Fort Belvoir, Va. (Oct. 30, 2014) - For the first time in its history, the U.S. Army Force Management School at Fort Belvoir received accreditation. The school became accredited in August of this year, giving it the opportunity to expand and strengthen its place among educational institutions in the military and civilian communities.

AFMS received accreditations from U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and the Council on Occupational Education, granting nationally recognized career and technical education.

AFMS was established in 1994 to provide training and education across the force management community, said Lt. Col. Albert L. Benson, Jr., deputy commandant for the U.S. Army Force Management School.

Our education and training at AFMS is "targeted to mid- to senior-level Soldiers and civilians throughout the Army's force management community with plans to expand it further," Benson said.

"When they say we are accredited, this means that the Army is providing premiere education to these Soldiers," said Cybile Ware, deputy director of quality assurance for the school. "So now they can go out to their field and they know, and their leadership knows, they are getting the training that they are supposed to get to perform their mission."

The accreditation process is no different than that of a civilian college or university, according to Benson.

"There is an external assessment from an accrediting agency that comes in and actually validates that your school has the requisite systems, processes, capabilities and competencies of an educational institution," he said. "It is not just centered on our delivery of force management content, but looks at various other aspects from funding, quality assurance, safety, facilities, certification of faculty (with) the right credentials, and whether or not we are developing and delivering quality education."

Benson said becoming accredited allows them to invest in the future and in Soldiers.

"It gives Soldiers and leaders the opportunity to know that this post has the fundamental processes, the people and the certifications to produce quality instruction and education," said Ben Rivera, director of training for the school.

As a result of their accreditation, they are focusing on several goals.

Ware said in three years, when they are inspected again, they hope to get the Institution of Excellence during their next accreditation visit. It is the highest level you can receive for being accredited from TRADOC and they are currently working toward achieving this goal.

"Now, with those two accreditation efforts under our belt, we're going to leverage those in order to obtain college credits through the American Council on Education. Our goal is that students leave here with credentials that can further their careers while serving in the military or within the civilian community," Benson said. "We felt like we needed to get the TRADOC and the Council on Occupational Education accreditations first, as a precursor to going out and getting college credits for AFMS courses. This is a stair-stepped approach, rather than trying to get college credits without first being validated as a first-class educational institution."

They also want to expand their student population and diversify, Benson said.

"We are pulling in logisticians who have been earmarked for strategic level assignments," he said. "Right now, the school is Phase 1 of what they call a strategic logistician internship program.

We've actually had a couple of students attend the school for the first time."

Benson said the school's Commandant, Brig. Gen. Roger L. Cloutier, Jr., is leading the effort to expand the school's course portfolio.

"We're working on setting up training for former brigade commanders in order to increase their strategic level knowledge of how the Army runs," he said. "We're planning on conducting our first course, which is specifically tailored for those individuals, sometime in the second quarter of 2015."

Additionally, Benson is excited about ongoing discussions and assessments that could potentially bring the Army's Operations Research Systems Analysis (FA 49) training and education to the AFMS.

The school has also made significant investments in the school's infrastructure which include new workstations, new desks and chairs, live camera technology, and audio systems, he said.

Instructors are also changing how they teach at the school and are moving toward the Army Learning Model 2015, Rivera said.

The goal is "to transition the classroom from instructor-led to student-led activities," he said.

For more information about the U.S. Army Force Management School, visit the website at www.afms1.belvoir.army.mil.