Consolidation continues for personnel actions Published March 30, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Steve Grever Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Air Force personnel officials here are assuming some personnel actions from Air Education and Training Command bases over the next four months to help reduce workloads on base military personnel sections. Master Sgt. Joseph Smith, the Air Force Personnel Center's sustainment superintendent, said AFPC has started processing limited duty status, change of reporting official updates and decorations requests for three AETC bases that were originally managed by base MPSs. "Lackland, Randolph and Keesler (Air Force bases) were the first to use the new process, which resulted in reduced personnel processing times from the Air Force average of seven days to less than a day," said Sergeant Smith. "Keesler started testing the new process Nov. 8," said Gary Schafer, chief of the 81st Force Support Squadron military personnel section. "We assisted AFPC's Total Force Service Center in working out minor glitches with these processes." "Today's airman are very tech savvy, and by centralizing more and more processes, our personnel system becomes more efficient and responsive to Air Force members by being available 24/7," he remarked. "As always, there are growing pains, but the overall efficiencies we gain benefit everyone in the long run."Mr. Schafer said Keesler units now submit certain, but not all, duty status updates directly to the TFSC. "All requests for change in reporting official and decorations are now processed directly through the TFSC,"Mr. Schafer explained. "The military personnel section and CSC staffs still provide management advisory services to commanders and supervisor concerning these processes, but the actual processing of these requests are handled by the TFSC." To help standardize these processes, Staff Sgt. Marvetta Graham Harper and other personnel technicians from the TFSC revamped training aides their office and other personnelists will use to manage how these personnel actions flow from AETC bases to AFPC. "We revised a training aide for the unit commander or their designated representative and our technicians here to ensure training is standardized," said Sergeant Graham Harper. Capt. Michael Meek, the TFSC's sustainment lifecycle chief, said AFPC has been conducting Base Level Service Delivery Module transactions at Keesler, Lackland and Randolph to evaluate what benefits the Air Force would gain from transferring this work from the MPSs and standardizing training. "Each base does it a little bit differently, and we have our personnel technicians teaching Airmen how to do it one way," Captain Meek said. "Standardizing our processes helps us gain more efficiencies in how we do business." The TFSC represents a fundamental shift in the way the Air Force delivers personnel services to Airmen and commanders, according to Lt. Col. Steven Zubowicz, the center's operations chief. "By centralizing specific Base Level Service Delivery Module transactions within the TFSC, we are attempting to alleviate some of the workload from base-level military personnel sections while increasing the accuracy and speed of service to commanders and Airmen," Colonel Zubowicz said. "Thus far, the concept has proven viable at three AETC bases. By expanding to all of AETC, we will be testing our internal ability to handle a much higher case volume," he added. AFPC officials anticipate these personnel actions will be transferred from the remaining AETC bases by the end of June. Susan Griggs, Keesler News editor, contributed to this report.