Study Materials to be electronic Published July 17, 2015 55th Wing Public Affairs OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The Secretary of the Air Force recently announced career development and promotion study materials are targeted to be solely online by Oct. 1, 2017. Electronic delivery of Career Development Course volumes and Weighted Airman Promotion System study references have been in place for several years with a majority of the materials accessible on Air Education and Training Command websites. On Offutt, the transition will be different for the upgrade training side of the house versus the promotions side of the house. According to the wing's training manager, the move will be almost immediate. "I expect it to be a fairly fast transition, approximately six months, depending on when the supply of already printed CDC material at Air University is exhausted," said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Charles Redburn, 55th Wing base training manager. "Factors such as changes, edits, rewrites and new enrollments are driving factors on the time line." Airmen are expected to hear about the changes within their unit. "From an upgrade training perspective, their Unit Training Manager will inform them of the changes," Redburn said. "This will either happen during a units Status of Training briefing or at the time of enrollment into the CDC." For those who have a difficult time studying electronically, there will still be options. "Just because we are ordering and delivering the CDC material electronically, it does not prevent a person from having access to a paper version of the CDC," Redburn said. "Currently many units print the CDC material for the member if requested [because that is how] some people study better when they can hold the material in their hands. Others have job limitations where they do not have access to a computer or electronic device and a paper version is the more appropriate option for them. Cost is not really a driving factor to the units; printing CDCs is relatively cheap, however the savings for the Air Force is huge, by eliminating the shipping cost." As for promotions study material, the change will begin in FY16. "As was publicized to us from the Air Force Career Development Academy, there will be no printing of the WAPS material for FY16," said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Katlynn A Martinez, 55th Force Support Squadron enlisted promotions technician. "This means the 16E WAPS cycle will not be printed and only available online. Although the 16E WAPS cycle is all electronic, they are not yet available for access until the close-out of the 15E WAPS cycle." Martinez added that CDCs are available electronically at the WAPS Online Reference Library Database. "Air Education and Training Command's e-WORLD websites provide Airmen the opportunity to download study materials for use globally with the click of a mouse," said Chief Master Sgt. Scott Lumpkin, the Chief of Air Force Enlisted Force Development. "The electronic format also gives courseware developers the ability to add interactive content, making learning material more interesting, with the goal of increasing student comprehension." The Electronic WAPS Online Reference Library Database (e-WORLD) is currently available to .mil users only at http://cdc.aetc.af.mil. Once downloaded to their military desktop, Airmen can e-mail the WAPS materials or burn them to a CD in order to transfer them to a personal electronic device. The complete Enlisted Promotions References and Requirements Catalog is also available online at https://www.omsq.af.mil/TE/EPRRC.pdf, along with the Professional Development Guide at http://pdg.af.mil. "If there are any issues, Airman should first try and resolve questions and concerns through their unit or base WAPS monitor," said Martinez. Offutt's monitor can be reached at (402) 294-4448. Additonally, the primary WAPS study material - the PDG - has been available online in a variety of electronic formats through the Advanced Distributed Learning Service and AETC Airman Advancement Division websites since February of 2012. The Airman Advancement Division will no longer print or distribute the PDG beyond fiscal year 15. In fall 2015, the PDG will be published electronically as Air Force Handbook 1, Airman. The handbook will support the enlisted promotion system with the publication of individual study guides from each enlisted promotion testing grades (staff sergeant to chief master sergeant). These study guides will be available along with other tools to support all mobile devices this fall. "The transition to electronic study materials is a step forward we need to take to ensure a fiscally-responsible approach," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody. "The online libraries and easy-to-use formats will give Airmen the flexibility they need to study when and where they want to, while still delivering the education and information they need to succeed in their Air Force careers." The transition to electronic delivery of materials is projected to save the Air Force approximately $5.9 million annually. Unit commanders (through their unit WAPS monitor) will have the option to authorize printing of eCDCs and eWAPS on a case-by-case basis to support study effectiveness or mission requirements. Print options from non-common access card enabled devices will be available for those Airmen interested in using personal resources to obtain hard copy study materials. For more information on the transition to eDelivery, Airmen can visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.