Air Force officials automate active-duty assignment notifications

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Air Force officials automate active-duty assignment notifications

Posted 1/14/2011

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by Tech. Sgt. Steve Grever
Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs

1/14/2011 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Force officials are automating active-duty assignment notifications for Airmen in the ranks of lieutenant colonel and below beginning Jan. 21.

Airmen will receive an e-mail notification about their new assignments and have seven days to acknowledge their assignments through the Virtual Military Personnel Flight website. Colonels, general officers, basic military training and pipeline students still will use the current assignment notification process.

Officials are consolidating and modernizing many business processes, and transforming online personnel services was one initiative to help accomplish their goals.

Maj. Gen. A.J. Stewart, Air Force Personnel Center commander, said center staff members continue to research and develop new online solutions to reduce the amount of time Airmen spend on individual personnel actions.

"AFPC is here to take care of the needs of all Airmen by making the personnel process easier for them so they can focus on the mission," General Stewart said. "The new assignment notification process will automate how Airmen receive new assignments and make it easier for local military personnel sections to manage this program."

Master Sgt. Kathi Glascock, AFPC's relocation operations manager, said the new notification process not only gives time back to active-duty Airmen, but also streamlines the number of personnel actions associated with managing the assignment notification program.

"AFPC processes about 153,000 assignment actions ever year," Sergeant Glascock said. "The new notification system will save Airmen time as well as base personnelists who manage assignments and relocations programs for their installations. It also condensed the new assignment (Report on Individual Personnel) from six to two pages."

AFPC specialists developed and tested the automated capability for almost two years and sought feedback from personnelists at Lackland and Randolph Air Force bases.

Master Sgt. Charyl Samson, the 802nd Force Support Squadron relocations superintendent at Lackland AFB, said her office will be able to eliminate several manual processes that will allow them to accomplish their mission more efficiently.

"From a personnel standpoint, we will save a tremendous amount of time from processing new assignment notifications and suspensing members," Sergeant Samson said. "I'm looking forward to seeing it in action in the field."

For more information about the automated assignment notification process, visit the Air Force personnel services website or call the Total Force Service Center at 800-525-0102.

Comments

1/20/2011 10:57:51 AM ET
My last comment was a question not a statement. The web program stripped the question marks from my submission. Is my understanding of the 7-day option timeline correct?

JR, GA

1/20/2011 10:32:37 AM ET
Sure theres no requirement to have a smart phone. Theres no requirement to have a cell phone at all but that doesnt mean we refuse to utilize them until everyone gets one. This is the AF moving forward sorry if its leaving you behind. One thing I havent seen clearly explained is the impact on the 7-day option. Airmen have 7 days to acknowledge their assignments and when they acknowledge them that starts the clock for the 7-day option So that process might actually take as many as 14 days

JR, GA

1/19/2011 5:58:33 PM ET
Couldn't agree with SW OK more. As a former CC I would request that they add in the ind's CC in the notification. And FSS Capt there isn't a requirement to have a Smart phone the last time I checked. CP

Former CC, Colo Springs

1/18/2011 7:27:39 PM ET
I don't have a smartphone.

Brian, JBER AK

1/18/2011 4:56:40 PM ET
CHIME You've got...Minot

CW, Redstone Arsenal AL

1/18/2011 4:37:57 PM ET
It seems it wouldn't take much to add the member's commander to the email list. There are any number of reasons a member may not be able to access email during the required time. The commander could respond to extend the time.

Jerry, Oklahoma

1/18/2011 4:18:52 PM ET
FSS Capt while I think this is a good new process you are a little out of touch on a couple of things. First maybe everyone in your circle has a smartphone with internet access but not everyone does and some cannot afford the data usage plans. Second personal e-mail addresses are not mandatory in vMPF, are they? Finally are you saying that FOUO personnel information on assignments will be sent out to personal e-mail boxes not sure that's safe. Or is it just a notification that there is something in your vMPF box? I think the concern here is what are the checks and balances to ensure word is getting to the member to allow proper time for a response i.e. members on leave who can't log into webmail or vMPF members who are deployed or TDY with no CAC access?

SW, OK

1/18/2011 3:45:46 PM ET
I wish there was a like button for JK USWA's comment

Vicki, Pope Air Field

1/18/2011 3:16:12 PM ET
The last time I deployed I tried to keep up with my homestation e-mails through webmail. When the mission would get too busy I wouldn't have the time. After a couple of weeks I'd log back on to webmail just to find a ton of Your mailbox is over its size limit messages.Now with this new notification system what happens in that situation when my assignment e-mail gets rejected because my mailbox is full? Am I going to lose an assignment because eight different people had to forward the same e-mails to me over and over again about the Top III meeting the Polynesian-Albanian-Canadian-Welsh Heritage luncheon or the all important Pie-in-the-Face voting spreadsheet?

JK, USWA

1/18/2011 2:22:06 PM ET
Will this new system have the expansion capability to show you how hot you are for orders?

Rob O, Hurlburt Field

1/18/2011 1:22:21 PM ET
As with any new process there will be growing pains. It is incumbant on the member to make sure work and personal email addresses are updated in the vMPF. In this day and age when everyone has a smart phone there are very few people who won't get a personal email. Even if you don't get email on your phone most people check their email daily. If a member updates their personal email address that should prevent any delays due to being unable to check work email. All of the previous checks and balances that were in place with the old method of notification are still in place. The Air Force certainly doesn't want to prevent anyone from getting notfied about an assignment. Hopefully this system will cut down on people milking the system for more than the 7 days when they are trying to decline.

FSS Capt, Andrews AFB

1/17/2011 11:21:08 PM ET
Another step forward.

Gen. Public, USA

1/17/2011 8:32:49 PM ET
Now with all the time this will save personnelists by not having to deal with customers at the MPF. Sorry FSS can have more Airmen on the customer service desk than ever before to tell you to go find your own answers on the VMPF or AFPC website. That is of course before they all decide to take a 3 hr lunch break at the same time from 1000-1300. This has AFSO 21 written all over it

Eric, PACAF

1/17/2011 2:13:33 PM ET
Based on the article it seems like the member receiving the email is a single point of failure. People have TDYs classes leave deployments systems outages and several other reasons or combination of reasons which could prevent a member from checking their email for at least seven days. I hope that nobody returns to their normal place of duty after some sort of absence to discover that they lost an assignment.

Sgt Whoever, conus

1/17/2011 1:42:28 PM ET
Seriously They spent two years testing an application that sends a member an e-mail and checks for a response. Maybe they should hire professionals

Paul, McGuire

1/15/2011 3:48:10 AM ET
Given my experience with the retirement process through vMPF, good luck with that.

SR, MT

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