Joint Credit: It Matters Published Aug. 11, 2011 By Maj. Christina Hoggatt Air Reserve Personnel Center Public Affairs BUCKLEY AFB, Colo. -- As an Air Force officer do you want to increase your strategic level and critical thinking skills? Garner a greater strategic vision? If the answer is yes, then earning Joint Qualification should be a top priority. Reserve senior leadership has determined that having Reservists gain joint credit and strategic experience is vital to the success and future of the Reserve force. In 2007, Reserve officers became eligible for Joint Qualification, because the Reserve must mirror the active duty. In order to appropriately backfill active duty components there must be officers with Joint Qualification. Additionally, joint credit provides essential strategic level decision-making opportunities that officers will not gain at the tactical level. "To become a senior leader, a Reservist must move beyond unit-level experience in order to develop the critical thinking skills needed to stay relevant in tomorrow's military environment," said Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., commander of Air Force Reserve Command. "I consistently tell our Reservists that senior-leader advancement must include key leadership, command and joint positions, as well as experience in the National Capitol Region and assignments above wing level." The need for Joint Qualification applies to all officers and all AFSCs - this is not specific to any "group" of officers. Additionally, Joint Qualification can be a whole person discriminator for possible personal decisions, assignments and future force development, but does not guarantee promotion. Joint Qualification is important, but how does one go about earning it? Let's first dispel some misconceptions. There is a difference between "working in a joint environment" and "involvement in joint matters." Simply working with the Air Force's sister services, coalition partners, and other federal agencies will not earn Joint Qualification. Earning Joint Qualification requires proving joint matters, which is direct strategic-level involvement in the planning or decision-making process that requires knowledge of operations beyond your service. The key to determining "involvement in joint matters," thus Joint Qualification, is in the "what" part of the duties performed within a joint environment. Below are questions every potential joint officer needs to ask: . What did I do that was different from my Air Force job? . What strategic implications did my position impact? . Was I decision maker or did I provide input so someone else could make the decision? The explanation to Joint Qualification is simple: If an officer's duties applied organizational competencies and critical thinking skills that articulated strategic vision or joint decision making then that may be a qualifier. An example is if an officer was the Director of the Joint Operations Center (JOC) then joint credit is applicable and Joint Qualification is earned due to direct "involvement in joint matters." However, if a member was the operations officer within the JOC - the tactical level work in the joint environment - then he or she does not meet Joint Qualification, because there was not direct "involvement in joint matters." So, how does an officer get joint credit? There are two ways an Air Force Reserve officer can become Joint Qualified: 1. Standard - Joint Duty Assignment: S-JDA is the most common pathway. The Air Force Reserve has 390 Joint Duty Assignments, though most are in the IMA world, but ARPC is working to add more positions in the future. 2. Experience - Joint Duty Assignment: E-JDA is the most difficult process, which requires officer's to self-nominate for experiences through a DoD website, DMDC, for E-JDA credit. Officers can nominate retroactive credit until Sept. 30, 2013. Experiences from Oct. 1, 2013 and beyond must be submitted within one year of the E-JDA end date. S-JDA will change to a nominative process based on Air Reserve Personnel Center Developmental Team inputs, but assignments are currently made the same as any other assignments -- vacancy announcements. Tour length requirements will vary depending on part/full-time status and the amount of participation. E-JDA tours are obtained through certain deployments and manday tours. Right now, there is not an exact science in obtaining E-JDA tours. Earning Joint Qualification on deployments and manday tours within joint environments will depend on the exact duties performed. "Officers who earn Joint Qualification gain unique experiences and perspectives," said Col. Pat Blassie, Air Reserve Personnel Center commander. "Joint experiences increase an officer's strategic-level thinking and provide individuals new insights that will ultimately benefit the Air Force." As an officer with joint experience and the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations at U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill., Brig. Gen. James Muscatell feels his joint experience has been invaluable to his career." Joint credit is not a square filler, it is about the joint experience. I have been a wing commander three times and after this joint time I see myself as a more effective officer, Muscatell said. "Joint experience offers us a chance to really learn about the other services and offers a solid foundation so that when we are put into a contingency operation we understand their culture and how they do business."