air force assignment process

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Here’s how the Air Force could change its job assignment process

Air Force leaders are sifting through a list of proposed changes to how airmen are assigned new jobs, and may announce some updates by the end of September.

After about a year at work, a panel of airmen from across the service has floated more than 90 suggestions for assignment reform. Now it’s up to the Air Force’s personnel branch, the Air Force’s top enlisted leader and other officials to bring some of them to fruition.

The recommendations are part of an overarching effort to improve quality of life and career opportunities across the force.

How airmen are assigned jobs gets a fresh look from new Air Force panel

A new air force panel will rethink how the service assigns troops to new jobs, chief master sergeant of the air force joanne bass said monday..

“We’ve got to start to change some of our assignment policies to mirror what today’s military family looks like,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass in an exclusive Sept. 6 interview.

Their ideas fall into three broad categories: policy changes that cost nothing; changes that require funding, possibly software and other resources; and wider-ranging updates that will take more time to flesh out.

For instance, while the Air Force tries to station two active duty spouses in the same place, it never created a similar policy on how to assign jobs to couples with one active duty airman and one Reservist or Guardsman.

That’s “kind of crazy,” Bass said. “That’s an easy fix.”

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The Air Force could also change how it considers airmen for emergency transfer to another base, such as sexual assault victims trying to get away from their abuser.

“There shouldn’t be any calculus,” Bass said. “I don’t care how long somebody’s been ‘time on station.’ We’ve got to expedite people and allow them to be able to transfer out of their duty station.”

Among the more complicated proposals is a suggestion to rethink how long airmen should live at each base.

“Are short tours and long tours and standard tours appropriate for today’s force?” Bass said. “What might have been considered a hardship tour 15 or 20 years ago may not be a hardship tour [now], and it doesn’t need to be a short tour.”

Short overseas postings such as at Morón Air Base, Spain, or Pápa AB, Hungary, can last one to two years. Long postings can last three or four years in places like the United Kingdom or Japan.

Air Force extends first-term, unaccompanied tours at some overseas duty stations to 36 months

The change is designed to give the service member additional time to train with the unit, along with greater “stability," the air force said..

In February, then-Air Force personnel boss Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly told House lawmakers that enlisted airmen spend just over four years at installations in the continental United States on average, while officers spend about three years at each base.

Bass argues it’s time to reconsider how long airmen remain at stateside bases. She’s open to the idea of standardizing the length of those postings, and offering extensions to people who request them — as happens for assignments abroad.

“Perhaps if it’s a win to the airman and it’s a win to the Air Force to keep that member there for another year or two years, allow our command teams to … take a look at that,” she said.

Airmen don’t necessarily have to stay in the same job if they want to remain at a particular base. If a slot is open and they meet the requirements, the Air Force can move someone into a new unit at their current base or one nearby to maintain some stability.

The service is also trying to make job opportunities more transparent and accessible so airmen can better explore their options. At the same time, it wants more flexibility to move people around — or not — as needed.

A bearish manpower outlook means the Air Force has to plan ahead to avoid stretching the force even thinner.

“We really have to be thoughtful [about], how do we keep talent on the table five years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now?” Bass said. “Assignments matter to people.”

Rachel Cohen is the editor of Air Force Times. She joined the publication as its senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), Air and Space Forces Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy and elsewhere.

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AF Changes Assignment Process

All assignments for enlisted Airmen in the ranks of senior master sergeant and below and officers, lieutenant colonel and below, will now go to unit commanders through their Military Personnel Flights seven days before the official notification to Airmen. The seven-day window also allows for discussion of the Airman’s professional development path and the assignment timing for their family. Also, the new step permits delivery of the assignment notification face-to-face to ensure the commander has full awareness. For more information, visit the active duty enlisted or officer Assignments pages on myPers from a CAC-enabled computer.

For complete guides to military bases around the country, visit the Military.com Base Guide .

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Exceptional Family Member Policy

The Exceptional Family Member Policy (EFMP) is a separate and distinct program from the humanitarian policy. This program is based on a member's need for special medical or educational care for a spouse or child that is required long-term, possibly permanently. It is not a base-of-choice program as assignment decisions are based on manning needs of the Air Force at locations where a member's special medical or educational needs for a spouse or child can be met.

Under the EFMP, a member may receive a reassignment if a need arises for specialized care that cannot be met where they are currently assigned. A deferment from an assignment may be provided for a newly identified condition if the member's presence is considered essential. The purpose of such a deferment is to allow the member time to establish a special medical treatment program or educational program for the exceptional family member.

When granted, the initial period of deferment is usually 12 months, after which a member may be reconsidered for PCS if otherwise eligible.

Military Couples Assignments

Each member of a military couple serves in their own right. This means military couples must fulfill the obligations inherent to all Air Force members they are considered for assignments to fill valid manning requirements and must perform duties that require the skills in which they are trained. Provided these criteria are met, military couples may be considered for assignment where they can maintain a joint residence.

In very limited circumstances a member may ask for a voluntary PCS and agree to pay all expenses involved. Also, travel time is charged as ordinary leave. Members must meet all PCS eligibility criteria for the type of move requested. Permissive PCS may not be granted based solely on the willingness of a member to move at their own expense.

The voluntary stabilized base assignment program provides airmen a stabilized tour in exchange for volunteering for an assignment to a historically hard-to-fill location.

CONUS-Isolated Station Assignments

Normal personnel support facilities (military or civilian) aren’t available at certain continental U.S. (CONUS) stations or within a reasonable distance. This creates a degree of hardship for personnel assigned to these stations.

To prevent involuntary assignment at these locations for long periods, the Air Force established a minimum 15-month tour for single and unaccompanied personnel and a minimum 24-month tour for accompanied personnel. Individuals assigned to a CONUS-isolated station may request reassignment upon completion of the tour.

Extended Long On Station Tour Length

The Extended Long On Station Tour Length (ELT) volunteer program applies to airmen who volunteer for PCS OS to a long-tour location (one where the accompanied tour length is 24 months or more and the unaccompanied tour length is more than 15 months). Airmen who volunteer for an ELT agree to serve the standard tour length plus an additional 12 months.

Educational Deferment

Airmen who have not yet been selected for a PCS may request a deferment from assignment selection when they have nearly completed high school, a vocational program, or college degree requirements.

Requests for deferment are processed through the education office (which will confirm eligibility). Airmen may be deferred up to 9 months to complete high school or up to 12 months to complete a college degree.

Dependent Care and Adoption

All military members ensure arrangements are made for the care of their dependents when they must be separated due to TDY or PCS. Military couples with dependents and single-member sponsors are expected to fulfill their military obligations on the same basis as other members. They are eligible for worldwide duty and all assignments for which they qualify.

To ensure all members remain available for worldwide duty, they must have workable plans to provide parent-like care for their dependents as outlined in AFI 36-2908. Members who cannot or will not meet military commitments due to family needs will be considered for discharge. Members adopting children are given a limited time to complete the official adoption process. Individuals may be authorized for deferment during the four-month period following the date a child is officially placed in the member’s home.

Family members (parents, spouse, brothers, sisters, and children) will not be assigned to the same unit or function where one member may hold a command or supervisory position over the other.

PCS Cancellation

Once a member is selected for PCS and orders are published, cancellation of the assignment could impose a hardship on the member. A PCS should not normally be canceled within 60 days of the projected departure date unless the member cannot be effectively used at the projected location.

Cancellation may be authorized by the assignment OPR (Office of Primary Responsibility). If the member indicates a hardship will exist as a result of the cancellation, then the MPF will direct the member to prepare a written statement containing the details of the hardship. The statement should be coordinated through the unit commander to the MPF.

Cancellation Requested by Member

Airmen who are selected for PCS, TDY, or training and who do not want to participate in an event may elect to request retirement under the seven-day option provision (assuming they have more than 20 years of service and are retirement eligible ).

Airmen who elect to retire are ineligible for promotion consideration and are ineligible for an extension of enlistment or reenlistment, except as authorized in conjunction with a request for retirement.

Aside from the seven-day option provision, airmen who do not have the minimum required retainability for the event may be eligible to decline the assignment.

Declining an overseas assignment by refusing to obtain the required retainability usually results in immediate re-enlistment ineligibility, which usually results in becoming ineligible for promotion.

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Sharing my journey through Air Force Officer Training School (OTS) and beyond.

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Officer Assignments

Officer Assignment Process

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Although newly commissioned second lieutenants don’t need to worry about the assignment process for the first few years, it has always been my method to understand the next step of every process.  This has been extremely helpful to me while enlisted, but from what I understand of the commissioned side it is crucial.  One of my mentors told me that opportunities in the officer corps may come and go without your knowledge if you are aren’t paying attention, and I believe playing your part in your second assignment is one of these opportunities.  I have heard more than once that the first 4-6 years of an officer’s career lays the foundation and establishes the overall direction of the career.

On the enlisted side there are sometimes ‘blocks’ you have to check in order to promote to the next grade.  One example is the requirement of having a CCAF degree to promote to SMSgt.  On the officer side there are not only blocks, but you compete for different opportunities within each block.  For example, officers compete for the most prestigious DO or commander positions which may play into how quickly they promote to the appropriate grade.  The competition aspect still plays a role in officer PME, but I will expand on this in later posts.

The 13S career field is much different than other career fields in many ways, but I believe the general assignment process is the same for all AFSCs.  As of now new 13S officers are generally expected to do two “ops tours” which means you will be an operator at two different assignments.  At each assignment you may have the opportunity to work as an evaluator or instructor after you are an operator, but you will generally learn a new “weapon system” at your next assignment as an operator.  I have my own opinion on what types of ops tours are most beneficial for my situation but I will save that for another post as well.  This is related to the “depth vs. breadth” discussion you may hear about in the 13S career field.

Assignment Timeline Example

In reference to the table above, there are three general cycles every officer falls into for assignments.  If your first RNLTD is in May you will be on the spring cycle (look at the RNLTD months category on the right).  Once you know your cycle you can walk the process all the way to the left to see when you have to start thinking about your next assignment.  I will walk through and describe the entire process as I understand it from left to right.

I will use the spring cycle in my example.  On 19 July an initial Vulnerable Mover List (VML) will be released identifying all individuals who may be due to PCS in the spring cycle.  This is a list released by AFPC of the majority of officers who are due to PCS.  Once this list is released, commander’s have the opportunity of adding or removing officers from this list during the “Field Reclama VML.”  If your commander is going to alter the list for an officer, there has to be a valid reason.  An example of this would be if he wants to keep you another year so you can be a Flight Commander.  Due to the somewhat short period of this window this is a conversation I recommend you have with your commander well in advance of actually entering the window.

Once the reclama window closes AFPC will release a final VML.  This is the final list of all officers who are vulnerable to move, and from what I understand it doesn’t change.  Imagine if you were to pop up on this list and you didn’t know it, and your commander didn’t catch it.  You would have missed your opportunity to fight it!

The next step in the process is the Personnel Requirements Display (PRD) Visibility Window.  The PRD is the list of all assignments available, and it is separated by grade and AFSC.  This is essentially the list of where the officers on the VML can PCS to.  It would be in your best interest to only apply to slots on this list, which leads me to the Airman Development Plan (ADP).

The ADP is how you tell AFPC what your assignment preference is for the cycle.  This is the first and main input you have on the assignment process.  This is someone similar to the enlisted dream sheet, but I don’t want to use that terminology because it is still much different.  The main difference is how your preferences are prioritized as an officer, which I will talk about in later paragraphs.  Your ADP is due in the system NLT than the ADP due date.

The ‘AFPC matches assignments’ window is the two month period where the assignment team for your AFSC actually matches your assignment.  The 13S assignment team told me they use the entire window because there is always tweaking and fine tuning involved with the process.  At some point after this window, assignments will be pushed through the vMPF system.  We were told once you get your assignment there is little that can be done because your chance at input was your ADP.  The assignment team cannot talk to you about your assignment until you accept it.  Once you accept it again there is little they can do, but they can provide insight into why it was selected for you.

Assignment Priorities

This is the part which surprises me about the officer assignment process.  While enlisted I would estimate your input at around 10%.  Once the assignment list comes out for that cycle you rush to update your dream sheet, but it is strictly a numbers game.  The computer matches the available slots to those who volunteered, and if you high enough on the list (among a number of factors), you may get an assignment you didn’t despise.  On the officer side there is much more emphasis on placing you in an assignment which is good for your career.  The proportional amount of input you have (I would quantify this at 40%) tells a lot about how important each assignment is to your career.  Each officer assignment is hand selected by the assignment team.  The paraphrased priorities from my notes are as follows.  I am sure this is in the AFI but I am too lazy to look it up right now.

• Air Force Mission Needs
• Officer Professional Development
• Career Field Functional Priorities
• Individual Priorities.

OPD being number two is what shocked me, I would have expected it to be number three.  What this means is the AF is not going to put you in an assignment which will be terrible for your career.  For example if you were a squadron DO as a Capt, the Air Force is not going to make you a flight commander at your next assignment.  This can get murky depending on your AFSC and special circumstances, but it is important to know that your assignment team has the best interest of your career in mind.

Year Group Milestones

Any time people are discussing anything related to an officer career, you will hear the term “year group.”  Your year group is the year you commissioned.  Here are the general milestones I was given as a 2015.  I know I talked about how your first 4-6 years plays a large role in vectoring your career, but we are talking about a small percentage of a long timeline.  Similar to applying to OTS, don’t get caught up in the small details of your career.  Always be thinking about the big picture and how each piece fits into the puzzle.  I share this to show you I have long-term Situational Awareness on my future so I can better gauge the meaning if something changes (e.g., First look Squadron Commander pushed up to 2029).  As a disclaimer I will say this is all info based on my own personal notes from the information I was given; it is not official information.

2015 Year Group (YG) for 13S Space Operations

• 2025, 2026, 2027
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• 2027, 2028, 2029
• 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033
• 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035
• 2033, 2034, 2035

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