Here is the next round of Q&As from my most recent Commander’s Call.
I posted these responses and previous Q&A to our wing Sharepoint site and our public website, www.scott.af.mil, for future access and review.
Please keep the questions coming!
Here is the next round of Q&As from my most recent Commander’s Call.
I posted these responses and previous Q&A to our wing Sharepoint site and our public website, www.scott.af.mil, for future access and review.
Please keep the questions coming!
PERSONNEL ISSUES
What will happen to commanders who do not have oversight of their people when it’s time to rate them accordingly during the EPR rating period?
Thank you for your question. Commanders, with the advice from their Senior Enlisted Leaders, make promotion recommendation decisions for all Airmen in their units. If a commander has not gained an appropriate amount of information during the rating period, he or she can use the advice of his or her SNCO corps to assist in creating an accurate picture of their personnel.
Commanders of larger units are consistently relying on supervisors and proper chain of command inputs for appropriate ratings. A unit with 10 or less eligible Airmen as of the static close out date is considered a small unit. Small unit commanders have the opportunity to aggregate their eligible Airmen to the Enlisted Forced Distribution Panel for promotion consideration.
However, aggregation to the EFDP is not automatic. Eligible members who meet the EFDP and do not receive a “Promote Now” or “Must Promote” will receive a “Promote” as the promotion recommendation. Commanders with less than 10 eligible Airmen are not allowed to make “Promote Now” or “Must Promote” recommendations on the member’s EPR. The EFDP senior rater has this authority. If you have any more questions regarding the new Enlisted Evaluation System, please do not hesitate to ask.
Is it possible for SAFB to switch to the compressed schedule (every other Friday off) like Keesler AFB?
Thank you for your question. This is an area we looked into previously, and unfortunately, our mission in the 375th Air Mobility Wing does not lend itself to the compressed schedule. We have an active flying mission and as well as requirements to provide mission-ready Airmen and equipment to the Combatant Commanders which require operating hours to include Fridays.
Additionally, our day-to-day mission involves providing extensive support to our mission partners, such as United States Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, Surface Deployment & Distribution Command, 18th Air Force, the 618th Air Operations Center, and multiple other partners who are on duty at least five days a week, and in many cases operate 24/7 functions. To execute our mission as well as provide the best possible service and mission support, we need to maintain our current schedule.
Is there a way we could get more participation in the Gate Volunteer Program?
Great question.
We are actively seeking participation in the gate volunteer program. I recently met with mission partners from across the base, and this was an area we discussed as an opportunity to support our Security Forces who are heavily deployed throughout the year. If you are unsure whether your unit is participating, please contact your First Sergeant or Commander to determine if your unit is involved and what opportunities are available.
If your unit is not currently involved, but you wish to volunteer, please pass through your leadership to contact our POC, MSgt Greg Riley at DSN 256-6920, or email at gregory.riley.4@us.af.mil.
INSTALLATION & FACILITIES
When is the drainage going to be addressed on South Drive in front of the FamCamp area?
Improving the drainage of stormwater on the installation has been and will continue to be a high priority for our team. The specific area you mentioned is a particularly difficult area for managing the stormwater as much of the flooding is caused by outflows from the surrounding communities. We have been partnering with communities on both sides of the installation to develop watershed plans for the Silver Creek Watershed, with the goal of reducing the amount of water coming onto the installation.
We are several years into this multi-year effort, and the communities upstream are just starting to implement the Upper Silver Creek Watershed Plan. We are working on the Lower Silver Creek Watershed plan as well, and we hope to have a plan developed within the next two years.
In addition to working with our community partners to reduce the amount of water coming onto the installation, we are designing improvements to the Scott AFB stormwater infrastructure to better manage the flows when we have large rain events.
This September, we received funding to start a $5M project to improve drainage on the west side of the base along Ward Drive. The improvements are now being designed and construction will be ongoing from Spring 2017 through Spring 2018. Our next major planned stormwater system project will be to improve drainage along Hangar Road, particularly around Hangar 3. We hope to receive funding in FY18 to begin that project.
Our third priority is to address drainage issues around the FamCamp area and Pryor Drive, but we expect it will be several years before we will be able to fund the project. In the meantime, if flooding issues do temporarily block the access road to the FamCamp from Golf Course Road, the area can still be accessed via the entrance off of Pryor Drive.
There is a lot of demand for Walleyball. Can we have all the courts in the James Gym cable of putting a net up?
I really appreciate your question. The James Gym currently has one court with wall mounts and netting for Walleyball; however, our fitness professionals have not noted an increased demand which would require expansion to additional courts. If we receive greater demand from our base community, we’ll be better able to justify the expense. That said, if you would like to reserve a court or have any questions about access or expansion, please contact our Fitness Staff at 256-4524.