COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- He balled his fist tightly, inches away from his adversary; his determination was clear for all to see as they anxiously awaited the outcome. One, two, three; rock! 1st Lt. Luke Socolofsky, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron, project manager, won the rock-paper-scissors stand-off and would be first to test his leadership capabilities in real-time virtual reality.
Columbus Air Force Base recently completed small group testing of the Learning In Virtual Experience LIVE program and implemented it on a larger scale, starting with participants and senior leadership of the 14 CES.
The LIVE program is a facilitated interactive virtual reality experience that enables participants to employ empathetic listening, respectful discourse and address exclusive situations needed for a workplace culture for personnel to reach their full potential.
There are five key focus areas; human capital, emotional intelligence, talent management decision making, teamwork and communication.
“The biggest difference with Learning in Virtual Experience is that a volunteer from the group participates in an immersive experience with the avatar in a scenario based on real-world situations that happened to Air Force service members,” said Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hamley, 14th Communications Squadron senior enlisted leader. “This is an opportunity to build on and recognize unconscious bias while practicing tough conversations. This is something we need more of.”
Human capital is positioned as the top priority under the LIVE program breakdown as a means to prepare service members to lead the teams of tomorrow towards achieving success in Great Power Competition.
“It’s all about properly leading teams and managing our talent,” said Hamley. “Through each simulation and debrief, LIVE sessions provide an avenue to make informed decisions and avoid potential pitfalls. This will directly apply to our relationships with other nations and our joint and coalition partners while creating a more effective and sustainable competitive advantage.”
In August 2023, the focus shift to a need for an Advanced Digital Learning Services Architecture was described by Brig. Gen. Randy Oakland, AETC director of Operations and Communications, “The urgency of this task is driven by the need to empower our Airmen and Guardians with the ability to adapt rapidly in today’s era of strategic competition. We need an advanced digital learning architecture to create a holistic ecosystem that nurtures a culture of continuous learning.”
"The collaborative feedback, or debrief, conducted at the end of each LIVE session is where the learning happens,” said Hamley. “Although there is only one volunteer, the big advantage is that everyone else gets to be a ‘fly on the wall’ so-to-speak and listen to the entire conversation. The members can then dig into how the session went, share similar experiences they have seen, and provide insight on alternative responses.”
Recently a new on-demand Conversation AI Simulator “CAISY”, was made available for Airmen to simulate the role of a subordinate, peer, or supervisor to practice the leadership skills they gained through Professional Military Education for challenging workplace conversations and scenarios. CAISY hosts a variety of simulations such as performance feedback, team challenges and accountability, to try a scenario click the link here. The program is available for Airmen to test their leadership abilities on their own without a human facilitator.
“My goal for LIVE at CAFB is to ensure everyone knows what it is, and how to bring it to their units and teams.” he said.
To schedule a LIVE training session contact SMSgt Hamley by email at christopher.hamley@us.af.mil, on Microsoft Teams, or call 662-434-2488.