AFPC command chief outlines personnel changes Published July 16, 2007 By Senior Airman Jason Hernandez 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The second installment of the three-part Air Force 60th Anniversary Celebration Leadership Lecture Series was held at the Conference Center here July 12. The lecture's featured guest was Chief Master Sgt. Terrence Reed, command chief of the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. Chief Reed discussed the changes taking place at the Air Force Flight Test Center, and how these changes affect everyone in the Air Force. One of AFPC's goals is to improve accuracy of personnel data by reducing steps and enabling Airmen to interact with a contact center, Chief Reed said. The contact center is located at AFPC, where decision makers and approval authorities reside. "AFPC is the headquarters for all military and civilian personnel actions," Chief Reed said. "Just envision the contact center as one big military personnel flight at a centralized location." As AFPC has reduced the size of MPFs, they have increased the size of the Air Force Contact Center, he said. Another plan is to expand capability to a 24 hours a day, seven days a week operation, Chief Reed said. This will enable Airmen to conduct business from any location with Web access, a phone or a personnel office. "Just imagine having to make a change to your personnel record and you're a shift worker," he said. "You're at work when we're normally closed. A 24/7 operation means when you're at work, we're at work." Even actions, such as retirement planning, can be accomplished on weeknights, or on weekends, Chief Reed said. The change will reduce the need to walk in to an MPF and work with personnel. Multiple plans are packaged into bundles called spirals before they are scheduled for release, he said. "In Spiral 1, we delivered enlisted retraining, correction of military records and accessions via the Web," Chief Reed said. "We have seven spirals planned, in which many personnel service delivery transformation applications will be done via the Web." In one of AFPCs next spirals, their vision is to centrally accomplish assignments and orders, he said. Orders are currently made at the duty station, which can sometimes result in a loss of communication and accuracy. "One base may have a different set of rules than another," Chief Reed said. "The benefit of the Air Force Contact Center is you get the same answer wherever you go." Other changes are also on the horizon, such as the new performance report forms due to be released in August. Progress is also being made to move to a paperless records system. "We have converted 33 bases so far to a paperless system," Chief Reed said. "The records being kept at an MPF will all be placed in a computer database." Records will no longer be carried from base to base, he said. As a result, personal information will be less likely to get lost. Chief Reed said these changes will allow Airmen to be more responsible for their career. "From the time someone joins the Air Force to the time of separation, we are taking care of them," Chief Reed said. "Take your career personally. Although personnel flight was not the group responsible for your career, we were the ones doing many things for you. It's your career; don't leave it in someone else's hands."