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Show Page 6 HILL TOP TIMES January 23, 1981 dlforia Is AF PCS moves chief discusses personnel -- TOY for the Air -- Moves cost a lot "Another reason why moves have become a real problem is the cost involved." The general explained, "It costs a lot to move. For example, a master sergeant at Boiling AFB, with a wife and three children, moving to California, will get about $1 ,300. I defy anyone to go more than 3 , 000 miles and be able to exist on $1,300. "At the same time you . take someone in industry, of comparable for rank, or in civil service, a GS-example. They can get a maximum of as much as $13,000. "So it is obvious," he said, "one of the areas we need to concentrate on is offsetting some of the expenses when moving." g Family needs considered , Meeting family needs, such as child care, education programs, family housing, relocation fair reimbursement expenses, and v General losue reported that the Air Force is doing better in the retention battle. "But don't want to mislead you," he added. "We have lost many pilots and navigators as well as many people in critical enlisted skills. You don't make those kind of losses up just by improving retention," he said. discussing the recent 1 1 pay raise, General losue said it was long overdue. "But because of previous pay caps and reallocations, an additional increase is still needed to get us back to the relative level of comparability with the private sector that existed in 1972. "We have established priorities in the pay and compensation areas. We want to retain real purchasing power. I think that pay increases should be visible. Retirees know by the CPI (consumer price index) that they are going to get a raise every six months and they know how much. "We need some sort of bench mark so all our people will know they are going to get that raise and what that raise will be," he said. "The Air Force . person will then know that he or she is being treated fairly." He added, "The .7-perc- "We have dergraduate increased our unpilot training, and currently the airlines are not hiring, .These two things have helped us. But evert with all this we are still 1 , 100 pilots short," he said. The chief of Air Force personnel said, "Another area we have had difficulty with is engineers. We are about 1,100 engineers short. The problem here centers on difficulties in recruiting engineers. Fact is," General losue said, "we just cannot compete with industry in recruiting engineers. Young men and women completing a bachelor's degree in engineering are being hired at an average starting (AFNS) salary of $22,000 a year." psychological effects of knowing FILL OUT YOUR DE of medical better 1 In Commenting on other moves to help cope with moving, General losue said, "The seven days' permissive temporary duty for househunting trips we now have, is another example of the direction we are pointing in. Besides this we are looking at the use of temporary government lodging that can be used while traveling. "We are also examining ways to help defer the cost of having the spouse travel with the service member on the trip. "All of these actions revolve around the Air Force family," General Tosue said. "The family has become more and more an integral part of the Air Force. Families play an important role in the career decisions of Air Force personnel and are now a major factor in the assignment process as well as other personnel actions' house-huntin- Retention getting Get visible pay increases house-huntin- g Air Force families g 1781 ... i dental care, spouse employment opportunities, plus a reasonable standard of living, positively contribute to retention and the productivity of Air Force members. These actions are neces jary if the Air Force is to continue to attract and retain people, he said. One way the needs of the family are being looked at is through the new Air Force family matters office. AFFAM was formed to be a focal point for Air 9 out-of-pock- of where you stand on the pay issue knowing you will get that pay raise, will help our people deal with the rigors of Air Force life." Force family efforts and to serve as an advocate at Headquarters Air Force to rate for permanent-chang- e bring up and support new ideas and Ad- - ; family programs. The formation of moves. of station ditionally, the Air Force is looking at a AFFAM signifies Air Force recognition higher travel pay rate to offset some of of the vital role Air Force families have in supporting the Air Force mission. the costs. General losue explained that Force is working toward a "There was a time, not too long ago, when Air Force people were excited about moving. They considered it an adventure," said Lt. Gen. Andrew P. losue, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, during a recent interview with the Air Force Mews Service. "A set of orders meant new opportunities. You could tell people they were going from point A to point B. They would go home, tell their spouse and the family would pack up and go. We can't do that now. Times have changed," said the Air Force's personnel chief. The general said there are a number of reasons for this change in attitudes. "One of the reasons is the fact that the spouse now plays a much larger role in the decision-makinprocess," He said. "More spouses are working and that work is important, both to them and to the maintenance of their family. During these inflationary times many spouses have to work just to make ends meet. A PCS move means an end to a job for most of these working spouses and, more than likely, a tough road ahead to find another. high-qualit- y et "One important feature, something that has been a thorn in our sides for years and years, something we have attempted to correct, is providing equity for enlisted service members. We've done itl Now they will receive both the BAS (basic allowance for subsistence) and subsistence portion of per diem when they go TDY just as officers now do," said the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff, Manpower and Personnel, Lt. Gen. Andrew P. Gen. losue talks ahouf per-die- DOPAAA m losue. Per-die- equity was one (Continued on page 7) m Everything advertised in the Hill Top Times must be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to the race, creed, color, national origin or sex of the purchaser, user or . v.t-.':- ::., r of IF YOU DON'T TBI US WE PROBLEMS VJE patron. 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