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AFPC commander visits AFMC to talk nuclear force development, top priorities

  • Published
  • By Monica D. Morales
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
Air Force Personnel Center Commander Maj. Gen. A.J. Stewart visited Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command Dec. 1, 2010, as part of AFPC's 12-base tour to meet with senior leaders and Airmen in nuclear-related career fields.

"The purpose of this trip is twofold," General Stewart said. "First, we're here to listen -- to get feedback from the field and from the headquarters on any personnel issues they have so we can course correct. Second, we want to educate Airmen about assignment systems, force development and training opportunities."

The general's visit to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, along with a team of experts from AFPC, was the second of 12 visits to bases throughout the Air Force that began Nov. 30 and will continue through January 2011. The stops are targeted at meeting with officer and enlisted Airmen assigned to space and missile operations, munitions and missile maintenance, security forces and nuclear weapons career fields.

Each visit includes an office call with commanders, a senior leader roundtable, a basewide brief and officer and enlisted sessions. According to General Stewart, the base visits are part of Air Force senior leadership's efforts to continue to strengthen the nuclear enterprise.

"The nuclear mission is our No. 1 priority as an Air Force. And part of strengthening the nuclear enterprise is ensuring that it has the right people with the right skills at the right times," the general said.

During these visits, the AFPC team aims to find out not only what is on Airmen's minds in terms of personnel issues and assignments, but also to present them with the facts regarding force development opportunities. Additionally, input from commanders will provide greater insight into the placement of Airmen in assignments.

"The nuclear business requires some very specific expertise, and part of the challenge is to identify where any gaps in skill levels might be," General Stewart said. "It's critical to place Airmen in the right assignments to gain or further develop those skills. By hearing from folks who do the mission day in and day out, we'll know whether we at AFPC are on track in making assignments."

While continuing to strengthen the nuclear enterprise remains AFPC's top priority, the general said that he's also committed to transforming how personnel services reach every Airman.

In the past, accomplishing any personnel action required an Airman to use duty time to drive to a local personnel flight and wait in line to talk to a customer service representative to process paperwork or check records. Today, these same actions can be accomplished by Airmen via secure web applications available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and accessible from deployed locations to home stations.

"We'd rather have our Airmen access personnel services online versus waiting in line at a military personnel flight to do transactional work," General Stewart said.

Additionally, AFPC's Total Force Service Center -- the equivalent of a personnel call center -- is available 24/7 to answer questions on any personnel issue or concern.

General Stewart acknowledges that some personnel actions must still be completed in person, but said conducting business online or via telephone translates into a better use of personnel manpower and savings in cost and Airmen's time.

"That's a major effort -- to transform how Airmen get their personnel services delivered and, at the end of the day, this is all about taking care of the Airmen," the general said.

Another of the general's top goals is reducing the time it takes to hire civilian employees. General Stewart equates the obstacles that have prevented a more streamlined process to a "perfect storm."

The concurrent undertakings and staffing requirements needed to hire more civilian employees to perform Air Force missions, transition personnel from the National Security Personnel System to General Schedule and transition contractors into civilian positions has stretched the timeline to hire civilians.

"In the past it's taken too long to get fully qualified civilians on board. We're looking at reducing the time it takes to hire. Our goal is 80 days and that's an aggressive goal," General Stewart said.

For the general, these goals encompass a personal obligation to each and every Airman. This connection, he said, was forged in his previous assignment as commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service.

"I brought on board thousands of Airmen [as commander], and I feel a personal connection to the officer and enlisted troops that I recruited," General Stewart said. "My job now is to take care of all Airmen to ensure the personnel systems that touch their lives deliver the services they need, in the way that fits them best."