Walden approved to lead Paul H. Lankford Enlisted PME Center

by Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
I.G. Brown Training and Education Center

3/23/2015 - MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. -- The 14th commandant of the Paul H. Lankford Enlisted Professional Military Education Center was announced here March 2 by the Commander of the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center.

Col. Jessica Meyeraan said in an email that the TEC expects to welcome Chief Master Sgt. Edward Walden to his new assignment this spring.

Senior Master Sgt. P. Christine Shawhan is currently serving as the interim commandant since the recent retirement of Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Stoudt, the 13th commandant, in January.

Walden will accept responsibility to prepare thousands of future Total Air Force leaders at the Air National Guard's premier center for enlisted professional military education.

The Air National Guard established the training center in June 1968, and it has since trained more than 30,000 Airmen. It outputs the largest volume of Total Force EPME graduates in the U.S. Air Force.

More than 2,000 students per year attend leadership training and other studies through the Lankford PME Center's Airman leadership school and NCO academy, which provide traditional campus classroom coursework as well as distance learning, via satellite broadcast.

Officials said that Walden served in the field as a Texas National Guard Airman for the state's sustainment services as superintendent before taking his current responsibility as the principle advisor to the chief of the Services Division at the National Guard Bureau, Air National Guard Readiness Center, on Joint Base Andrews, Md.

Walden managed, developed and organized Air National Guard Services education and training issues, as well as courses and ANG Services instructors for Airmen at 89 wings, said officials.

Officials said that Walden also served as an advanced certified faculty member for the University of Phoenix, as a researcher/statistical analyst for the Tarrant County College District, and as an adjunct faculty member for the ATI Career Training Center.  He also served as the academic dean at the Career Colleges of Chicago.

Walden earned his associate's degree from the Community College of the Air Force as well as his bachelor's degree in Workforce Education Training and Development from Southern Illinois University. His advanced degrees include a master's in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a doctorate in Philosophy, Postsecondary and Adult Education from Capella University.