From Trainee to Adapter: A Mapping of Leadership Competencies of Adapter Cadet in the Air Force Academy

Abstract

The beginning of military training of those who join the Armed Forces is one of the most important stages of their professional lives. At the Air Force Academy (AFA), this period is known as the Military Adaptation Internship (EAM), and demands a lot of dedication of the candidates, called trainees, and of the Officers of the Cadet Corps Command, who are responsible for adapting inexperienced young people to the new and strenuous routine. In order to carry out such a challenge, it is necessary that the Officers should be assisted by a group of cadets to conduct the various activities that will positively influence the trainees during their first days in the barracks. These cadets, now called as adapters, are chosen by their Squadron Command through a selection process that should occur as uniformly as possible. In order to provide such an important service, it is essential that the adapters are properly trained, as they will reflect on their subordinates the main attributes of an Air Force cadet and serve as a reference to them. However, it is noted that nowadays, the selection process for adapters is not formally standardized. In this sense, the objective of this work is to contribute to the mapping of the competencies that the adapter cadet needs to have developed by the beginning of the EAM, in order to better fulfill the tasks to which he/she will be assigned during this internship. The transactional leadership theory will serve as the basis for identifying knowledge, skills and attitudes in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor fields of the students, in order to explain the importance of each one. The methodology consists of an applied, descriptive and explanatory research, using a questionnaire with the Officers of the Squadron Commands of AFA, to analyze the sample of competencies to be suggested and implemented. In addition, it was done a bibliographic review of the most relevant articles, books and academic works on the subject, and paying special attention to the publications of the Air Force Command that deal with the issues at hand. At the end of this research, the main aspects of an adapter cadet were highlighted, emphasizing the meaning of each item and how it can assertively reflect on the career of a future officer of the Brazilian Air Force.