By Col. Laura Lenderman, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander
/ Published March 23, 2016
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Last week, I ran the sixth in a series of "Q&A" articles, which are in response to questions asked during my last Commander's Call. This is the seventh article in the series. I'll be posting the responses to all of the questions on a Sharepoint site for future access and review. Please keep the questions coming!
PATERNITY POLICY
Can fathers get out of the Air Force just like mothers can when they have a baby?
Currently, Air Force Instruction 36-3208, Administrative Separation of Airmen, only allows women to request separation under the "Pregnancy or Childbirth" clause. This request has to be supported by an AF Form 422, Physical Profile Serial Report, confirming the pregnancy or a DA 3349, Medical Condition-Physical Profile Record.
The Air Force does not have a specific clause for a father to request separation for a new born. If the father requests to separate due to a newborn, then the request must be based on dependency/hardship or miscellaneous reasons. Our personnel experts can counsel Airmen about the conditions for approval and evidence needed to support the request.
If a gay couple is planning on having a child through a surrogate, are they afforded paternity leave?
While there has been discussion regarding changes to parental and adoption leave, those proposals require updated legislation to implement. There has been no change to law or policy, and those proposals are not executable at this time.
Maternity leave, paternity leave, ordinary leave, adoption and surrogacy each has very specific meanings and related benefits, etc.
Maternity leave is granted under the medical community and is considered "convalescent type leave." The Secretary of Defense recently announced a DoD-wide standard that increased maternity leave from six weeks to 12 weeks of non-chargeable maternity leave for mothers.
Paternity leave is covered in the Personnel community and is a benefit for married members according to AFI 36-3003. Current paternity policy authorizes 10 days to married active duty service members whose spouses give birth to a child. The SecDef's Force of the Future initiative looks to expand parental leave to two weeks; however, as mentioned, that will require a change in legislation.
In addition, the Air Force authorizes commanders to approve up to 21 days per calendar year for applicants of a qualifying child adoption. A qualifying adoption is defined as the member being eligible for adoption reimbursement of qualified adoption expenses. For mil-to-mil couples, currently only one member can be granted an adoption leave of absence. However, the SecDef is seeking Congressional authority to provide two weeks of leave for the second parent as well.
Surrogacy is a slightly different subject and may or may not involve a qualifying adoption after the birth. For those Airmen with specific or unique circumstances, please engage our medical or personnel experts to ensure we exhaust all avenues and leave options for new parents.
OPS TEMPO
Is everyone working six days on, one day off schedule, or is it just my unit? In a facility that is over 100 percent manning is there a reason why we are working like this?
I asked our group commanders if anyone was working a 6/1 schedule and after checking with their squadrons, all replied "no." We do have Security Forces Airmen working Panama shifts and Firefighters working long shifts, but I'm not aware of a 6/1 shift in our wing. If you can provide more details of which unit or section is working a 6/1 schedule, please let me know.
Rumor has it we are losing airfield customers. If so, then what are we doing about it to keep up operations/support readiness?
Since 2011, aircraft operations at Scott have decreased by approximately 40 percent. This decline aligns with the departure of the C-9 DV mission from SAFB. To compound the loss of a significant mission set, sequestration hit in 2013. For the first time in over a decade, flying operations supported at Scott dropped below 20,000 operations annually.
Over the past 10-months, the 375th Operations Support Squadron has worked diligently to increase aircraft operations advertising Scott as the base of choice for "gas-n-go" and traffic pattern training--ultimately resulting in increased readiness for multiple specialties across the installation.
In addition, legacy restrictions have been lifted to allow more flexibility for aircrew, and support services have been overhauled to provide world-class support at AMC's Showcase Wing. These initiatives have resulted in the first increase in aircraft operations at Scott since 2011!
In 2015, Scott reversed the trend supporting 20,074 ops--a 25 percent increase from 2014. In the near future, Scott will open its first-ever joint-use drop zone and will offer two additional aircraft approaches. We anticipate operations will continue to rise with constant operations focus and advertisement. Change is in the air!
With the current situation in Syria and the President's national address, do you foresee a stop-loss being enacted?
Stop-loss occurs when the military deems that, due to manning shortages, a member cannot separate or retire on their established dates due to operational tempo. For example, if a member is scheduled to retire on April 1, 2016, but the Air Force institutes stop-loss for that member's AFSC, then the member would be denied retirement until the stop-loss was lifted. Regarding the current situation, the Air Force has not issued guidance at this time on instituting stop-loss.
COMMUNICATIONS
Can we get a longer term schedule added to the MyMC2 smart phone application?
The MyMC2 smart phone application is populated by approximately 50 event creators throughout the installation; therefore, populating information is based on their timelines. As best we can, we like to notify personnel of long-range events, and we post many of these events at on the wing sharepoint site under the "FSS Calendar of Events." Currently there are events shown on this calendar through December 2016.
Additionally, our FSS team populates event data onto MyMC2; events that have been finalized are posted on the 375 FSS Facebook page and automatically populated to MyMC2 usually one to two months in advance. I'm sure that you can appreciate the difficulty with planning too far out in advance, ensuring that we have all planning considerations finalized before publishing a final event date, but we'll do our best to keep you in the know!
FACILITIES/PROJECTS
Are there plans to renovate P-10 in the future?
Yes! The design for renovating P-10 was completed in early February. The future project involves a total interior renovation and upgrading of the 41,500 sq. ft. Consolidated Support Center Facility to provide better customer service and improve the administrative work areas. This includes upgrading HVAC, electrical, communication, plumbing, fire alarm/mass notification, and adding fire protection systems. We await future project and construction funding to make these renovations a reality.
Are the bollards going to become automatic at the gates?
We did have a project that included an easier lift (hydraulic type) bollard system to replace the current bollards at both gates. However, this project was not funded, but we continue to work to integrate a more cost effective and manpower efficient way to provide maximum force protection capabilities at our gates, and minimize the burden on our Defenders.
Why was the pavilion at the running track so over engineered and why was so much money spent over engineering it?
This new structure was designed and purchased to meet the specs of the requested size of the structure. In order to provide the requested space and meet wind load requirements, the structure is appropriately engineered. Additionally, this ensures that the structure can withstand the harsh environmental conditions and provide a safe environment for Airmen for many years to come.
Are you making repairs to the softball field?
Yes, the Fitness Center team is working on a plan to improve the Softball fields. Work will begin in the spring, consisting of new scoreboards, bleachers, repairs to restrooms, new bases, and some work on the outfield. Play ball!
With funding being cut and the playgrounds on the chopping block, could we engage with professional-organizations and do an adopt-a-playground program?
Most certainly, an adopt-a-playground program sounds like a wonderful idea. Although there are some playgrounds that require so much reinvestment and are in areas that have other playgrounds nearby, we have decided to divest them. If you or your organization would like to take on a community service project, please contact me or CE customer service, and we can work out some areas that are in need of some tender loving care and that meet the abilities and time availabilities of your group. Depending on the playground that you are speaking of, we will need to ensure whether that playground is on Air Force property or property that has been deeded to Hunt (our military family housing manager); different rule sets may apply depending on this factor.
PROMOTION SYSTEM
Now that the weighted EPR system is in effect, how is that going to affect promotion increments?
Promotion increments will not change, as manning levels are congressionally mandated. They are not dependent on how the Air Force scores promotion calculations. Promotion calculation scores are on MyPers for viewing, and the formulas incorporate the new point values.
FUNDING
Can there be a discussion with HQ AMC to receive TWCF funding for the LRS Small Air Terminal?
Yes, and we actually do receive some Transportation Working Capital Fund money. The 375th AMW and its associated aircraft primary mission is Operations & Maintenance funded. The TWCF reimburses Wing O&M for the fair share of common General and Administrative base support costs of the TWCF mission. The Wing receives both O&M funding as well as reimbursable G&A funding from USTRANSCOM through HQ AMC to support TWCF airlift non-contingency requirements. The funding of aerial port operations uses both of these sources of funding to perform its day-to-day mission.