Shore duties included assignment as an aviation officer candidate class officer, a fleet replacement squadron (FRS) instructor with Attack Squadron Forty Two, readiness officer at Medium Attack Wing One, deputy operations officer at U.S. Atlantic Command, head of the Strike Warfare directorate at Tactical Training Group Atlantic, and head of aviation officer distribution (PERS43) at the Bureau of Personnel.

His flag officer assignments include director of aviation plans and requirements (N780) on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations and special assistant for Naval Aviation’s human capital strategy on the staff of Commander Naval Air Forces. He has commanded Carrier Strike Group Ten and, just prior to assuming command of Naval Education and Training Command earlier this year, commanded Navy Recruiting Command.

Rear Admiral Kilkenny’s awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal and various campaign, service and unit awards.

Kilkenny was interviewed by MAE Editor Ted McKenna.

Q: What trends are you seeing in how sailors study for exams, certifications and degrees—for example, using new technologies?

A: Probably the biggest change we’ve seen recently has been the trend toward online education. Since online education began out-pacing instructor-led education in 2006, we continue to see it increase each year, and I suspect that is something that will continue. Part of what contributes to that trend, at least in the Navy, is our Tuition Assistance Program and our Navy College Program. Through Tuition Assistance, sailors can take up to 16 Navyfunded college credits each year, and many of those are accomplished online. We’ve also developed robust partnerships with colleges and universities offering rating-relevant degrees via distance learning to sailors. These partnerships offer sailors the chance to earn degrees that would take full advantage of their skills and experiences developed through their day-to-day job requirements.

Other changes beyond the Internet include using tools such as an iPod as part of an advancement exam for our sailors. We’ve also had great success with our certification program called Navy COOL, which is an acronym for Credentialing Opportunities Online. This program enables sailors to take advantage of funded licensing and certification exams that enhance their military career. Last year alone, we funded nearly 13,000 credentialing or licensing exams. These are the same credentials that civilian professionals earn, which is a strong testament to the excellent quality of Navy’s professional technical training programs.

In the end, our goal is to provide sailors a continuum of lifelong learning that would ensure the work force has the capabilities and competencies—or the knowledge, skills, abilities and experience—to perform their duties, as well as providing the Navy and our nation with a highly adaptable and competent work force. We encourage that by providing sailors who earn a bachelor’s degree with extra points toward advancement.

Q: How well prepared do sailors appear to be for their careers post-Navy, and how much can education help?

A: As a top 50 employer of choice, the Navy fully supports voluntary education, and our program is committed to the idea of total career development to ensure solid career paths and opportunities along the way. While no doubt beneficial for sailors leaving the Navy or retiring, education offers professional growth and development opportunities for our individuals and has also been used successfully for recruiting, promoting and retaining sailors. The training and education that sailors get through the Navy has given us a strong reputation across the commercial workplace. Regardless of whether sailors leave after a few years or after a full career, they are highly marketable because commercial industry recognizes the emphasis given to both training and education within the Navy. Our voluntary education program ensures that recognized standards are met by sailors and that these standards will positively impact their career decisions both in uniform and when they leave uniform. Last year, FY09, our enlisted sailors earned approximately 8,000 associate and bachelor’s degrees and more than 500 master’s degrees.

Q: How has education helped you in your career?

A: Well, I’ve done pretty well for a guy out of Philly. I will say that I might be considered a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to education. Once I got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, that was the end of my formal education for quite a few years. Later on in my life and career, I began once again to focus on the importance of education and have participated in some very interesting and helpful executive seminars and courses. Education is something that can help you no matter where you are in your career continuum—I just recently read about one of our Navy veterans who is 80 years old and walked into one of my Navy college offices to speak with counselors about getting his bachelor’s degree. He’s a perfect example of that old adage, ‘You’re never too old to learn.’

Q: Are you seeing much more interest from sailors or their families in taking advantage of education benefits, given the new GI Bill?

A: This is a great new benefit and I encourage everyone, officer and enlisted, to take advantage of this program. So far, the response capabilities and has been tremendous. In particular, we have seen a lot of requests to transfer benefits from the servicemember to family members, whether that be the spouse or the children. This has been one of the most requested benefits—the ability to transfer education benefits to family. Numbers definitely support that fact. Since the program was implemented on August 1, we’ve had somewhere around 12,000 requests to transfer benefits. This program will not only benefit the military; it is going to have a big impact on our nation as a whole. We’ve suddenly made college a reality for thousands of people.

One thing I would encourage military personnel to do is to get the facts about the program. There is a lot of great information out there that explains the details of what the bill will or will not pay for, how to transfer benefits to family members, where to apply, et cetera. The VA and the Naval Personnel Command Websites are probably the best sources and I encourage anyone interested to visit their sites [at] www.gibill.va.gov and www.npc.navy.mil/careerinfo/education/gibill.

Q: What sort of things does your command do to encourage sailors to take advantage of educational opportunities?

A: One thing we try to instill in our sailors is an attitude of lifelong learning. There are so many programs out there that are designed to assist sailors achieve their education goals. Whether they are deployed to Afghanistan, the Mediterranean Sea or stationed here in Pensacola, there is no reason why someone can’t take advantage of their educational opportunities.

Since education is one of the top five reasons people join and stay in the Navy, there’s not a whole lot of encouraging we need to do. But that said, there are specific incentives for sailors to take advantage of advanced education. Sailors who earn advanced degrees can earn up to four extra points toward their advancement score. With the extremely competitive nature of advancement, a couple extra points can go a long way toward getting promoted. Not to mention the fact that working on a degree can help sailors develop good study habits and test-taking skills that will benefit them when it comes time for their advancement exam.

As evidence of what our people are accomplishing, last year in FY09, 57,000 sailors took advantage of some 162,000 courses thanks to the Navy’s Tuition Assistance program. As I already briefly touched on, this is a great program that provides up to 16 credits or $4,000 per fiscal year for courses in either a traditional classroom setting or online. The program offers a great deal of flexibility in allowing sailors to choose their accredited academic institution, degree program, courses and delivery method.

For our sailors on sea duty, we have the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education, [or] NCPACE. NCPACE provides fully funded academic skills and college-level courses from post-secondary educational institutions on board ships. Under NCPACE, sailors pay only for their textbooks and other instructional materials. NCPACE includes both traditional classroom and distance learning instruction. In FY09, close to 16,000 courses were completed by deployed sailors.

Beyond the traditional college classes, sailors can also earn credit toward degrees through their professional technical training. Many Navy technical training courses provide sailors with college credits. Whether through college education Navy training, we are committed to promoting advanced education to develop sailors’ readiness, productivity, confidence, communication, collaboration, troubleshooting, critical thinking, risk-management, decision-making and leadership skills.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to add or emphasize?

A: One thing that we are working on right now is our enlisted learning and development strategy, [or] ELDS. This is a concerted effort to ensure sailors have available to them the training programs and opportunities required at specific times throughout their careers to assist with both their advancement and their personal development. A key part of that strategy is to make sure sailors are aware of not only what is available to them, but to make sure they also know what is required in order to get promoted. The information is contained in one document that charts their career from E1 to E9 and lays out everything they need to do to succeed. We call these ‘ladders,’ which is an acronym for leadership and development roadmap. These ladders or roadmaps provide all requirements and any and all beneficial reading and qualifications for our enlisted force providing a vital guide and pathway all sailors can use throughout their entire enlisted careers to be successful.

Right now, we have 30 of 82 ratings completed and they can be downloaded off Navy Knowledge Online. I encourage everyone, if their rating is one of those completed, to become thoroughly familiar with their ladder to success. ♦

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