ARPC supports one-stop service

  • Published
  • By Mike Molina and Tech. Sgt. Rob Mims
  • Air Reserve Personnel Center Public Affairs
DENVER (AFPN) --  It is more than 7,000 miles to Baghdad from here, but for an individual mobilization augmentee serving in Iraq, personnel services are only seconds away.

Air Reserve Personnel Center officials here recently released the Virtual Personnel Center Guard Reserve, a Web-based personnel service portal program. The new service is already getting some valuable use from Air Force reservists and Air National Guardsmen.

“Being able to have your records updated with a simple click of a button was impressive,” said Master Sgt. Scott Davis, deployed to Baghdad from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. “I was honestly expecting the records update to take weeks, but my records were updated within a matter of hours.”

The portal has been online since April, but was recently given a new look. Sergeant Davis accessed the site to request an update to his decorations. Within hours, the changes were made to the sergeant’s records and his questions answered.

“This system saved me valuable time trying to match my schedule here with the time change back at ARPC,” Sergeant Davis said. “It was important for me to have my records correct -- just in case.”

“We make every effort to handle customers’ requests the same day they’re received,” said Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Bye of an ARPC contact center. “I answer a lot within five or 10 minutes.”

Sergeant Bye manages and distributes Web requests to other contact center technicians.

“The new support site is still in its infancy and yet the benefits to our members are already being felt worldwide,” said Col. Ann Shippy, ARPC commander.

Three days after the release of the redesigned site, Hugo Padilla, chief of personnel service systems support, helped Maj. Sharon Ross, who is deployed to Southwest Asia, reset her password so she could access her personnel services account online.

“She was… sitting there working real-time battlefield medical evacuations from the (area of responsibility),” Mr. Padilla said. “She thanked me. I said, ‘No way, thank you.’”

Major Ross, who is deployed from Scott AFB Ill., said she likes the “key words” area on the “frequently asked questions” page.

“It makes it easier to hone in (on) pertinent topic questions,” she said. “I also like the site map -- it’s much quicker to find needed topic(s).”

The major also suggested a link to myPay. Two days later, it was added to the site map.

“This is another shining example of the innovation and commitment to excellence our people here demonstrate by providing second-to-none customer service,” Colonel Shippy said.

Whether it is day or night, at work, home or on the battlefield, ARPC is only a mouse click or phone call away and has a staff that is willing to help out and get the job done.

“Personnel services (are) 24/7, no matter where you are,” said Dave Aldrich, director of the directorate of personnel services. “If you can get on the Web, it’s available.

“It is nice to be overseas and be able to keep up with my IMA side of the business,” Major Ross said. “One-stop shopping -- the wave of the future.”