SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- 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
Can those affected by an unjust annual evaluation rating challenge without fear of reprisal from the commander or senior enlisted leadership?
Great question. Members should not be reprised against for appealing an evaluation they consider unjust or wrong. If a member feels that they are being reprised against, they should contact their leadership and utilize their chain of command to resolve the issue. Members are also encouraged to seek counsel from the Wing Inspector General’s office if their situation is not resolved or at any time they feel the situation warrants IG involvement.
Are companies in the St Louis metro area being made aware they have the opportunity to gain access to highly skilled veterans 180 days before separation for free (Department of Defense Skillbridge Program)? What efforts are being made to get local companies and community partners to participate in this program? Is there an anticipated time this program will be available at Scott?
Excellent and timely question! Under the umbrella of DoD Instruction 1322.29, Job Training, Employment Skills Training, Apprenticeships, and Internships, the Air Force recently published AFI 36-2649 Air Force Guidance Memorandum 2016-01 to implement the JTEST-AI program across the Air Force.
JTEST-AI provides outstanding opportunities for Airmen to prepare for transition to civilian life, through participation in apprenticeship, internship, on-the-job training, and/or job shadowing programs, during their last 180 days on active duty. It is important to note that program participation is contingent on unit/squadron commander’s approval.
A link detailing JTEST-AI Careers Skills Programs opportunities, as well as an automated program application, is located on every Airman’s Air Force Virtual Ed Center dashboard. Once logged-in, cick on CSP at the top of webpage.
A wealth of on-the-job training, pre-apprenticeship, and apprenticeship opportunities is also available through U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Education, American National Standards Institute, and U.S. Department of Labor, Council on Occupational Education, and Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation approved programs. In addition, program opportunities are listed on the DoD Skillbridge website.
Regarding efforts to recruit regional partners to participate in the program, there is currently not a systematic framework to recruit local businesses; however, that could change as program implementation progresses. Over the next several months, the Scott AFB Education Team will be working to expand program awareness through our Transition Assistance Program Pre-separation Briefings, TAP Education Track Seminars, and various additional venues.
For additional information, call or visit an Education Specialist at the Scott Education Office (256-3327, Bldg. 1650, Rm. 58).
INSTALLATION & FACILITIES
Can we get some water drains or sloping on the sports pavilion by the James Gym track? Standing water is a problem after it rains.
Thank you for your feedback on the covered fitness pavilion. After taking a look at the facility, we discovered and removed a buildup of debris surrounding a storm water grate which played a role in the collection of water around and on the patio. Additionally, we assessed that the pavilion’s gutter design could be improved ensuring that runoff drains away from the running track and towards the creek. Our engineers are working on a design to fix the gutters in the coming weeks.
Hopefully, these proposed measures will help alleviate future issues of standing water. If you have any concerns or issues with any Force Support Squadron facilities or services, please continue to bring it to our attention so we can work a solution quickly.
When the new gym equipment arrives at the Fitness Center, can the Belleville Medical Clinic retain some of the older treadmills?
We are excited to move new equipment into the Fitness Center after the renovations are completed in December. While we currently do not have plans to get rid of any of the older treadmills, that plan may change when the new equipment is in place. We will definitely keep the Belleville Clinic in mind and request that you please check in with the Fitness Staff in late December to see if there are any changes to equipment availability.
Any chance for a tennis tournament on base? Is there a plan to repair the courts on base? They are in rough shape.
In the past, tennis tournaments have not been highly attended events, and our fitness team made the difficult decision to cut these tournaments and put funding towards paying officials for other events. Unfortunately, all fitness-led events for the next year have already been scheduled; however, we are happy to look into the idea and add a tennis tournament in the future, if there is enough interest. Private organizations may also plan fitness tournaments with guidance from the fitness staff. If this is something you’re interested in, please contact Mr. Eddie Norvell at 256-4524.
Regarding the condition of the courts, the courts do need to be repaired. We are working to repair the nets this year and are including tennis court renovations in our fitness team’s 5-year project plan. We will continue to look at all options make additional repairs earlier if funding becomes available.
MISCELLANEOUS
I heard there are plans for two mobility exercises this year or next. Instead of evaluating the entire wing, why not evaluate deficient units identified during the last mobility exercise?
Great question. To answer the first part of your question, we are only planning one mobility exercise this fiscal year, and it’s actually taking place this week and is primarily impacting the Operations Group.
To answer your broader question, as part of the Commander’s Inspection Program, our team tailors exercises and inspections to address specific areas of emphasis, to include previous and open deficiencies. We do our best to coordinate our requirements with our mission partners and utilize our Wing Inspection Team members from across the base to ensure we are evaluating individual unit priorities.
While we try our best to focus our efforts on correcting previous deficiencies, there are times that we need to periodically exercise the Wing at large. When we do large exercises, we try to minimize the impact across the installation and ensure we focus our energy on those areas that require the most attention. Again, thank you for your question.
Why is our e-mail storage limit only 90MB? It seems like this hasn’t changed in years, and by my calculations the entire base’s email storage could now fit on a 3TB hard drive! I’m aware of other storage options, but those don’t help when I need to access my e-mail from a non-military network. Will this change anytime soon?
Thank you for your question! We do understand that the current mailbox size limits are outdated and not in line with industry leaders such as Gmail or Hotmail. Others around the Air Force have voiced similar concerns. The good news is that the Air Force does have plans to upgrade its email system in the near future to provide larger mailbox size limits; however, until such time, the legacy environment is not able to support increasing mailbox size limits for all Airmen.
In the meantime, we will continue to advocate for larger email storage limits for our base population.