Initial enlistment bonus program on track

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  New recruits are now getting signing bonuses within days instead of months thanks to a completely revamped process, according to Air Force Personnel Center officials here.

"It's a tremendous success story," said Master Sgt. Robert Tullgren, superintendent of the center's enlisted accessions and special bonuses section. "New recruits are getting the right welcome to the Air Force.

"Because of great teamwork, what was taking four to seven months now takes us about four to seven minutes to process and get (the bonuses)into the hands of new recruits," said Tullgren. "This is good news for our young airmen."

The bonuses are important in attracting new recruits to the Air Force and then steering them toward the career fields that most need to be filled, according to Master Sgt. Tim Clark, the Air Force Recruiting Service liaison at the center.

Airmen were expecting bonus payments within 90 days of arriving at their first duty stations; however, the Military Personnel Data System caused problems and long administrative delays in authorizing payments. At one point last year, more than 8,000 airmen were awaiting payments, according to Tullgren.

People from several agencies inside and outside the Air Force were asked to fix the complex problems. The team was given latitude to not just improve but to change processes if needed, he said.

"This is a credible example of teamwork across operational boundaries," said Maj. Gen. Tom O'Riordan, the personnel center's commander.

"They reduced a backlog of 8,000 cases to zero, and dramatically reduced the time it was taking to get the bonus into the accounts of recruits -- documented results that address a problem in the field," the general said.

Local military personnel flights have more information. (Courtesy of AFPC News Service)