Why is there emphasis placed on volunteering? In a perfect Air Force, I think we'd be almost purely rated on our performance in our primary AFSC. Simply put, what we produce, how much of it, and what steps if any are we taking to improve production. Also, as applicable, how we've developed our subordinates.

Education helps, and when done right it helps develop one into a more consummate professional, sine it helps with communication and interpersonal skills, solving novel problems, extrapolating from our countless regulations, etc. But undue emphasis on education has fostered a culture of checkbox degrees, where the Airmen hardly applies themselves in order to reap the true benefits of an education.

All that being said, I fail to see how volunteering falls into all this. Why has it mattered so much in the past? Should it still matter at all, and if so why?