ACC officials announce headquarters reductions

from Air Combat command Public Affairs

7/18/2014 - JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va.  -- Air Force officials recently announced plans to reduce the total number of civilian and military positions on the Air Combat Command headquarters staff here by 742.

The action is part of the Air Force's Management Headquarters Review, an effort to increase efficiencies and improve support to the warfighter while helping the service to meet the Department of Defense's directive to reduce costs and staff levels in order to provide the most capable force at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the department-wide initiative in December 2013.

Although the Air Force plan calls for reductions in headquarters positions, or "spaces," no later than October 1, 2014, ACC officials stressed that any personnel reductions would likely take much longer and wouldn't necessarily correspond directly to the number of spaces.

In the case of active duty military members, individuals will likely continue in their assignments as normal before eventually transitioning to a new assignment, without a backfill. On the civilian side, some positions are already vacant and the personnel community's focus will be to outplace civilian personnel through a variety of transition programs.

While details are still being finalized, officials stressed every effort will be made to minimize impacts on personnel.

"There is a set process," said Patricia Whitaker, the 633 Air Base Wing's Chief of Civilian Personnel. "First there will be voluntary separation measures such as the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Program. Then the numbers of vacant positions are evaluated. Once we exhaust the vacancies, we can consider involuntary separation measures."

This three-step process means the total time between the initial announcement of reductions, notification of union representatives and management, implementation of voluntary separation or retirement programs, and potential involuntary reductions in force may be significant. Ultimately the time allows officials and those affected to develop plans that can reduce the impact of the actions.
During a previous reduction, Whitaker's office achieved a 98 percent placement of more than 200 civilians whose positions were selected for reduction.

"We are committed to using all voluntary separation measures available to help place an employee," Whitaker said. "They are certainly welcome to come to our Civilian Personnel Section if they have questions about the process."

ACC directors are currently identifying what positions will be eliminated and until this is done, Civilian Personnel are unable to notify the union. In addition, specifics about VERA/VSIP programs are still pending for ACC personnel.

"We know this is an uncertain time for ACC's civilian force," said Patricia Whitaker, 633 Air Base Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Va., Chief of Civilian Personnel. "I've been in the federal government for 22 years, and I want people to know that there are a lot of options out there, should their position be selected for reduction."

One action people can take now while waiting for more information about whether they will be affected is to ensure their personnel information, including their resume, is current. Whitaker said she recommends civilians always maintain an updated resume.

Many of the counseling services and chaplain services available to Airmen are also available to civilians. In addition, the command is working on setting up forums to give personnel an opportunity to hear firsthand about the impact.