'Force shaping' means some can leave active duty early

  • Published
  • By Maj. John J. Thomas
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  There is good news for thousands of airmen considering leaving active duty who thought they could not because of existing service obligations.

An effort dubbed "force shaping" is opening the exit doors to officers and enlisted servicemembers in select career fields and year groups by waiving some active-duty service commitments previously incurred for events like government-funded education, permanent changes of station and promotion.

Force shaping includes opportunities to transition to the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard, and can relieve some people of their active-duty service commitments.

Rules for leaving active duty early will be the least restrictive for anyone wanting to transfer to the Guard or Reserve through the Palace Chase program.

Some bonus payback requirements may also be waived, officials said.

Applications for any of the force-shaping early release programs must be made through local military personnel flights by March 12.

More than 16,000 additional people -- 12,700 enlisted and 3,900 officers -- currently projected to leave will be allowed out to help the service return to its authorized active-duty force size by Sept. 30, 2005. The goal is to get within authorized end strength while avoiding "extreme measures" that "wreak havoc" with mission and morale, officials said.

Active-duty airmen wanting to transfer to the Reserve or Guard will be able to apply for a waiver of an active-duty service commitment regardless of their career field.

"We're a total force, and for our active-duty airmen who would like to separate early and still retain a connection to their Air Force, the Palace Chase program provides the perfect vehicle to preserve operational capability while reducing active-duty end strength," said Maj. Gen. John Speigel, the Air Force's director of personnel policy at the Pentagon.

"We're focusing a big part of our efforts there because it keeps (servicemembers) and their expertise in the total force, while allowing them increased stability and a chance to continue working toward a military retirement," the general said.

Some applications may not be approved.

Because of manning shortages, 29 officer and 33 enlisted specialties will not qualify for many of the waivers. Among those are pilots, navigators, air battle managers, aerial gunners, nurses and first sergeants. The complete list of "stressed" career fields that are excluded from many of the waivers is posted at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/retsep/shape.htm .

"We don't want to break any career fields during our force-shaping efforts or create problems in future years similar to the ones caused by the downsizing in the early 1990s," said General Speigel.

"Approval authority for miscellaneous enlisted separations will rest at the personnel center, to centrally review applications and ensure compliance with manning needs," said Maj. Dawn Keasley, chief of retirement and separation policy at the Air Staff.

Examples of efforts to "shape" the force go beyond waivers. They include procedures where those who fail to complete technical schools only will be allowed to leave the Air Force or to reclassify into short-manned career fields. In addition, high-year-of-tenure extensions will only be granted to those in specific shortage career fields or for personal hardship reasons.

Program highlights include:

-- The chance to transfer to the Guard and Reserve for those with at least 24 months time in service, incurring a 2-for-1 service commitment (not less than 1 year or greater than 6 years).

-- Enlisted waivers of active-duty service commitments associated with technical training and bootstrap programs.

-- Potential service commitment waivers of up to 18 months for permanent-change-of-station moves.

-- Potential service commitment waivers for officers of up to 24 months for Air Force Institute of Technology doctoral education and Education With Industry.

-- Up to 12-month waiver of intermediate and senior developmental education commitments for officers.

-- Possibility of ROTC commissioning directly into the Reserve or Guard.

-- Aviator Continuation Pay, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences scholarships, and AFIT fellowship, scholarship, and grant commitments will not be waived.

According to officials, force shaping is designed to return the Air Force to its authorized uniformed population, or "end strength," while shifting some airmen to fill positions in specialties that need more people of their rank.

The Air Force brought in thousands of people since the late '90s to build up to end strength, with limited consideration for the skill mix, officials said. But more people came into the service and fewer than expected left, leaving the force with more people than are authorized to be on active duty.

To reduce the total number of active-duty people in uniform, the Air Force is continuing efforts like retraining people into careers where they are needed more, outsourcing jobs to private industry, and converting some jobs from military people to Air Force civilian workers.

However, these new force-shaping tools are being offered because still more needs to be done, officials said.

Details and career counseling are available from unit career assistance advisors at each base. People can also call the Air Force Contact Center at DSN 665-5000 or toll-free (800) 616-3775 for more information. (Courtesy of Air Force Personnel Center News Service)