New service-commitment policy coming

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeff Schoen
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Starting Oct. 1, Air Force Reserve Command will implement a comprehensive, service-commitment directive for certain kinds of training, education and promotions.

“The Reserve Service Commitment policy accomplishes two goals," said Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III, AFRC commander. "First, the RSC ensures a fair and equitable return to the Air Force Reserve and the American taxpayers. Second, it communicates to our members the period of obligated service they must complete before becoming eligible to separate, transfer or retire from the Selected Reserve."

The policy affects reservists in the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve's Health Professions Scholarship Program and the IRR's Financial Assistance Program. The RSC includes unit program reservists, individual mobilization augmentees and members of the active Guard and Reserve.

Air Force reservists in the rank of colonel and below incur a service obligation if they attend formal training or education for 20 weeks or longer, receive a promotion in the top three enlisted grades or enlist in the service for the first time.

"In the past, a member under certain circumstances could attend initial training, complete a formal school, return to their Air Force Reserve assignment and request reassignment to inactive status without completely fulfilling their commitment," said Lt. Col. Paul W. Kirby, chief of the personnel programs and training division in the office of the Air Force Reserve in Washington.

"Everyone wins when a member acquires new skills through training and education, but the Air Force Reserve loses if members leave prematurely.

"Take pilot training for example,” Kirby said. “Most people do not realize the significant investment of time and money involved for a pilot to reach full operational competence. It takes approximately two to three years of training time and costs up to $6 million. That's a significant investment. If we allow that person to simply leave without incurring a service commitment, the country loses its investment of both financial resources and time."

The Air Force Reserve has had policies that attempted to address service commitments and training in certain career fields, such as pilots and health-care professionals, but these policies often lacked the "teeth" needed to enforce them, Kirby said.

"This policy standardizes, streamlines and provides the means to enforce the various commitment policies by providing a single-source document that clearly communicates the required commitments to the members," Kirby said. "We worked hard to create a system that treats people fairly, and I believe our reservists are people of honesty and integrity who will live up to their commitments." (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)