Forty-nine Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division employees graduated from the final offering of the Professional at all Levels: Step 1 (Leading Self and Others) program at both Point Mugu and China Lake on Dec. 6 and 7.

The milestone caps over a decade of sharpening over 1,000 leaders across the command through a strategic talent development investment initiated in 2012.

"We need leaders like yourself who can develop talent, bring teams together, and cultivate people to their full potential," said Pat Schuett, NAWCWD's Air Wing Integration & Interoperability and Electronic Warfare Effects product director, in his keynote address. "This is how we will deliver the capabilities our warfighters need."

The three-tiered PaaL curriculum focused on strengthening skills like communication, collaboration, resourcefulness, and strategic thinking. Through personalized coaching, assessments, workshops, and leadership projects, the program molded promising personnel into well-rounded leaders.

Schuett emphasized to the recent PaaL graduates that leadership development is an ongoing journey, not a one-time event.

"If there's one thing you take from this, it's that it doesn't stop at graduation," he noted. "You're on a path of continually developing as leaders."

With this final graduation, the PaaL program is closing in on the end of an era. However, leadership development remains ongoing and critical.

Leadership Engagement, Direction, Growth & Empowerment (Leadership E.D.G.E), an intensive 18-month program targeted at accelerating the growth of NAWCWD's frontline team leaders, is stepping in to carry the torch. Participants will enhance interpersonal skills, decision-making, change management capabilities, negotiation techniques, and mindfulness through workshops, small-group coaching, and collaborative projects.

Structured as the successor to PaaL, Leadership E.D.G.E. represents the evolution of the command's commitment to nurturing talent and maintaining its edge. With the goal of sharpening NAWCWD's competitive advantage, the program joins a suite of other emerging leader initiatives, all charging ahead to cultivate excellence across the command.

Schuett left the graduates with three final assignments:

"Apply what you learn. Find your next development opportunity. Take time to connect."

Graduates are: