ANG Instructor Course fosters innovation through Marine Corps participation

MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. — A shared commitment to advancing instructor development brought a U.S. Marine Corps participant to the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center’s TEC-University Air National Guard Instructor Course, July 14–24.

U.S. Marine Capt. Andrew Suarez, officer in charge of the Marine Corps Center for Learning and Faculty Development, Detachment West, Camp Pendleton, California, attended the two-week course alongside Air National Guard students from across the enterprise.

Facilitated by TEC-U’s Learning Development team, ANGIC equips instructors with modern teaching techniques grounded in active-learning principles. Suarez’s participation provided an opportunity for both organizations to exchange ideas, share instructional practices, and strengthen professional development opportunities across the services.

For Suarez, the course provided a deeper understanding of the shared commitment to instructor development across the services and highlighted the value of learning from different approaches.

“One of the biggest takeaways from this experience was seeing how much we have in common,” Suarez said. “Coming here gave me a greater appreciation for the professionalism, passion, and commitment to learning that exists across the Air National Guard. Each service has unique experiences and approaches, but we are all working toward the same goal — developing better instructors and creating better learning experiences to better prepare our warfighters for the future.”

The collaboration took shape as TEC-U’s Learning Development team explored ways to continue evolving ANGIC by incorporating additional active-learning strategies and innovative approaches to instructor development. Recognizing the value of learning from other services, the team sought opportunities to strengthen professional relationships and identify approaches that could enhance instructor development across the services.

“During our efforts to modernize the ANGIC curriculum, I learned about innovative approaches being implemented by the Marine Corps Center for Learning and Faculty Development,” said John Erdman, TEC-U instructional specialist.

Those conversations led to an exchange of ideas between the organizations and opportunities to observe each other’s instructor development programs. “The Marine Corps shared information about their program and invited us to attend one of their courses,” Erdman said. “They were also interested in learning more about what we were doing, so we extended an invitation for them to attend ANGIC. We’re hopeful this marks the start of an ongoing exchange of ideas and best practices between TEC-U and the Marine Corps Center for Learning and Faculty Development.”

By bringing together instructors from across the services, the partnership highlights the value of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement in developing effective educators.

“Seeing what other services are doing allows us to challenge our own processes and ask, ‘What can we learn from each other?” Suarez said. “We don’t have to recreate something that is already working. If another service has developed a successful approach, we should be able to learn from it, adapt it, and continue improving how we develop our instructors.”

The exchange represents more than the first U.S. Marine attending ANGIC. It establishes a foundation for continued collaboration between TEC-U and MCCLFD through future exchanges of instructors, instructional methods, and educational best practices, reinforcing TEC's commitment to developing today's Airmen for tomorrow's fight while strengthening partnerships across the joint force.

The TEC is composed of three divisions: the Chief Master Sergeant Paul H. Lankford Enlisted Professional Military Education Center, TEC-University, and the Mission Support Division. These divisions are staffed by a total force of regular Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command, and civil service members.