Intermediate Flag and Senior Executive Course
The Intermediate Flag and Executive Course (IFLEX) challenges 2-star flag officers and Senior Executive Service (SES) leaders to think more critically and adaptively as they serve in positions of increased responsibility and complexity.

General Information
Eligibility
Per CNO Memorandum, IFLEX is mandatory for all O-8 selects. The Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) extends invitations to select Department of Navy senior civilians, U.S. Marine Corps general officers, and equivalent senior officers from international partner navies.Location & Duration
The 5-day in-person course occurs annually, followed by scheduled virtual sessions. The in-person portion is held in the Washington, D.C. area.Learning Format
Structured as deliberate leader development, IFLEX engages multiple immersive and adult learning methods (e.g., collaborative activities) and developmental experiences (e.g., peer coaching). Engagement with senior Navy leadership and other key leaders further guides and reinforces learning.Outcome
Expanded individual leader capacities and enhanced peer relationships that can be leveraged to effectively address the unique challenges posed by the persistently dynamic global security environment.Program Structure
Course Overview
Self-awareness
Required
Leaders participate in personal growth opportunities to include developmental assessments, coaching feedback, and deliberate reflective practice.
Cognitive Readiness
Required
Leaders actively participate in disruptive learning experiences and focused development to surface automatic thinking and decision-making tendencies, advance mental frameworks, and further leaders’ complex thinking abilities.
Peer Coaching
Required
Leaders engage in a guided relational process to jointly and reflectively examine individual and institutional leadership challenges, yielding new insights and creative solutions.
Institutional Imperatives
Required
Leaders apply learning to make progress on institutional challenges collectively and within each leader’s individual areas of responsibility.
Course Overview
Wellness Awareness
Required
Leaders focus on enhancing the many facets of their overall well-being – mental, physical, social, spiritual, emotional, and familial, etc.
Incoming Students
More Information
Next Steps
Explore more on the core course and professional development—and excel as a leader
College of Leadership and Ethics Offerings
Shaping the Future of the Navy
Our core offering is the Leadership in the Profession of Arms course, which provides in-resident students the opportunity to grow as future leaders. Students will focus on themselves as leaders, reflect on past performance, examine personal strengths and weaknesses, develop new competences, and strengthen their personal character, enhancing their ability to lead in a complex and dynamic environment.