Manpower creates spaces for faces

  • Published
  • By Capt. Aaron Burgstein
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  As part of the air and space expeditionary force structure, nearly everyone will one day deploy, but who determines what deployment positions are needed?

Deployed manpower specialists fill that vital need at bases worldwide. They help commanders determine what positions are needed, which can be filled and the best way to accomplish a multitude of missions with limited people, officials said. They determine and validate every single position in their respective wing.

“I talk to commanders and shop chiefs to determine what that office does, how they do it and what they need to accomplish their mission,” said Master Sgt. Jessica Mason, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing manpower chief at a forward-deployed location. “(During a buildup of forces), manpower helps establish and validate those authorizations needed to complete the mission now and in the future. Everyone’s deployment orders are based off of a manpower authorization.”

Sergeant Mason advises wing leaders at her location by looking at their requirements, work loads, skill sets and position qualifications, and balancing their needs with available resources.

“I find out what (commanders) want and if those people are going to be gainfully employed,” she said.

Then, Sergeant Mason sends a request to personnel officials at higher headquarters. The justification part of the request can be the hardest, yet most interesting part of the job, she said.

“I need to be able to relay everyone’s requirements,” she said. “I learn about every job here on base and act as spokesperson for the base on manning issues, which is one reason I like my job so much. I have to be able to explain what we need, why we need it and how it effects us.”

Manpower specialists also look at what positions are here now, who needs to be here and how the wing is organized.

“What a lot of people don’t know that it is manpower (officials who are) responsible for the wing’s structure,” Sergeant Mason said. Every group, unit, squadron and detachment is established through manpower actions. “We take a look at what is supposed to be here and what is actually here, and then fix any discrepancies.”

Those differences can cause problems for both the wing’s organization and individual Airmen. The organizational structure in a deployed environment affects duty positions, judicial actions, accountability and entitlements. For example, if an Airman’s orders reflect the wrong geographic location, he or she could be sent to the wrong place or be in one spot while receiving entitlements for another.

Manpower specialists have keep current on all mission changes and errors in organizational structure and requirements that can impair mission accomplishment, she said.

“Sometimes units are listed in our organizational structure, but they’re not actually active anymore,” Sergeant Mason said. “When that happens, we can reorganize and consolidate the units to ensure everything matches up, and people are where they belong.”