afpc enlisted assignment system issues

• When I look at the EQUAL listing on the web, I see statements that talk about being "frozen"; for example, "short - - anyone who has never been on a short tour overseas is frozen as a non-volunteer" or "short - - anyone with 1 short tour or less and a return date equal to or earlier than xxxx is frozen as a non-volunteer". What does "frozen as a non-volunteer" mean?
• Do I have an assignment?  
• Can you verify my volunteer status and preference?
• What is open overseas?
• What is the status of my follow-on, in-place base-of-preference, or other assignment application?
• As a military couple returning from overseas, why can't we compete for CONUS assignments advertised on the EQUAL list?
• As an overseas returnee, why can't I get more notification time for my CONUS assignment?
• If I am in the overseas area and desire a Consecutive Overseas Tour (COT), how do I know what requirements to volunteer for on the EQUAL listing ?
• How do I stand for overseas selection? What is my number on the volunteer/nonvolunteer overseas list?
• What is an Imbalanced AFSC (IAFSC) and can I find out if I have one?
• I have recently been selected for an assignment to XYZ AFB. Is there a site on the World Wide Web where I can find information on my new base?

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2. QUESTION: Do I have an assignment?

Answer . Assignment notification is a commander's role. Once assignments are made, we send them to the MPF and unit commanders are advised. You will be notified shortly thereafter. The release dates for each cycle's assignments are published each quarter. Contact your MPF and/or Commander's Support Staff for the latest assignment information.  You may also look at Virtual MPF (vMPF)

3. QUESTION: Can you verify my volunteer status and preference?

Answer . Most MPFs can verify this as they are now directly connected to the AFPC computer.

4. QUESTION: What is open overseas?

Answer . Under the Enlisted Quarterly Assignments Listing (EQUAL) process, we list the assignments we will match during the next cycle. This list is sent to MPFs approximately four weeks before the match is made. You can review the list and update your preferences if you would like to volunteer for any of the advertised requirements. Freeze date or "vulnerability" columns are included on the EQUAL listing for overseas requirements. The dates are AFSC and grade specific and reflect both long and short tour vulnerability. The long tour date shows Overseas Duty Selection Date (ODSD) and the short tour date shows both the Short Tour Return Date (STRD) and the # of previous short tours. If your dates are on or before the dates shown and the number of short tours are equal or less then the number shown, you are vulnerable for selection as a non-volunteer. Use ONLY your current grade (NOT one grade up or one grade down) unless you're projected for promotion. If you're projected for promotion, use your projected grade ONLY. A1Cs will volunteer based on DOR, promotion eligibility, and skill level as identified on the EQUAL coverpage.   Check Assignment Management System (AMS) to see your EQUAL and EQUAL+ list.

5. QUESTION: What is the status of my follow-on, in-place base-of-preference, or other assignment application?

Answer . These programs are run at different times of the quarter based on various parameters (i.e., homebasing/follow-on applications are processed 120 days prior to projected departure date). MPFs may submit queries regarding home-basing/follow-on applications when departure date is within 90 days and the application was submitted over 30 days ago.  You may also use Virtual MPF (vMPF)

6. QUESTION: As a military couple returning from overseas, why can't we compete for CONUS assignments advertised on the EQUAL list?

Answer . The key word is compete. The overseas returnee assignment process is designed to be fair & equitable by using factors such as the current type of overseas tour you are on, the number of previous short tours you have had, your DOR, etc., to establish a "pecking order" that racks & stacks overseas returnees for each AFSC by grade. In other words, if there were 5 Supply (2S0X1) SSgts returning in a given EQUAL cycle, the above factors would be used to actually prioritize those 5 SSgts, ranking them 1 through 5; then these 5 SSgts would compete (not pick & choose) for the available assignments. In the military couple situation, although there are 2 people, there is only 1 family, and our goal is to keep the family together if at all possible. Moreover, in a military couple's situation, the military members may have different AFSCs or different grades/skill levels from one another. So if we tried to include the military couple in the "pecking order", one member might be #1 in their Grade/AFSC, but their spouse might rank #5 in their Grade/AFSC. There's just no way to include military couples in the EQUAL returnee process and maintain both our goal of keeping the family together and equity for other returnees who are not part of a military couple. Based on this, we have found that "hand matching" these assignments is the best & fairest method. 

7. QUESTION: As an overseas returnee, why can't I get more notification time for my CONUS assignment?

Answer . As an overseas returnee, your assignment process actually begins when you sign your DEROS RIP to indicate you wish to keep your DEROS & not extend nor do an in-place COT (IPCOT). Once we know you are a firm loss from the overseas location, the ball starts rolling for us to determine how many overseas assignments we need to make, i.e., replacements for you and others returning during your three month cycle. Once that's done, we advertise those assignments on the Overseas EQUAL list, then match the most eligible people to those assignments. So in other words, we need to first find out who your replacement is & more importantly where is he/she coming from before we can determine the CONUS assignments and in turn advertise them on the CONUS EQUAL list. This process is all computerized, that's the good news; the bad news is that it is a very time consuming process because of the "old" computer hardware/software being used and the timelines are at the maximum levels now with no flexibility for change under the current computer platform. However, the entire Personnel System (not just assignments) is undergoing a multi-year/multi million dollar modernization/upgrade effort that will eventually allow us to adjust the timelines. Bottom line, we will be providing more notification time for overseas returnees (probably 4-6 weeks more), but our ability to do so is still a couple of years from implementation. In the meantime, we have to live with the stringent timelines of the current system.

8. QUESTION: If I am in the overseas area and desire a Consecutive Overseas Tour (COT), how do I know what requirements to volunteer for on the EQUAL listing ? 

Answer . Individuals with an indefinite DEROS are eligible for a consecutive overseas tour (COT) anytime after completing their original tour. Individuals with an established DEROS can also be considered for a COT but can only volunteer for advertised requirements with a reporting date (RNLTD) equal to their DEROS month or the following two months. For example, assuming you have not already entered the overseas return cycle and your DEROS is Jan, you are eligible to compete for assignments with a Jan, Feb, or Mar reporting. You must also meet the eligibility requirements as outlined in AFI 36-2110 .

9. QUESTION: How do I stand for overseas selection? What is my number on the volunteer/nonvolunteer overseas list?

Answer . Eligibility for overseas listings are maintained by individual assignment NCOs. Relative standing changes daily due to factors such as number of volunteers, available assignments, people entering or leaving the eligible pool (assignments, promotions, retirements, separations, retraining), authorization changes, etc. Therefore, numerical standing by itself is useless data without an understanding of those factors and knowledge of future overseas requirements. Because of that, we do not provide this information in specific terms. However, you can find your approximate vulnerability by checking the freeze dates for your grade and AFSC on the overseas EQUAL listing. This will help you decide if you are "hot" for overseas and, armed with that info, you can more effectively participate in the assignment process. There are a few AFSCs that do not receive assignments under EQUAL (i.e. 1AXXX). Please review the EQUAL list cover page for specifics.

10. QUESTION: What is an Imbalanced AFSC (IAFSC) and can I find out if I have one? 

Answer . An imbalanced AFSC is a specialty in which we have a significantly higher number of requirements overseas than we do in the CONUS. If you have two or more awarded AFSCs and one is or becomes imbalanced, and you are selected for overseas duty, it will be in the imbalanced AFSC. Additionally, to meet overseas requirements, those retraining into an imbalanced skill will not be deferred from reassignment and may be selected for overseas assignment as soon as they are awarded a three skill level in the retraining specialty. On the other hand, if you are retraining from an imbalanced AFSC, you will usually be deferred from overseas assignment for two years from completion of the formal training that awarded the 3 skill level AFSC. You can find out if your AFSC is imbalanced by reviewing the Air Force Retraining Advisory which is maintained by the Personnel Employment Element in your MPF. You can also usually find a copy of it in the Customer Service Element. Imbalanced AFSCs are identified with an asterisk (*) on the overseas EQUAL (currently not available on the Web listing). Click here to view the current Overseas Imbalanced AFSC's.

11. QUESTION: I have recently been selected for an assignment to XYZ AFB. Is there a site on the World Wide Web where I can find information on my new base? 

Answer . As a matter of fact there is information on the world wide web where you can find information on your new assignment. It's a site called Air Force Crossroads . Right now, this site is providing a "one-stop" approach to getting information on just about every major military installation. Once at the desired location you will find additional links that provide local-area information on the community, relocation services, housing information, medical and dental services, and support services, to name a few. It's a promising new website under construction and definitely worth looking into. The address for Air Force Crossroads is: http://www.afcrossroads.com  

Page Updated on: 21 October 2009

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Air Force tests new system to help airmen find their next assignments

About 18,000 airmen in seven career fields this month will begin testing a new system that aims to make it easier for them to find their next assignments .

Under the old Base of Preference system, airmen submitted their requests for where they wanted to be reassigned — but they had no idea whether that base actually had vacancies they could fill, Air Force Personnel Center spokesman Mike Dickerson said in an email.

The new Base of Preference program aims to change that.

Under the new system, which began testing this month, bases will advertise what jobs they have available on myPers on a quarterly basis, Dickerson said. This will provide airmen transparency when they request their next locations, AFPC said, so they aren’t essentially taking shots in the dark.

This will also increase their opportunities to relocate, Dickerson said, since they’ll know where the manning vacancies are.

“This is an exciting and innovative initiative that will begin to reshape how we look at enlisted assignments,” Chief Master Sgt. Jennifer Holton, superintendent for AFPC’s Support Airmen Career Management Branch said in a March 15 release.

The seven career fields that are taking part in the test are 2G0X1 logistics plans, 2S0X1 materiel management, 3D1X3 RF transition systems, 3F5X1 administration, 4A0X1 health services management, 6C0X1 contracting, and 6F0X1 financial management and comptroller.

It will also include developmental special duty airmen coming off of Assignment Availability Code 50s — special jobs with time limits set on their service — and return to one of those seven jobs. The jobs were chosen so the Air Force could have a diverse slate of career fields testing the program.

However, airmen will only have 10 days to apply for advertised jobs under the new program. Until now, because jobs have not been advertised, there has been no deadline.

“The shorter application window is the trade-off for location visibility, as base manning can change rapidly,” Holton said in the release. “Airmen in the field need to note how critical this 10-day listing is, compared to the previous system, which allowed submissions at any time and were processed at the end of the quarter.”

Commanders to receive advance notice when airmen are reassigned

The air force on thursday began notifying commanders and senior raters seven days in advance about their airmen’s reassignments..

The Air Force also hopes to notify airmen about their reassignments on a quicker, steadier basis.

Under the current program, a first-term airman can apply monthly, depending on eligibility, but processing can take up to six weeks. Career airmen’s applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis, and also take up to six weeks to process after the quarter has closed out.

The new system seeks to re-align all the applications into a single, quarterly cycle. Dickerson said this will allow the Air Force to tell airmen whether their applications have been approved or denied within two weeks of the close of the advertisement.

Airmen will also be able to re-request jobs at a certain location under the new system, even if they previously had an application to those locations disapproved.

AFPC will start sending messages to airmen in those seven career fields this month, including cutoff dates for applications submitted under the old program and the timeline for the test program.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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