AF civilian intern program grooms top-notch candidates for future leadership opportunities

  • Published
  • By Shadi May
  • 92nd Public Affairs staff writer
FAIRCHILD AFB, WASH. --  As the world’s situation demands a more expeditionary military, the Air Force focuses on investing in civilian employees to fill in positions traditionally occupied by its military leaders. 

The Palace Acquire Program is one way for the Air Force to recruit, train and place high-caliber college graduates into demanding management roles to meet its operational needs. 

The PAQ program targets candidates for a 2-to-3 year training and development program, and it offers opportunities in a variety of fields from intelligence, human resources and education to airbase security, public affairs and engineering, among many others. 

The program starts most interns at a GS-7 entry level, a lieutenant’s rank equivalent, with a target grade of GS-9 or GS-11 depending on the career field. Selection to PAQ is based on outstanding scholar criteria with a minimum undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.45, or candidates ranking in the top 10 percent of their undergraduate class overall. As of 2005, it has been opened to veteran’s preference with a GPA of 2.95 or higher. 

“I checked in to major civilian corporations such as Honeywell, Intel and Boeing, and their internships failed in comparison to the Air Force’s program,” said James Abrusci, a PAQ intern in the human resources field at Fairchild. “Nobody else would give this opportunity saying, ‘Hey, we are going to invest in you for three years and at the end of that, we want you to be a leader in that field.’” 

Formerly a Veterans Affairs hospital kitchen manager in Albuquerque, N.M., Mr. Abrusci finds many positive aspects in the program claiming, “It has lived up to every expectation that I have had. I really like the one-on-one training and being trained in a real-time environment with a level of supervision which fluctuates with how much training I need.” 

But, Mr. Abrusci is not the only trainee who considers the internship a great opportunity.
“I wanted to try something new at a location where I hadn’t been and wanted to have a variety of experiences within my job, said William Worrall, a PAQ intern engineer at Fairchild working along his military engineer counterparts. “The training and rotational assignment opportunities are big factors for me to have joined the program.” 

Once the interns graduate from PAQ, its placement system resembles that of active duty assignment system, giving an option to apply for various locations provided it meets both the Air Force’s and the interns’ needs. 

Worrall also considers the diversity of the projects in which he has been involved as another perk of PAQ’s training objective. “Whether it’s been working with the Eagle Scouts to install section markers for grave sites, updating utility maps using a Global Positioning System, or building a nature trail for the base, it has so far been a fulfilling learning experience,” said the former Department of Agriculture student hire. 

Although the PAQ program offers many perks to its interns, it also bears its challenges.
“It took a while to get used to the military organization,” said Mr. Worrall. “Not many know about PAQ interns, so adjustment was a bit difficult. 

While training is a major advantage of the PAQ program, it can also be a great challenge as explains Mr. Abrusci, “It’s rather overwhelming being faced with so much new information all at once, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in the field, but I just deal with it one day at a time, and it’s worth it.” 

The new interns aren’t the only ones who endorse the PAQ opportunities. 

“As a graduate of the program, Palace Acquire has given me the tools to fill the AF’s needs and impact its operational goals,” said Scott Wobbe, Air Mobility Command’s chief of Information Security, who oversees the command’s security program, to include Fairchild’s and is now a GS-13. 

“The Air Force is going through some significant changes currently,” explains Mr. Wobbe, “and being a PAQ is an opportunity to watch and learn how the process takes shape. My advice to the new interns is to drain every ounce of knowledge out of their supervisors in their area of training.” 

For more information on PAQ opportunities, visit http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil. 

(Editor’s Note: Shadi May is a PAQ intern in the security program and a volunteer staff writer for the Fairchild Connection.)