MyEDP provides real answers for real Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) --  Airmen needn't look further than their computer screens for candid advice and information regarding their service careers, thanks to the My Enlisted Development Plan Web site, now up and running through the Air Force Portal.

Designed as the Air Force's cradle-to-grave enlisted developmental tool, MyEDP is the sort of network site that gives Airmen access to other Airmen of all ranks around the globe. Already, thousands of Airmen have opened accounts on the site -- a process that takes less than two minutes. Once a profile is created, the user has access to news, events, forums, a library, plus access to his or her Air Force Personnel Center records and career information.

Even though it has only been available for a few months, it has already built up quite a following, according to Brig Gen KC McClain, director of Force Management Policy.

"MyEDP brings much needed transparency to numerous data sources, providing enlisted development tools to our Airmen in a whole new way. I am excited about the future of MYEDPand the potential it gives to the AF."

"This is a great tool," posted Staff Sgt. Erica Neiser of Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. "This looks to be a promising venue to bounce thoughts off of others for mentorship and advice."

The forums currently are the most popular feature on the site. With topics such as general discussion, assignments, pay and benefits, and more, Airmen are able to post threads with questions about anything that concerns them, from uniforms to preparing for promotion to juggling the challenges of raising a family in an Air Force environment rife with deployments and family separations. While the forums are monitored for content, messages aren't deleted even if the information posted doesn't exactly fit the "party line."

"We do not delete any entries that are made, "posted Senior Master Sgt. Bob Angeli, program manager for MyEDP here at the Pentagon. "Some entries we will address publicly and some we will address privately with the member who posted the comment. We feel this should be an open forum, 'the good, the bad, and the ugly.'"

He said the posts he's seen so far speak volumes of the professionalism of today's Airmen.

Another popular feature is the journal. Paired up with the sharing capabilities, this feature has helped Airmen record their thoughts and activities, a benefit especially for those deployed.

"For me personally, the journal is great for recording sorties I have flown [while deployed]," said Staff Sgt. Rafeal Cruzoyola, an aircrew member from Kadena Air Base, Japan. "Instead of just looking through my written journals, it's a click away. The journal seems great for keeping [enlisted performance report] bullets and sending them to my supervisor when requested."

MyEDP's goal is to provide a constant source of information to Airmen regarding their careers, and Staff Sgt. Joseph Robistow of Nellis Air Force Base believes it does just that.

"There is so much information that will help me to become a better Airman in today's Air Force," he said. "Plus, if I ever have a question that I cannot answer, I am sure that I could log onto this site and ask, and people with more experience could help me toward the answer. I'm sure many people can benefit from this site."


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