CAP National Headquarters’ information technology team meets with Airmen from the Program Executive Office-Business Enterprise Systems at CAP’s facilities on Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, Sept. 18, 2019. Image credit: US Air Force

Civil Air Patrol is embarking on another partnership withthe U.S. Air Force, one that will provide critical information technologytraining to recent Air Force technical school graduates.

A memorandum of understanding between the Air Force and itsauxiliary was signed earlier in September by the CAP national commander andCEO, Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, and Rich Aldridge, program executive officer forBusiness and Enterprise Systems at Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex,Alabama.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of from an Air Forceperspective is there seems to be, from the top level, more of an embracing ofinnovative solutions,” Smith said. “We’re always on the hunt for areas where wecan help our parent service.”

The memorandum of understanding allows for CAP to partnerwith first-term airmen who have just completed technical school at Keesler AirForce Base, Mississippi, and are assigned to the BES Directorate. Every sixmonths, four to six software coders will work at CAP National Headquarters atMaxwell to immerse themselves in CAP’s well-established Agile DevSecOpssoftware framework. In turn, these airmen will provide valuable, additionalmanpower that will help CAP satisfy increased demands on its small developmentteam.

Katrina Jackson of CAP’s information technology team isalready working with the first group of Air Force software coders, who reportedto national headquarters for introduction to CAP staff and program orientation.Jackson said she is treating the airmen like interns, which she says is goodfor them as well the CAP software developers.

“They learn mentorship and sharing, which helps in thedevelopment of everyone,” she said.

The BES Directorate recently established one of the sevenAir Force software factories within the BES Product Innovation, or BESPIN,team. BESPIN is creating in-house custom desktop and mobile applications for avariety of Air Force customers out of the BESPIN location in downtownMontgomery, Alabama, and The Cantina located at Pivotal Labs in downtownAtlanta.

The partnership with CAP affords BES another practical,hands-on training opportunity for their airmen to learn modern developmentmethodologies. CAP, being local, provides this additional experiential learningwithout the burden of additional temporary duty costs and lets airmen stay athome.

Aldridge said he thought the partnership will eventuallyhelp his airmen deploy software and mobile capability faster and at a higherquality.

Senior Airman Daniel Shepard, one of the airmen who reportedto national headquarters, said he hopes his six months with CAP will not onlyget him and others up to speed on the Agile DevSecOps framework, but also helphim better understand the “whys” of software development.

Airman 1st Class Christian Wojteczko agreed, saying, “I expect to bring skills back to the Air Force for me to use, as well as the other airmen.”

Source: US Air Force