The U.S. Air Force should treat artificial intelligence proficiency as a force readiness requirement across critical career fields, not as a specialty reserved for technical experts.
That is the central recommendation of a new RAND Corporation report examining how airmen and guardians can prepare for a battlefield increasingly shaped by algorithms, autonomy, data, and cyber operations.
The report, published Tuesday by the Arlington, Virginia, research institute, calls for focused “just-in-time” instruction for officers and warrant officers.
Such training would give personnel relevant technical knowledge when their assignments and missions actually demand it, rather than burying them in another bureaucratic checkbox course.
“In an era of constrained resources, technological fluency may increasingly need to be treated as a core element of warfighter readiness, not a niche skill or one-time educational requirement,” the report reads.
That warning reflects an obvious reality: future conflicts will punish services that cannot rapidly understand and employ new technology.
RAND recommends that the Department of the Air Force concentrate on artificial intelligence, data literacy, and cyber enabled operations.
Although the initial framework focuses on officers and warrant officers, the authors believe it could later cover enlisted airmen, guardians, and civilian personnel.
The broader goal is a force wide approach to integrating artificial intelligence into military operations. That means teaching leaders not merely how to recognize the technology, but how to employ it effectively while making decisions under operational pressure.
One proposed solution is a “stackable, scaffolded continuous” training model built around professional certificates in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.
RAND argues that this structure could create a measurable path toward technical fluency while tailoring instruction to specific missions and reducing costs for the department.
Stackable certificates are credentials that personnel can earn in stages over time. Each certificate adds to previous training, allowing service members to develop deeper qualifications and advance along a technical or professional career path.
The certificates could be incorporated into existing military education and training systems rather than forcing the Air Force and Space Force to build an entirely separate bureaucracy. Programs could be customized for career fields and mission areas that require particular technology skills.
RAND also recommends updating professional military education curricula to include certificate programs. Done properly, that approach could make technical competence part of routine leader development instead of an elective pursued only by personnel already working in specialized units.
“As AI and advanced technologies increasingly shape military effectiveness, airmen and guardians must be prepared not only to operate alongside these capabilities but also to lead with them,” the authors say.
That distinction matters because military leaders must understand the tools well enough to judge their strengths, limitations, and battlefield risks.
The report cautions that stackable certificates have not been extensively assessed across military or government organizations. Therefore, RAND recommends launching pilot programs and measuring their results before imposing the model across the entire force.
That measured approach could help the department determine whether the certificates actually improve mission performance, technical competence, retention, and career progression.
It could also prevent a useful readiness initiative from becoming another expensive stack of paperwork that looks impressive at headquarters but changes little in the field.
RAND sees a particularly strong connection between certificate based training and the department’s reestablished warrant officer corps.
Warrant officers are expected to provide deep technical expertise, making them natural candidates for continuous education in artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities, and mission specific technologies.
“WOs can leverage stackable certificates to complete ongoing training on AI, advanced technologies, cyber capabilities, and other mission-specific requirements while assigned to their units and performing their standard duties,” the report says. This would allow them to sharpen specialized skills without being repeatedly pulled away from operational assignments.
The authors also recommend examining whether advanced technical education should be considered part of a service member’s primary duties.
Leaders would then need to determine whether that instruction is best delivered through professional military education, unit level programs, remote learning, or a combination of methods.
Promotion and assignment systems may also need adjustments so completed certificates carry genuine career value. If the Air Force wants to retain technically capable personnel, it cannot praise digital expertise in speeches while ignoring it when selecting people for advancement and key assignments.
Artificial intelligence will not replace disciplined leadership, sound judgment, or combat experience, but it will increasingly influence how American forces plan, communicate, gather intelligence, and strike targets.
Treating that reality as a readiness issue gives airmen and guardians a better chance of leading technological change rather than scrambling to catch up after an adversary gains the advantage.
