Georgia Airman is First Guardsman To Attend Air Force School

By Senior Airman Paul Ross
116th Air Control Wing
Public Affairs Office

A Georgia Air National officer recently a opened new door for National Guardsmen when he was selected to attend the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SSAS) at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Major Patrick Cotter of the Planning and Policy Analyst for Strategic Issues and Communication for the Office, Director Air National Guard, is the first Guardsman selected to attend the course.

Being the first Air National Guardsman to be selected for the school is an honor and a choice happening for the major.

“I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” said Maj. Cotter. “It is a real privilege and I’m looking forward to it.” Cotter will use the school as a chance to show his active duty counterparts the kind of issues the Guard deals with daily.

“There’s never been a Guardsman to attend the school, and the majority of those who will be going through the class will be the future leaders of the Air Force,” he explained. “They haven’t dealt with some of the issues on a daily basis that we have as Guardsmen such like drill, part-timers, unit training assemblies and healthcare. “

Such issues are transparent to someone on active duty, so bringing that perspective as a Guardsman, I believe, will be a big plus,” he added. Cotter said the school will certainly be an opportunity for him to gain a valuable education and to get together with the active duty members.

“There’s a ton of learning that I’m going to do,” he said. “The thing I’m looking forward to is the opportunity to interact with my active duty counterparts, and letting them know how the Air National Guard works.

“They’ve all flown with us and been overseas with us, but they’ve never really dealt with the Guard on a day-to-day basis so that’s the part I’m looking forward to,” he said With his selection to the school, Cotter said he hopes it will bring more opportunities to Guard members.

“There’s a couple of things to we all need to realize. The Air Force, for one, has gotten a lot smaller. The active duty component has gone from about 640,000 people in 1974 down to around 315, 000,” Cotter said. “The Air National Guard, on the other hand has stayed relatively constant between 90,000 and 106,000 people roughly. So it’s going to be important that the Air National Guard deals with the Active duty component more consistently.

“This will give us an opportunity as guardsmen to open a door and put Guardsmen in these positions so that we learn from each other,” he added.

The school’s website, www.au.af.mil/au/saass/mission.htm, states “The mission of the SAASS is to educate strategists in the art and science of aerospace warfare, thereby enhancing the Air Force's capacity to defend the U.S. through the control and exploitation of air and space.”