Civilians included in professional enhancement courses Published May 2, 2006 By Kendahl Johnson 311th Human Systems Wing Public Affairs BROOKS CITY BASE, Texas -- In the past, professional enhancement courses at Brooks have been open only to enlisted military personnel. That is about to change. Beginning in June, the senior non-commissioned officer professional enhancement course (SCNOPE) and the NCOPE course will be open to civilians. Chief Master Sgt. Reggie Williams, command chief of the 311th Human Systems Wing, has been working with Senior Master Sgt. Michael Walljasper, career assistance advisor for the wing, on the integration of civilians into the course. "We have so many civilians who supervise military enlisted personnel, and this course will help them grow," Chief Williams said. "They need to know exactly what the expectations are for the military personnel. The course will help them better understand and appreciate the military." Sergeant Walljasper agreed. "We felt it was time to provide opportunities for these civilians to improve their leadership skills." The curriculum for the three-day professional enhancement course includes helping attendees improve leadership, mentoring and writing skills - skills necessary for all supervisors. Sergeant Walljasper, who designed the course and teaches it with the help of some of the top instructors on base, said there will be few changes made to the curriculum to accommodate the civilians, but the course will continue to evolve as it has in the past. "The workshop is continually being evaluated and restructured to ensure those who attend will get maximum benefit for their time invested," the sergeant said. "We pour over critiques and listen to feedback following each course to determine how we can improve the course." The idea of introducing civilians into the program was hatched, in part, when Eric Stephens, director of the 311 HSW, approached the command chief with a desire to help civilians improve their leadership skills. "He came to me and asked how we could help civilians grow and become better leaders," Chief Williams said. After brainstorming some ideas, the chief realized a solid professional enhancement program was already established at Brooks and that very few changes would need to made to provide enhancement opportunities to civilians. "The integration of civilians into this course will be successful solely because of the effort and energy that Sergeant Walljasper has put into this program for the past two and half years," Chief Williams said. "He is a dedicated advisor and has worked hard to get this program in place." The chief is very positive about the workshop and about the new civilian opportunities. "It's an excellent, hard-hitting course. Anyone who attends the course will leave with more tools in their toolbox to be better leaders. And anybody who doesn't take advantage of the opportunity is short-changing themselves, their unit and more importantly, their people."