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Air Force officials announce additional force management measures

Posted 12/21/2011 Email story   Print story

    

12/21/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- In on-going efforts to continue to size and shape the force to current and future requirements, Air Force officials announced additional force management programs.

The Air Force ended fiscal year 2011 about 1,200 Airmen over endstrength.

For enlisted Airmen, voluntary programs from last year will continue. These include waivers for Active Duty Service Commitments, time-in-grade, and enlistment contracts. Involuntary programs from last year will also continue including: date of separation rollbacks and initial skills training separations.

There will be two new enlisted force management programs effective in fiscal year 2013; effective 30 September 2013 -- adjusted High Year Tenure limits and Career Job Reservation constraints.

HYT limits will be adjusted for senior airman, staff sergeant, and technical sergeant. Specifically, senior airman will be reduced from 10 to eight years, staff sergeant will be reduced from 20 to 15 years, and technical sergeant will be reduced from 22 to 20 years. Staff sergeants with 16 years or more total active federal military service as of Sept. 30, 2013, will be grandfathered and their HYT will remain at 20 years.

Approximately 1,700 Airmen will be affected by the changes to HYT. Airmen will have two additional opportunities to test for promotion before the new HYT takes effect. This implementation timeline provides impacted Airmen 20 months to plan for separation or retirement from active duty should they not be selected for promotion.

CJR constraints will limit the number of first term Airmen who can reenlist based on Air Force Specialty Code career job requirements. The CJR program objective is to prevent surpluses and shortages in the career force. AFPC controls first term reenlistments by maintaining a career job requirement file for each AFSC. Airmen in overmanned career fields eligible for a CJR will be determined by a quality "rank order" process in those constrained AFSCs. The Air Force will announce the expected 15-20 AFSCs to be constrained at a later date.

For officers, voluntary and involuntary programs will continue. Voluntary measures will be offered to officers in certain year groups and overage career fields to allow time-in-grade and ADSC waivers. Likewise, the Expanded PALACE CHASE and the 10 to eight Commission Waiver programs will continue to be offered.

There will be one projected involuntary officer board, a Force Shaping Board, for probationary officers; those officers with less than six years of total active federal commissioned service. The board will consider eligible officers in specified AFSCs and in certain year groups. Details of this board will be announced at a later date.

There are currently no plans for Voluntary Separation Pay, a Reduction in Force board or Selective Early Retirement Boards for FY13. Additionally, some selective continuation limitations, impacting twice deferred Captains and Majors, will remain necessary although potentially less strident than in FY12. As a minimum, the Air Force will consider for selective continuation all officers within 5 years of retirement or those in critical skills.

Air Force leaders are committed to sustaining excellence and meeting fiscal requirements. Today's Airmen should expect continued force management measures until the desired endstrength is met. For information about this, and other personnel issues, visit the Air Force Personnel Services website at https://gum-crm.csd.disa.mil .



tabComments
2/29/2012 10:43:07 PM ET
So essentially the message here is that it's ok to screw E-5's out of their retirement? That's not ok, how much could you possibly save by doing this? I'm just curious what the latest round of changes is doing to the veteran suicide rate, you think it will help the 18 per day that it currently is? For all of you that think it's ok - yours is coming. If they're this desparate then all of you who think you're safe with your pension are in for a rude surprise some day. You'd better open your eyes and stand up for what we still have left. You must not recall the BS the DOD panel and congress were contemplating with the other retirement changes. It's only a matter of time before they use all of your retirement to pay for your tricare.
16 wasted years, luke afb
 
1/4/2012 8:40:14 AM ET
Dennis' comment is hilariously ignorant. Excepting the few offensive platforms we have, MOST of the AF is combat SUPPORT. That includes the numerous folks who think they have a combat AFSC. At any rate, our country has two ground combat forces. Neither of them is the AIR Force.
CKJ, USA
 
1/3/2012 5:18:38 PM ET
I repair and maintain aircraft for a living, I don't pull triggers. I make less than half of the average salary I could make as a civilian contractor. Please tell me how the military would benefit from getting rid of the people not pulling triggers?
Crew Chief, USAFE
 
1/3/2012 2:32:06 PM ET
Dennis how many of your family has been killed in combat My brother was an AF officer. Show some respect for those have served. I would like you to say thank you. If you can't do that say nothing at all.
Dave, Texas
 
1/3/2012 9:41:23 AM ET
Dennis, Why would someone join the AF to be a trigger puller when we have an entire Army and Marine Corps to do that.
Snuffy, ND
 
1/2/2012 4:13:41 PM ET
if you check the cost of contract vers active-duty, the con track personal cost more to the taxpayers.
retired autotrack e7, wichitaks.
 
1/2/2012 12:03:59 PM ET
For Dennis, your comment does nothing but show how ignorant and ill-informed you really are. To say that the Air Force should get rid of everyone not pulling triggers is a very ill-informed statement. Granted 80-90 percent of what the FSS and OSS can be translated into civilian hires here in the states, this is not the case downrange. AFSOC SENIOR LEADERSHIP, MARSOC leadership and USSOCOM leadership say all the time that What we do in FSS is INVALUABLE to the mission. Without us there is NO moral. Without Moral, Stuff goes downhill fast. Tell you what. Next time you deploy, Dig your self a hole in the ground to sleep in. Eat MRE's for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Good luck trying to talk with friends and family back home and throw rocks at eachother for entertainment. Then if you can still say that the airforce needs to get rid of all the people not pulling triggers, I'll join your cause.
Soon2bGuard, Florida
 
12/30/2011 11:37:34 AM ET
Dennis from Crestview, and anyone with a similar view, might want to reevaluate the Get rid of the people not pulling triggers. The USAF is a dynamic and diversified team of professionals, be it maintainers, intelligence officers, trigger pullers or any number of supply/support Airmen. These are just a few that provide the weapons, ammunition and information needed to properly engage the enemy. I myself am in a combat career field and it takes a narrow-minded person not to realize the valuable efforts of the Airmen who support the mission
TSgt Warghoul, Midwest USA
 
12/29/2011 5:21:16 PM ET
If you are not in a combat AFSC, then you dont need to wear a uniform. Get rid of the people not pulling triggers. Civilian contractors can do paperworkand support. Sorry officers who get degrees then join AF and do not fly and fight. Same with the Es; civilians can do your job if you are not experiencing combat.
Dennis, Crestview Fl
 
12/29/2011 10:59:43 AM ET
While I agree that extreme measures must be taken to cut spending, this may well be another knee-jerk reaction. I'm glad that they are making projections well into the future to allow those who wish to make this a career to take the necessary actions in order to remain. I do fear that once again they are taking too large of a hit at the middle ranks. This happened in the past and resulted in some promotions of those who were not prepared to hold the higher rank and additional responsibility. And once they were promoted, they left the lower ranks undermanned...it's an endless cycle. The end result may be lowered experience levels requiring more personnel to complete the mission.
Retired SNCO, Eglin AFB
 
12/29/2011 9:01:36 AM ET
I agree with the Chief completely. If you can not deploy, what good are you to a branch of the military. That is where leadership shoudl first start. Coming from a medical troop, I constently see members complaining to doctors to get out of deployments and get put on waivers. Let's start with them. I'm sure that would leave the AF with the numbers they seek.
Just Another SrA, Dyess AFB
 
12/28/2011 5:53:28 PM ET
While we are at it, filter out the individuals that only volunteer and pass the PT test. It doesn't matter if they know their jobs right... they make your squadron look good. I'm not even mad that they know how to play the game... it's just that senior leadership endorses this mess.
BR YKT, YOKOTA
 
12/28/2011 3:51:24 PM ET
This is a step in the right direction. It is completely up to the individual to put forth the effort to make rank up to E-7. If you put in the effort, you can make yourself unaffected by these changes. Do we need to get rid of the PT failures and other problem people? Absolutely. Are we going to get rid of all the old people enlisted or officer? Nope. They will be scaled back, but cutting supervision takes time. The HYT change makes sense and filters out those individuals that can't or don't want to progress.Things are not going to get easier. We need to accept that fact and prepare for more changes.
TSgt, Langley
 
12/27/2011 12:56:37 PM ET
Really should make up there minds.
SSgt Red, MA
 
12/23/2011 1:56:28 AM ET
How can we be so overmanned when people are working holidays, weekends and extra duty time every month to accomplish the mission? How are these numbers determined? SRA, SSGT, TSGTs are work force that makes it happen every day. If the AF wanted to start saving money, they should start at the top, but first they would have to put a panel together.
anonymous , conus
 
12/22/2011 1:12:57 PM ET
Let the comments begin.
Realistic, CONUS
 
12/22/2011 10:24:19 AM ET
I understand the need to shape the force, but we must ensure we are separating the marginal performers first before just letting anyone separate before ETS. Other considerations should be those who cannot deploy--if you cannot deploy forward, you are not an asset to the USAF.
Chief W--Retired, Tennessee Valley
 
12/22/2011 4:32:14 AM ET
Sensible, proactive, coherent methodology to cull numbers from pack. Now please add chronic deployment-dodging waiver-addicts and habitual PT failure aficionados to accelerate formula. Shed EPR number ratings game to modernize with simple recommended for promotion or not recommended for promotion blocks, only latter negative status requiring factual justification bullets.
Average Warrior, USAFE
 
12/22/2011 3:04:04 AM ET
Why are the pictures representing Airmen on any of the news stories depict that they are hardcore Special Operations forces, tactical Radios, M4's with holographic sights, Multicam uniforms. Why not show pictures of the real Airforce- the Airforce of sewer green boots and bright reflective and occasional Pink belts.
gumball3001, germany
 
12/21/2011 8:32:48 PM ET
Why don't the AF look at its senior leaders when making these types of decisions. Once again the AF is shafting the middle NCO tier. Why don't they make the old crusty 0-6's and up retire. If the AF needs to meet end strength goals they should remove the 06's and up as well as the real senior E-8 and E-9's.
Recentlt Retired E-6, Osan AB
 
12/21/2011 8:32:02 PM ET
Why don't the AF look at its senior leaders when making these types of decisions. Once again the AF is shafting the middle NCO tier. Why don't they make the old crusty 0-6's and up retire. If the AF needs to meet end strength goals, they should remove the 06's and up as well as the real senior E-8 and E-9's.
Recently Retired TSgt, Osan AB Korea
 
12/21/2011 7:36:16 PM ET
Pink slips for uniformed folks, but lets hire civilians and contractors...
BS, KS
 
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