FY 14 Force Management Program (RIF, VSP, TERA)

[Azimuth]

Some dude on the retirement FB page just posted his TERA approval email. 15 yr TSgt. Said he got it an hour ago or so.

Loadmaster I know at Pope was approved last week TERA, MSgt with 19-years.

[Altus Barbarosa]

Got a link to the page?

Go to Facebook and search for Air Force Retirements. It's an open page. Can't miss it. He has since said he knows 4 guys who got notified today.

[Bender]

SECAF came to our deployed location yesterday and I was able to attend a brief talk she gave. There were three interesting tidbits that at least I hadn't heard before:

1. In regards to force shaping: "We did a poor job of communicating with you." That's pretty close to a direct quote and she said it two or three times. I think that constitutes an apology for poor performance and obviously means A1 and AFPC are under the gun.

2. There will be 2 RIF boards now, but if you're eligible for the first you won't be eligible for the second. There was a lot of double speaking surrounding why they went to two boards and no details about who will be eligible for the first and who will be eligible for the second. She did say that if there were discipline issues between board 1 and 2 you could end up eligible for both. Sorry if that one is redundant news, but it certainly hadn't filtered its way out here.

3. Pay raises below the employment cost index are merely slowing the growth of pay. They're not a cut in pay... definitely not a cut in pay... trust me... that's an order.

Cute screen name, buddy.

Bendy

[chizz]

Go to Facebook and search for Air Force Retirements. It's an open page. Can't miss it. He has since said he knows 4 guys who got notified today.

https://www.facebook.com/AirForceRetirement

????

[Mountain]

It's "Air Force Retirement 2014".

[stract]

look on the right side of the page, where it says "recent posts by others"...

[Flare]

The Reserve vacancies list for pilots has more openings than I have seen in my 7 ARC years. Good luck for those working any crossover!

Shiza!!!

How accurate is that list?

[chim richalds]

just wanted to point out that the vsp window has been open for 45 days now and exactly nothing has been accomplished.

[TrunkMonkey]

Unfortunately AFPC is shaping up for a week of poor communication again...for those who have not noticed it before, the verbiage below is from the "alerts" part of the AFPC secure site. I am CERTAIN that this migration will be completed on time...because we have never had computer problems (or poorly planned cyber events) before during migrations...Argh.

* AFPC Applications *
* UNAVAILABLE *

The servers supporting the AFPC Secure environment will migrate into the Air Force Network starting 26 March 0700, through 28 March 1600. All applications behind AFPC Secure will be unavailable until the migration has been completed. The migration must occur during duty hours to support contracting obligations with the AFNET team

We will send out courtesy updates daily and notify users when migration actions are complete. If migration actions are delayed beyond 1600 on Friday, March 28, we will send out the proper notification and estimated completion date.

We understand the significance in timing with the unavailability of systems and will attempt to minimize the impact. We appreciate your patience and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this AF directed action may cause.

[Lumbergh]

just wanted to point out that the vsp window has been open for 45 days now and exactly nothing has been accomplished.

This process has been a complete joke so far. I called AFPC on Thursday and asked about the status of my VSP app. It's been "Referred to BPO" for over two weeks now. The person I spoke to on the phone said they are waiting for further instructions from Air Staff and once they get them they will start processing the apps. He also said that I would not need to redo any part of my application. I used the guidance from the rescinded 13-130. He told me since the guidance was confusing and conflicted with 14-08 they'll accept whatever guidance you used at the time. I'm not sure that helps those of you who were already denied, but I guess you could just apply again.

My strategic delay patience is wearing thin

[pawnman]

Unfortunately AFPC is shaping up for a week of poor communication again...for those who have not noticed it before, the verbiage below is from the "alerts" part of the AFPC secure site. I am CERTAIN that this migration will be completed on time...because we have never had computer problems (or poorly planned cyber events) before during migrations...Argh.

* AFPC Applications *

* UNAVAILABLE *

The servers supporting the AFPC Secure environment will migrate into the Air Force Network starting 26 March 0700, through 28 March 1600. All applications behind AFPC Secure will be unavailable until the migration has been completed. The migration must occur during duty hours to support contracting obligations with the AFNET team

We will send out courtesy updates daily and notify users when migration actions are complete. If migration actions are delayed beyond 1600 on Friday, March 28, we will send out the proper notification and estimated completion date.

We understand the significance in timing with the unavailability of systems and will attempt to minimize the impact. We appreciate your patience and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this AF directed action may cause.

If I thought AFPC were smart enough to plan ahead, I'd almost think they did this on purpose to buy more time without having to tell their bosses that they were delaying yet again.

[Guest nsplayr]

AFNET still intermittently fraggs out email, sharepoint and/or PEX here at CVS and most people got migrated over a month ago...I'm sure it'll be totally smooth over there at AFPC and that the impact on force shaping actions will be minimal! /sarcasm

I'm pretty sure AFNET is the beta version of Skynet. I for one welcome our new robot overloards.

[Altus Barbarosa]

Trickle of TERA approvals and a couple of VSP approvals today online. Only NCOs as far as I can tell. No officers.

[stract]

Does anybody know any loopholes to separate in less than 180 days? I think if I do Palace Front I can get out in 120, is this true?

it's not a loophole. You just have to provide justification WHY you want to separate with less than 180 days notice, and your SQ/CC or WG/CC has to buy it. In my case, I just put that I had multiple employment opportunities on the shortened timeline, and mine was approved (128 days notice from application submission to DOS). Took AFPC 4 weeks to approve my app, and I went on terminal leave 35 days later. Since I was applying with the justification of being a free agent (ADSC expired), they weren't going to disapprove it...(I think the only time that could happen would be stop loss).

Took TAP while still waiting for app to be approved, since you can take it up to 2 years out from your expected DOS, and a nice A1C from the MPS went ahead and loaded an outprocessing checklist for my in vMPF so I could get ahead of the game, since it was going to be such a short period between notification and terminal leave (I had 60 days terminal).

[Altus Barbarosa]

Unfortunately AFPC is shaping up for a week of poor communication again...for those who have not noticed it before, the verbiage below is from the "alerts" part of the AFPC secure site. I am CERTAIN that this migration will be completed on time...because we have never had computer problems (or poorly planned cyber events) before during migrations...Argh.

* AFPC Applications *

* UNAVAILABLE *

The servers supporting the AFPC Secure environment will migrate into the Air Force Network starting 26 March 0700, through 28 March 1600. All applications behind AFPC Secure will be unavailable until the migration has been completed. The migration must occur during duty hours to support contracting obligations with the AFNET team

We will send out courtesy updates daily and notify users when migration actions are complete. If migration actions are delayed beyond 1600 on Friday, March 28, we will send out the proper notification and estimated completion date.

We understand the significance in timing with the unavailability of systems and will attempt to minimize the impact. We appreciate your patience and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this AF directed action may cause.

Bunch of f**king clowns. Any flag worth his stars would unilaterally shut this migration down until later this year.

[Mountain]

Bunch of f**king clowns. Any flag worth his stars would unilaterally shut this migration down until later this year.

Do we currently have any worth their stars? Welsh excepted, I guess. Sad that dude only has limited ability to enact change due to the entrenched shoe-promoting culture.

[North48]

Gents-

I have serious doubts HAF and AFPC will be able to play catch-up, next week for the TERA deadline of 1 Apr. Once again, it's not that amendments are being made, behind the scenes, it's still the blatant lack of comms, from AFPC in particular. I'm convinced now AFPC is a blind bureaucracy, operating in a vacuum, separate from the rest of Big Blue. I've called TFSC at least 10 times, trying to pull a reasonable level of data about my TERA package and I've gotten blatant apathy and flat out incompetent lack of information from these folks. I'm blown away that an organization, like AFPC, thinks its OK to leave it's service members, in the dark. Communication, even at basic level, revealing reasonable expectations would cover a multitude of sins.

HAF/A1 & AFPC-If you're listening, you can't leave your service members, in the dark, with only the Air Force Times and Forums to make sense of the rest of their lives, it breeds contempt. I don't expect perfection, I expect communication and I'm tired of waiting in the dark. With every moment that passes, I can't wait to take my skills elsewhere, where I won't be treated like I'm sitting at the kiddie table.

[Altus Barbarosa]

Why would you call TFSC 10 times? I'm not sure what you think they would know about your case specifically. It's pretty clear that the people answering the phones are call-center type folks who operate as a first line of defense before you get forwarded to the actual office of responsibility. Was this seriously not obvious to you?

Jesus people. The answering machine that picks up at TFSC tells you upfront to sit tight until 1 Apr. Yeah, this is a pretty shitty way for them to do things but people need to stop acting like they've been wronged by the guys in the trenches at TFSC and AFPC. Those guys are probably doing the best they can with the guidance and authority they have been provided. Stop busting their balls and shitting on them every time you want specifics on your case when you've been told over, and over and over since the beginning that these guys don't have any specifics. AFPC as an organization? Yeah, it's a clusterfk and it has royally f'd this thing up for everyboday. But the people on the phone are just doing their jobs and probably getting paid $14/hr to do it. Personally I think alot of the blame should go to the 5k people who tried to apply and sneak one by when they weren't eligible. It's true a small number of folks got screwed over by the poor guidance at the beginning but not 5k people. The bulk of the ineligibles were just throwing up a prayer hoping they could sneak out, clogging up the system for those of us who are ACTUALLY eligible per the guidance. Probably a bunch of SFS and MX guys to be honest. I'll bet there were less than 200-300 pilots who applied, though we may never know.

I'm anxiously awaiting my own TERA approval too but cut the grunts some slack here. Take 10000 pieces of paper and lay them out on the floor in front of you and tell me how quickly you could get through them to make critical life decisions for each of them if you had 50 people working with you, let alone the 15-20 guys they ACTUALLY have working in the R&S branch at AFPC.

[LookieRookie]

Why would you call TFSC 10 times? I'm not sure what you think they would know about your case specifically. It's pretty clear that the people answering the phones are call-center type folks who operate as a first line of defense before you get forwarded to the actual office of responsibility. Was this seriously not obvious to you?

Jesus people. The answering machine that picks up at TFSC tells you upfront to sit tight until 1 Apr. Yeah, this is a pretty shitty way for them to do things but people need to stop acting like they've been wronged by the guys in the trenches at TFSC and AFPC. Those guys are probably doing the best they can with the guidance and authority they have been provided. Stop busting their balls and shitting on them every time you want specifics on your case when you've been told over, and over and over since the beginning that these guys don't have any specifics. AFPC as an organization? Yeah, it's a clusterfk and it has royally f'd this thing up for everyboday. But the people on the phone are just doing their jobs and probably getting paid $14/hr to do it. Personally I think alot of the blame should go to the 5k people who tried to apply and sneak one by when they weren't eligible. It's true a small number of folks got screwed over by the poor guidance at the beginning but not 5k people. The bulk of the ineligibles were just throwing up a prayer hoping they could sneak out, clogging up the system for those of us who are ACTUALLY eligible per the guidance. Probably a bunch of SFS and MX guys to be honest. I'll bet there were less than 200-300 pilots who applied, though we may never know.

I'm anxiously awaiting my own TERA approval too but cut the grunts some slack here. Take 10000 pieces of paper and lay them out on the floor in front of you and tell me how quickly you could get through them to make critical life decisions for each of them if you had 50 people working with you, let alone the 15-20 guys they ACTUALLY have working in the R&S branch at AFPC.

I'd be wary of believing that 5k people applied that were ineligible and were trying to "sneak one by." It's possible that 5k people became ineligible after AFPC changed it's requirements.

[Bender]

Take 10000 pieces of paper and lay them out on the floor in front of you and tell me how quickly you could get through them to make critical life decisions for each of them if you had 50 people working with you, let alone the 15-20 guys they ACTUALLY have working in the R&S branch at AFPC.

Now it makes more sense. I suppose I was just assuming that they were going to use a computer to help them out.

It's funny to me when people get mad at other people for getting mad...makes me giggle.

Bendy

[Altus Barbarosa]

Computer is even slower id think. Can only see one app at a time. Unless you just want it automated and let Windows sort out people's lives.

[Bender]

What? A computer can see every application, to include every single data field on each one (not to mention every data field in any database we choose--assuming one had planned for it) all at the same time. Full automation isn't necessary, nor desired unless you have the perfect answer, which we clearly do not. Partial automation, something like "flag" the applications that correlate to no ADSCs and split them out, would be simple and immensely expedite the process.

That is...if you wanted that.

Bendy

[Guest]

words

I agress with most of your post except for this:

Personally I think alot of the blame should go to the 5k people who tried to apply and sneak one by when they weren't eligible. It's true a small number of folks got screwed over by the poor guidance at the beginning but not 5k people. The bulk of the ineligibles were just throwing up a prayer hoping they could sneak out, clogging up the system for those of us who are ACTUALLY eligible per the guidance. Probably a bunch of SFS and MX guys to be honest.

Take a look at how many SFS personnel are projected to be cut. They need many, MANY applicants.

One of the larger AFSC's that got screwed in the 23 Jan update was the 4N's. I personally know several Airmen that got denied after the matrices changed. I think the number of "ineligible" applicants was more likely caused by AFPC's failings than supposedly underhanded Airmen.

[North48]

*Altus Barbosa

Feel free to settle with mediocrity but I won't. You bet I've called TFSC, many times, trying to find answers to specific questions about my records in order to build reasonable expectations-yes I expected them to do their job and yes I completely ignore the robot message that tells me not to call, every time. I've even made an effort to share what little information I 've gathered (gasp) with others on this forum. I'm sorry you feel like the poor souls that answer the phones are being mistreated by me. My subordinates expect better than mediocrity from me and I expect the same out of others that are processing the next step in my life. You are correct the TFSC doesn't know much and therein lies the problem-they should. I was patient a month ago, I'm no longer patient. Do you really think if the masses are silent, the process will get any better?

Here's hoping for better news next week.

[Duck]

In my experience the more times you call, you talk to different people who may or may not know just one more piece of the puzzle. Obviously not even the Commander knows everything but you can start to get an idea.