Building a Warrior Ethos

Large organizations often face a familiar tension: Their people master technical skills and come to define themselves by their professions rather than by the organization’s mission. The U.S. Air Force faces this same challenge. As operations have become more specialized, many Airmen identify first with their career field—engineer, maintainer, or operator—rather than with the broader Air Force mission.

Air Force senior leaders have found that this functional orientation can limit cross-mission collaboration and organizational citizenship. Members might perform well in their assigned duties but do not always see themselves as part of a shared enterprise focused on generating and sustaining airpower. Changing that dynamic requires more than new slogans or performance policies. It requires building a new identity—one that places the Air Force mission first, starting from the earliest moment recruits encounter the organization.

Why Identity Formation Starts on Day 1

For most Airmen, the first exposure to the Air Force occurs in Basic Military Training (BMT). Decades of research show that early organizational experiences strongly shape later engagement and retention. As strategic priorities have evolved from countering violent extremism to competition with near-peer powers, BMT evolved in parallel, not just shaping military professionalism and core values but also helping recruits internalize what it means to serve in a mission-oriented organization operating in a competitive, unpredictable environment.

The BMT redesign is intended to represent an evolution of how the Air Force forges identity and a warrior ethos. One defining change is a sharper focus on what sets the Air Force apart: airmindedness—a mindset rooted in the earliest days of aviation that connects every Airman with the mission and the unique power of air, space, and cyber.

The culminating field exercise, Primary Agile Combat Employment Range, Forward Operational Readiness Generation Exercise (PACER FORGE), now serves as the capstone event that synthesizes the lessons learned throughout BMT in a simulated deployed environment. It modernizes earlier field events, such as Warrior Week and Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training (BEAST), to reflect today’s strategic context of peer competition and technical complexity.

The Strategic Pivot: From Compliance to Commitment

PACER FORGE represents a deliberate shift from procedural compliance to mission-focused thinking. Although discipline and adherence to established procedures remain essential, trainees are expected to think and act in small teams to defend, operate, generate, and sustain airpower—activities that underpin airpower effectiveness.

The field exercise spans three days and two nights in a simulated air base environment. Trainees encounter realistic tasks, such as securing a perimeter, recovering a high-value asset, and responding under stress. Trainers encourage trainees to make decisions with limited guidance, reflect on their actions, and adjust accordingly. The goal is not to certify skills but to cultivate critical thinking and situational judgment—competencies Airmen will need in complex operations.

Training instructors described PACER FORGE as a “big step forward” because it integrates teamwork, autonomy, and cross-functional collaboration under demanding conditions. For recruits, these mission-oriented, team-based challenges provide what many said was a genuine sense of pride and accomplishment—feelings associated with earning the Airman identity rather than simply finishing a training checklist.

Evidence of Identity Change in Practice

RAND researchers’ observation of PACER FORGE Provisional, conducted in partnership with the 319th Training Squadron, found early indicators of identity change among trainees:

• Shared pride and belonging. Many trainees reported feeling that they had earned their place through effort and teamwork. Completing demanding missions under stress fostered a sense of belonging to something larger than one’s occupational specialty.
• Understanding of the broader mission. Trainees described recognizing how their individual tasks connect to the Air Force’s mission to project and sustain power. They said that they valued opportunities to interact with peers from other career fields—connections rarely made in conventional, classroom-based training.
• Agency and initiative. Trainees highlighted how the experience created opportunities to lead, coordinate, and communicate in dynamic scenarios. One trainee noted that the program might be particularly valuable for normally quiet individuals because it would allow them to demonstrate leadership once they were given responsibility and latitude.

These reflections suggest movement toward a mission-based identity—one that connects personal competence to organizational purpose.

Balancing Aspiration with Reality

The analysis also found meaningful constraints—challenges familiar to leaders in any organization pursuing identity change:

• Limited role clarity and realism. Some trainees reported idle time or unclear instructions, which suggests that scenario design needs refinement. In some cases, activities were loosely connected to actual airpower operations, limiting the realism necessary for deep identity development.
• Safety concerns. The Air Force appropriately placed strong emphasis on safety during field events. However, protective measures occasionally reduced realism and thus the sense of mission immersion—a tension common to organizations training for high-risk work.
• Short-term evaluation effects. Instructors who later interacted with graduates often said that they had observed little immediate behavioral change. That gap likely indicates that identity formation at BMT is only the starting point; reinforcement must continue through advanced training and early career experiences.
• Shared purpose and authentic subcultures. Academic research suggests that efforts to strengthen shared purpose can sometimes come at the expense of distinct career-field identities and technical expertise. Sustaining both unity and specialization is essential to preserving the force’s operational edge.

These constraints do not undermine the program’s intent; they underscore that authentic identity change is a long-term process.

Lessons for Any Leader Driving Cultural Transformation Around a Shared Identity

The Air Force’s ongoing reforms to BMT offer insights for policymakers and organizational leaders seeking to align culture with mission:

• Start at entry. Organizational identity must be intentionally shaped at the earliest touchpoints—from recruiting through training, orientation, or onboarding—when people are most open to new norms.
• Design immersive, meaningful challenges. Although skills are embedded in the scenarios, these collective challenges build belonging, not proficiencies. Shared identity grows when people experience the mission together.
• Connect tasks to strategy. PACER FORGE serves as an example of how to emphasize airpower and peer competition so that members at any level can understand how their work supports strategic objectives.
• Balance agency and guidance. Autonomy cultivates problem-solving and initiative, but structure ensures that learning objectives are met. Leaders should balance the two.
• Reinforce continuously. Lasting identity change depends on consistency in messaging, leader behaviors, and recognition systems long after initial training ends.
• Protect safety while maintaining authenticity. Psychological and physical safety are prerequisites, but realism sustains commitment—a balance relevant to manufacturing firms, hospitals, and any other high-risk enterprise.

Building Identity as a Strategic Asset

This research underscores that identity transformation is not ancillary: It is strategic. The Air Force’s ongoing updates to BMT represent a comprehensive effort to create the foundations for what Air Force leaders call Airminded Warriors: Airmen who understand not only how to perform tasks but also why those tasks matter to the Air Force’s mission.

PACER FORGE takes only three days of the eight-week BMT program. It exemplifies—but does not define—this transformation. It is one element in a broader framework that connects newcomers to purpose, integrates scenarios with identity, and translates abstract values into meaningful experiences.

The institutional lesson is straightforward yet powerful: People align with a mission when their early experiences make that mission tangible. Whether in a global corporation, a government agency, or a military service, effective identity change combines early immersion, experiential learning, and sustained reinforcement.

The Air Force’s commitment to enhancing BMT highlights how vital it is to get this right—and how the work is far from finished. Through disciplined experimentation and evidence-based evaluation, the Air Force is demonstrating that the path to stronger performance—military or civilian—begins by teaching people not simply what to do but also who they are when they do it.

Available for Download

Download PDF

Topics

• Military Education and Training
• United States Air Force