Airmen will receive AEF ID cards

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Sarah Small
  • Air and Space Expeditionary Force Center Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  The Air Force chief of staff directed all major command officials to issue air and space expeditionary force identification cards before the beginning of Cycle 5 in September.

Card usage ended during the height of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom because six to eight AEFs were deployed at the same time, said Col. Vincent Wisniewski, AEF Center vice commander here.

Reissuing the cards will link every Airman to assigned deployment windows within Cycle 5.

The information on the cards provide predictability and stability by allowing Airmen to plan around deployments to schedule leave, professional military education and temporary duties, said Chief Master Sgt. David Mimms, superintendent for AEF matters at Air Force headquarters and deputy chief of staff for air and space operations.

The front of the card tells Airmen their assigned AEF pair, and the back shows the new 20-month cycle chart, which begins in September.

Some low density/high demand forces and stressed career fields may be postured in several AEFs as needed for extended tours, Colonel Wisniewski said. These forces are considered “enabler” capabilities. Because of the higher operations tempo required for these forces, they may not rotate on the normal four-month schedule. The affected major command and air reserve component officials are working to determine the best way to issue cards to Airmen in enabler billets.

Airmen who do not fall into the enabler category are assigned to one AEF during an AEF cycle, as required by Air Force Policy Document 10-4, Chief Mimms said. To add discipline to this process, a major command vice commander waiver is required to move an Airman from one AEF to another.

“One of my top priorities is to ensure the AEF culture is as clear and predictable as possible for all Airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog, the center’s commander. “Reissuing AEF ID cards is one way we can do that.”

The AEF ID card template and implementation guidance are posted on the center’s secure Web site at https://aefcenter.acc.af.mil. The Web site can only be accessed from a dot-mil computer. (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)