Army Selects First Senior Fellows

By Army News ServiceSeptember 21, 2007

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 21, 2007) - The Army has selected 19 Army Civilians with the potential to serve in the Senior Executive Service for the inaugural class of Army senior fellows, scheduled to begin this fall.

The Army Senior Fellows program is designed to echo the professional development the Army provides future general officers, by developing solid, proficient executives with skills that rival their military counterparts. Participants will study in a senior-service college and perform a developmental assignment in their organizations. Between assignments, Senior Fellows will also work together on a strategic question from the secretary of the Army and the chief of staff of the Army.

"The Army Senior Fellows program is unique," said Ray Horoho, ASF executive director. "Our program prepares interested Army Civilians to be the Army's future senior executives. We will guard against simply replicating today's executive force. We intend to expose fellows to the best leaders in the Army, federal government and industry. Our goal is to help them to face the executive-leadership responsibilities of the 21st-century Army."

The program objectives include establishing and helping meet SES succession-planning goals based on the executive-core qualifications requirements, creating and managing a talented Army Civilian corps and familiarizing the fellows with today's challenges while preparing them to handle tomorrow's.

Depending on their education and experience levels, fellows will spend up to 36 months in a combination of developmental assignments and courses selected to build branch-immaterial leadership skills. Those who have not attended a senior-service college will be given an opportunity to do so. Each developmental assignment will last from six months to a year.

Unlike other candidate programs, the ASF program cannot certify candidates in advance and place them into vacant senior-executive billets. After completing the program, participants must compete for and be selected as members of the SES.

"The education and training path for the emerging executive previously required staying assigned to their existing position while in an academic environment, resulting in a manpower loss to the command," said Mr. Horoho. "Now, each phase of the training will include a permanent change of station, allowing organizations to have continuity of operations, and allowing more flexibility for the employee to do career and educational planning."

Candidates must be general-schedule Army Civilians in grades 14 and 15 or pay band-three employees under the National Security Personnel System who have demonstrated their abilities within executive-core qualification areas. They must possess innovative problem-solving and planning capabilities and a passionate dedication to enhancing the health and well being of Soldiers, Army Civilians and their Families.

"Through executive experience-based assignments and executive educational opportunities, these fellows will become experts in the business of running the Army," Mr. Horoho said. "They are the rising stars who will provide continuity of operations as current senior leaders conclude their careers."