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Show it i intn'ip February 28, 2002 eserve Council meets, brings issues to the table regardless of time in service. by Chief Master Sgt Marva Harper 419th FW Command Chief Master Sergeant The Air Force Association met Feb. 12-1- 6 Reserve and discussed issues intended to the quality of life for Reserve members improve and their families. Formed in 1988, the council is comprised of 13 members, a liaison and an adviser. After hearing from reservists, the council documents the issues, conducts research and makes recommendations for improvements in areas that will have a positive impact throughout the Air f orce Reserve. Recommendations are then forwarded to the Air Force Association, which works with elected officials to get them implemented. Proposals to improve benefits and heip military families are high on the priority list. Currently the council is involved with 23 issues ranging from modernizing equipment and funding Reserve construction projects to increasing retirement benefits. The following are the inputs the Reserve Legislative Council is advocating. Some of these are resubmitted from last year while others are new initiatives. Congress has not passed any of the measures yet, and there are no guarantees they will. Council members will continue to fight for and put issues on the table until we get the relief we feel is fair for the Reserve Component members. Recruiting and retention are not as good as they need to be as the role of the Reserv e Forces continues to grow. High Year Tenure forces many out early with retirement pay many years away. Statistics show that reserve retired members collect their pay on the average of 18 months. The Reserve is requesting Congress change the law and award retirement pay at 55 to all personnel with 20 qualifying years. Special pay parity Special duty pay duty is paid on the l30th rule. This rule allows a reservist one day of special pay for each day of entitlement while an active-dut- y person gets 30 days of special pay for one only day of entitlement. Council members have asked for this policy to be changed to award entitlement parity with the active forces. Recent budget authorizations for Reserve Military Construction programs have not been funded at a level consistent with current business practice for re- - capitalizing To Each year, reservists can only get credit for 90 points of Inactive Duty Training. This ceiling encompasses duty performed during Unit Training Assemblies, Readiness Management Periods, Aerial Flying Training Periods, etc. Reserve officials are advocating the cap be raised to 120 points annually to ensure memoc." receive appropriate credit for all Inactive Duty Training. Members on active duty for less than 140 days draw Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH II). After 140 days, the member may then earn BAH I pay but the compensation is not backdated. Members in this status usually I have to maintain .- two households because they are rawin not a : Permanent' recommending the Department of Defense fund the Reserve at an accelerated rate for MILCON, Restoration and ! Modernization, and Facility Sustainment. In addition, steps need to be taken to reduce Air Force Reserve Command's current rate to a level consistent with today's industry standards. 94-ye- ar Equipment A close look at funding for equipment replacement indicates a need for Reserve assets to be maintained and replaced at a level comparable to the Active Forces. Each day. Reserve Component forces are carrying out critical missions for Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom. If our people are to have success in meeting DoD Congress simply must fund requirements, Reserve Command equipment requirements consistent with Total Force Policy and at a rate comparable to the Active Force. Montgomery Gl Bill the Currently, guidelines governing Montgomery GI Bill for the Selected Reserve places time constraints on reservists which can affect their eligibility for this vital benefit of military service. Also, Council members recognized the fact that reservists are not eligible for tuition assistance 'Top-up- " education benefit under the GI Bill. Montgomery To address this issue, the Council is recommending Congress pass legislation to amend the GI Bill Chapter 1606, of TrTLE 10, US CODE to allow reservists to utilize Veteran's Affairs Tuition Assistance 'Top-up- " Measures must also be taken to incentive. extend participation in the GI Bill program to 10 years after completion of 20 good years to match benefits afforded to active-dut- y members. Bonuses for select specialty codes Despite critical manning levels in a number of career fields, the Reserve is only allowed to offer bonuses on initial entry and recnlistment up to 4 years. Air Reserve Technicians are currently not eligible for bonuses. To improve retention, the law needs to be changed to award Selective Reenlistment Bonuses to those personnel in critical skills career fields without prejudice to include ARTs 1 R. L.. f? U O A- - of Change Station, or PCS, This status. inequity can be easily solved by increasing BAH II pay to the median value of BAH I. FERS sick leave policy This issue concerns all civilians and ARTs hired since January 1987. Current guidelines prohibits sick leave from being credited towards retirement. This causes members to use leave rather than lose it. The request has been made to change the provisions of FERS retirement system to allow retiring personnel credit for additional service equal to the balance of sick leave at retirement. Small Business Protection and Relief Act Reserve Component members ordered to active duty are not protected from various taxes and fees levied Self-employ- ed on their business once mobilized. In addition, interest rates on government backed small business loans are not reduced during mobilization in the manner home loans are under the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. To address this issue, Unemployment Insurance Program should be changed to provide uniform guidelines for states to follow in providing relief from punitive unemployment taxes. Also, Reserve officials have asked for an amendment to the Small Business Loan program to provide for a reduction in interest rates charged to a reserve component member while they are mobilized. The Reserve Council is scheduled to meet again later this springusually in Mayto refine these issues and determine which ones to submit to the AFA. Once the AFA receives the submission, it will prioritize the issues and begin the . process of gaining congressional support. But the council's success doesn't depend on its members. Instead, reservists hold the key to the group accomplishing its goals. Without reservists' feedback, the council is useless. If you have a position on any of the above topics, or feedback on a separate issue, please 6 call me at or stop by my office in the 419th Fighter Wing headquarters building. With your help, the Reserve Council will have the input it needs to accurately represent the needs of reservists nationwide. 775-242- 419th Fighter Wing officers are Air the one hundred ninety-si- x Reserve lieutenant colonels who get to exchange silver oak leaves for eagle wings. Lt. Col. James out of 318 first-tim- e more time above-the-promoti- zone, with 62 I getting the nod 419th Support Group eligible line officers were zone. These IPZ selected 20 included selectees pilots, four navigators, 14 nonrated operations officers and 43 mission support people. Another 721 line officer hopefuls competed tor a second or D. Robinson, ior promotion. They were 20 pilots, seven navigators, nine nonrated operations officers and 26 com- mander and Lt. Col. Allan Dalpias, 419th Combat Logistics Support Squadron commander were both selected for promotion to colonel. Headquarters mk j Air Reserve Lt. Coi. Robinson Personnel Center here announced the results of the fiscal year 2002 Air Force Reserve Colonel Promotion Selection Board Jan. 28. The list of officers selected for promotion is available on the ARPC Web site at http:arpc.afrc.af.mil, under "promotions." A selection board convened Oct. 5 at ARPC and sifted through 1,622 records to determine the most qualified for promotion to 22-2- 6. The eligible officers included paid reservists from the Selected Reserve's Air Force Reserve Command Unit Program and Individual Mobilization Augmentee Program, as well as nonpaid members of the Individual Ready Reserve. mission support officers. Nine of the 149 medical corps officers, Lt. Col. Dalpias eight of the 73 lawyers and seven of the 121 nurses were picked for APZ promotion. n dentists and 47 biomedical science corps officers competed for promotion but only one each gets to pin on full colonel. None of the 19 eligible chaplains and 14 Medical Service Corps officers were selected. Promotion effective dates depend on the individual's date of rank and time in grade. Officers vying for an IPZ selection had to have a date of rank of Sept. 30, 1998, or earlier. Those individuals who were Above Promotion Zone eligibles needed a date of rank of Oct. 15, 1997, or earlier with one or more previous nonselection. (AFRC News Service from an ARPC news release) Forty-seve- Benefits, quality workplace vital to national defense citizen airmen and their families but to their employers as well, Lt. Gen. James Sherrard, chief of the Air Force Reserve, told the committee. More than 11,000 reservists are mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he said, supporting everything from intelligence to aerial port to medical services. "The Air Force has enjoyed more than 30 years of unparalleled total force integration success," General Sherrard affairs. said of the Reserve. "You tell us apart and that's as such can't Specialties "The Air Force has the and way it should be." intelligence, security communications will be enjoyed more than 30 Although the Reserve exceeded its recruiting goal hard and hit of particularly years unparalleled must be offset by cuts in for the first time in five total force integration less critical career fields, he with manning at success. You can't tell years, said. its 100.6 percent of The 4.5 us apart and that's the authorized strength, the president's command is not resting on the percent pay raise way it should be." in 20 and its laurels, he said. "a highest years robust and targeted bonus candidates Recruiting -- Lt. Gen. James Sherrard, will the Air still without service program" help prior s III, chief of the Air Force Force compete with the and behind, lags Reserve has not helped, dwindling private sector in both the traditional pipeline of attracting and retaining Mr. airmen, quality potential reserve candidates. To enhance the pool of Dominquez said. Nurses, dentists, aviators and some enlisted experienced reservists, retired military people specialties now receive cash bonuses for are being encouraged to continue service in the continued service. Reserve, General Sherrard said. "But the decision to either stay or separate is "Once returned, members earn additional made around the dinner pay, retirement points, years of service and family ultimately table," he said. promotion opportunity," he said. That calls for a "new social contract" to Like the Reserve, the Air National Guard ensure families feel good about the benefits exceeded its recruiting goal but continues and support they receive, said Mr. David Chu, striving to attract quality servicemembers the undersecretary of defense. through increased income and benefits, Brig. "Sixty percent of troops have family Gen. David Brubaker, deputy director of the Air National Guard, told the committee. responsibilities," he told the committee. child-caras such Thanks to Congress, Servicemen's Group Life Family support programs and Insurance offers a $250,000. benefit and the activities must youth spouse employment be "part of the equation." Uniformed Service Thrift Savings Plan Mr. Chu said the number of servicemembers provides added retirement income, for on food stamps has plummeted from 19,400 in instance. 1991 to 4,200 in 2001. Emphasis is being placed on increased An anticipated 2,100 users are expected in tuition assistance, computer access and child-car- e for guard members during drill weekends, 2002, thanks to DOD's family subsistence supplemental allowance program that cuts he said. The Air National Guard is now e down on expenses. funding a family readiness center at The president's budget increases funding for each of its major bases. "The program significantly enhances mission family support centers by 8.5 percent or $17 million. capabilities by reducing pressures on Air Those issues are far more challenging for the National Guard personnel and their families, as Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. well as improves their quality of life," General Support must extend not only to activated Brubaker said. (Air Force News Service) WASHINGTON-A- ir Force and Department of Defense officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 13 that and quality-of-lif- e recruiting, training incentives are key to ensuring the security of the United States. Investing in people through training, higher pay and bonuses must be as important as buying the latest weapon systems, said Michael Dominguez, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and Reserve - Force Reserve Command Mission Statement provide Citizen Airmen to defend the United States and protect its interests through aerospace power. Air To promotion list 0-- 6 Eighty-on- e Wilson 419th FW Public Affairs Office 0-- parity 1 facilities. modern ensure facilities for our the people, is council James i, IDT points authorization BAH Military Construction by Capt Two Retirement at 53 in Orlando. Reserve releases Stop-Los- e, full-tim- 419th Fighter Wing Minion Statement To Fly, HeadsUp Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the 419th Fighter Wing public Affairs Office. DEADLINE for submission of articles Is 10 working days before each scheduled wing unit training line. on a assembly. Articles should be typed and double-space- d HeadsUp Is a Reserve supplement to the Hilltop times, published by Mor Media, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air force, under exclusive written contract with the Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office, this civilian enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for Air Force Reserve members of the U.S. military services. Contents of HeadsUp are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Air Force. Fight and Win! 418th FW STAFF Brig. Gen, F.C. Williams Capt. James R. Wilson Senior Airman Lara Gale Commander ....... 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