Altus AFB admin assistance

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Megan E. Myhre
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 97th Force Support Squadron Force Management Office is here to provide administrative assistance to all Altus Air Force Base Airmen. Force management is a one stop shop that ensures Airmen have accurate and up to date information essential to their success and career progression.

Examples of information entrusted to and updated by the force management team include evaluations for enlisted and officer performance reports, awards and decorations, unfavorable information files, duty statuses, permanent changes of assignment, and G-Series orders.

“Squadrons and supervisors put the EPRs and OPRs together, however we are responsible for letting the squadron know when an Airman is due for these evaluations,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Henin D. Rios Arauz, 97th FSS Force Management Office technician. “Once we receive the EPR or OPR, we make sure all the information is correct and accurate according to AFI 36-2406. We then update the information in our system and send it to the Air Force Personnel Center to file it in an Airman’s Personal Records Display Application.”

They scan EPRs and OPRs for errors such as incorrect social security numbers, duty titles, and promotion statements.

“We are the subject matter experts in this area and I’d say about 90 percent of the time if someone has a question, it’s about EPRs and OPRs,” said Rios Arauz. “Evaluations are one of our top priorities, especially since the evaluation system changed. There are a lot of questions floating around.”

The force management team updates official systems to reflect awards and decorations earned by members as well as preparing award certificates for presentation. When ready, the awards are picked up by a representative from the Airman’s squadron to be presented.

Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad. This section of the Military Personnel Flight is also responsible for maintaining updated information on UIFs, which contain negative information about an Airman’s career.

“A UIF is a file that holds any derogatory information like a Letter of Reprimand or Letter of Counseling,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Kellar, 97th FSS NCO in charge of the Force Management Office. “It’s when the commander wants to put that member on hold and it restricts them from going to a Temporary Duty location or qualifying for awards while the file is open. The program is intended to rehabilitate these Airmen.”

A UIF is started by a service member’s squadron commander and is then sent to the legal office. The legal office will review it then send documentation to the Force Management Office to file away. Depending on the infraction, these files will be held for six months up to two years.

They update duty titles when Airmen complete upgrade training and document when an Airman goes to a TDY or Permanent Change of Assignment.

A PCA is when an Airman moves to a different squadron or position but remains at the same duty station. Rios Arauz says this is most often seen with First Sergeants.

G-Series orders grant a commander the authorization to make decisions regarding things such as non-judicial punishment or to sign off on important documents.

“It’s for the primary commander. If the primary commander is away, the next officer in line would be put on G-Series orders in the event that they need to make decisions or sign documentation during that time,” said Kellar.

Keeping track of all this information helps maintain accountability for all Altus AFB personnel.

With only six members, the force management team is small but mighty.

“Two of our people are brand new so we’re doing a lot of training right now. With the upcoming closeout date for staff sergeant EPRs on January 31, we are about to become very busy,” said Rios Arauz. “In this office, you have to learn really quickly to manage your time, otherwise you’ll fall behind.”

Despite this, Rios Arauz is confident and says he’s not worried about the upcoming challenges.

“We have a great group here. We work well together, we take care of each other and we’ve got each other’s back,” said Rios Arauz. “We’re going to be doing 200-300 plus evaluations in one month. It’s really time consuming and if we didn’t have good teamwork and good working relationships, it wouldn’t be possible.”

Kellar says a common misconception she has noticed is that Airmen assume the Force Management Office cannot be of assistance.

“We really can help! It’s just a matter of them coming to see us or giving us a call,” said Kellar. “All they have to do is ask the question and even if we can’t help, we can point them in the right direction. We have an open door policy. Literally, we don’t even have a door, people can walk right in!”

These information keepers are an important piece of the Air Force puzzle. Without them to process, store and maintain essential information, there would be no accountability, recognition or promotion for Airmen.

“If even one piece of that puzzle is missing you can’t see the final product. If force management wasn’t here, the Airmen wouldn’t be taken care of. If we didn’t do those EPRs and OPRs, they couldn’t promote,” said Rios Arauz. “How would we tell these Airmen they’re doing great? How would their important information be managed and would their records reflect their duty status? This stuff is important. Our work affects these members’ future and career.”

The Airmen at the Force Management Office are ready to help out anyone and encourage people to stop by for questions or concerns about their personnel information.

For more information, stop by the Force Management Office inside Building 52 or call (580) 481-6765 or (580) 481 – 6557.