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!
INSTALLATION & FACILITIES
Can we get a bridge to connect Patriots Landing to the Metro Train Station?
Thank you for the suggestion. Currently, there are no plans or funding to construct a bridge between Patriots Landing and the Shiloh-Scott St. Louis Metro stop adjacent to Patriots Landing. Our rationale for not building a bridge includes cost, the proximity of Patriots Landing to the Metro stop, ease of access via established roadways, and readily available parking and bike racks.
In addition, we do not own the land adjacent to the base which would be required to construct a bridge.
Can officers and retirees eat at the DFAC?
Good question! There are certain circumstances where officers can eat in the dining facility; however, these circumstances do not apply to us at Scott.
The installation commander may authorize officers to eat at the DFAC if other food options are not available or adequate. Because there are other food options on base (other FSS facilities and AAFES), officers are not authorized to eat at the DFAC on a regular basis. For our retiree population, three years ago our contract funding for the DFAC was reduced by 30 percent, which forced us to eliminate all non-mission essential use of the facility.
Our funding has not been restored to allow us any additional flexibility.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The AF Food Transformation Initiative is coming to Scott AFB next year, and when FTI is completed in October 2017, the “adequate” and “available” clause in the current Air Force Instructions will no longer apply and our DFAC will be open to all personnel. Meanwhile, I encourage you to take advantage of all our food choices on the base to include the new McAllister’s Deli, new Stars and Stripes menu, Zeppelin’s and many other excellent choices throughout the base.
MISCELLANEOUS
Why do we spend so much time writing and reviewing OPR/EPR bullets only to rewrite them again in sentence format for decorations?
OPRs, EPRs, and LOEs are governed by AFI 36-2406, Officer and Enlisted Evaluation Systems, and are designed to allow raters, additional evaluators and reviewers to provide the most relevant and impactful statements concerning a member’s performance over the reporting period.
The Air Force has determined the most efficient way to do this is to use bullet statements and extensive use of acronyms, initializations, abbreviations, etc. Additionally, OPRs, EPRs, and LOEs are not designed to be read aloud to an audience. Rather, they are designed to provide an accurate assessment of performance over a specific time period.
Military decorations, on the other hand, are governed by AFI 36-2803, Air Force Military Awards and Decorations Program, and are written in narrative or sentence format because the decoration is intended to recognize deserving acts and should be formally presented or read aloud, typically to an audience. Narrative format is more appropriate than bullet format for this purpose. I hope this answers your question. If not, please let me know.