Mish_Hacker

Same here with the CMS case function. Yesterday I had Error 1, and today its Error 180... I'm grasping at straws now :) I saw this tidbit on the 2014 Retirements Facebook page. It sounds like there was a webinar yesterday that implies that VSP apps won't get processed until after May 1: I have not verified the below but it should be the latest from an AFPC webinar. - AFPC will not send any TERA/VSP list until after 1 May 14. The majority of TERA applications will be finalized this week pending final numbers from Air Staff. VSP applications will be adjudicated after the window closes 1 May 14. - New TERA window (15 Apr - 3 May) for enlisted and officer force that were previously ineligible but now eligible due to published matrices last week. -- Deployers now eligible for TERA window but retirement date has to be 120 days after return to home station -- ADSC waivers will be reviewed and/or approved based on new guidance giving AFPC waiver authority for UPT training, advanced flying training, etc. This impacts our U-2 and MC-12 rated community who can now apply for TERA/VSP due to changes in ADSC waivers (attch 1) - There will be a new TERA/VSP window opening for the Oct 14 RIF board. Dates have not yet been established. Expect RIF PSDM to contain information when published - AF/A1 currently working through issue of folks receiving TERA approvals only to have it rescinded. If we have personnel who were affected by this administrative error, their names need to up channeled to AFPC Has anyone else heard anything about VSP applications being put on hold and processed after May 1? I can't find any source documents to support this, so I don't know if it is anything more than just rumor....

Chizz, I agree with you on most of the coming in on weekends stuff for the still pending FM applications. As much as it strains my patience, there's only so much they can do at a time, and throwing in weekend days doesn't really make a huge dent in the already drawn out FM program. They haven't met a deadline yet anyways.... I disagree though on the AFPC weekend work with regards to the "take back" retirement stuff. The approval retraction is much more than an OPR meeting some (essentially) arbitrary deadline. Someone who has served honorably for 15+ years certainly deserves much better than to have to wait until Monday for someone to give them an explanation (vs a robot email) and (hopefully) a solution...

New Air Force Motto: Aim High...Fly, Fight, Win* * Terms and conditions apply.

I could not keep a straight face typing that... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

AFPC really needs to get their PA folks ahead of this. They should come clean with the mistake publicly, immediately outline the remedy (let them go), and explain how they will prevent this mistake in the future. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not to stoke the fear, but this has much bigger ramifications than just to those who have already been hosed. Now everyone who is approved for any of these programs is worried that they will get a "Sorry, nevermind" email. Whatever shred of AFPC credibility remained is forever gone. If they don't reverse those reversals, then every approval is really just a "maybe."

Aviation Retention Pay (formerly Aviation Continuation Pay) - Full Waiver Recoupment Required - Yes Notes: Recoupment of unearned portions of bonuses is required under the LADSC Waiver Program to include but not limited to retention bonuses, special pays, tuition assistance, and any other monetary incentives unless specifically exempted. When recoupment is applicable, recoupment will be an amount that bears the same ratio to the total amount or cost provided to the unearned/unserved portion of active duty the officer agreed to serve. Officers who leave the Air Force under voluntary separation and retirement programs without completing their Post-9/11 GI Bill Active Duty Service Commitment forfeit the transferred benefit, and any benefits that dependents used may be treated as an overpayment subject to recoupment by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Officers who wish to retain their transfer benefit may consider continued service in the Guard or Reserve through the PALACE CHASE program. See Attachment 3, FY14 PALACE CHASE Program (PSDM 13-65), for further information. For questions, contact the DVA at 1-888-GIBILL1 (1-888-442-4551). This note does not apply to officers approved for VSP or TERA.

On the Voluntary eligibility matrix: The note in the upper-left hand corner that said, "As of 28 Mar 2014 1700hrs (eom Feb inventory)" on the matrix posted yesterday is no longer there. Now that corner is blank. Infer away...

Just curious: what's the difference between 18S and 11U? Is 18X the non-core AFSC?

From mypers (note, this is not all of them, but I couldn't figure out how to copy the table....): ADSC Waivers UPT - 6 years Advanced Flying Training - 3 years - Initial Qualification/Requalification - AETC Pilot Instructor Qualification - Flying Instructor Qualification - Qualification Training conducted at 306 FTG NOTE: Waivers are not authorized for ADSCs Rated Officers incurred through attendance at Weapons Instructor Course and Test Pilot School. Recoupment of unearned portions of bonuses is required under the LADSC Waiver Program to include but not limited to retention bonuses, special pays, tuition assistance, and any other monetary incentives unless specifically exempted. When recoupment is applicable, recoupment will be an amount that bears the same ratio to the total amount or cost provided to the unearned/unserved portion of active duty the officer agreed to serve. Officers who leave the Air Force under voluntary separation and retirement programs without completing their Post-9/11 GI Bill Active Duty Service Commitment forfeit the transferred benefit, and any benefits that dependents used may be treated as an overpayment subject to recoupment by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Officers who wish to retain their transfer benefit may consider continued service in the Guard or Reserve through the PALACE CHASE program. See Attachment 3, FY14 PALACE CHASE Program (PSDM 13-65), for further information. For questions, contact the DVA at 1-888-GIBILL1 (1-888-442-4551). This note does not apply to officers approved for VSP or TERA. The above ADSCs will not be waived beyond the timeframe authorized in the above table. The last sentence here seems to contradict the rest of the note. Anybody got any ideas on this one?

Mine said not excess as well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Still no news on the RIF matrix... Or will they put overage information onto the voluntary matrix?

Congrats! Are you at Dyess or Ellsworth?

If they include the 04 year group (not eligible for the RIF, still?), that might get them to 550. Or that number could include the late-to-rate folks in the 01-03 year groups, or both. It could be referencing the CSOs, though Nav training ADSC was not excepted from the waiver in 13-65. But, who knows at this point, right? Good luck to the TERA applicants today....

I think that the ADSC waiver is one thing that they are waiting on. In my opinion, the primary reasons they aren't approving VSP applications yet is because they are swamped processing the enlisted applications or they are waiting on final approval of the overage numbers. I think the TERA approval numbers are related to a specific percentage (2% of the eligibles is what I seem to remember reading somewhere), whereas VSP should be up to, but not exceed, the RIF overages. Perhaps after releasing the RIF matrix, the MAJCOMs pushed back on the numbers. Also, the Congressional budget agreement might have caused some adjustments as well. I think both of these could change the number that the Air Force is looking to cut. Your second question is the tricky one. If adjustments needed to be made, why not just update the matrix? Instead, they pulled it and have been mum about it since. I think they intended to be transparent when they released it the first time. Whether they take that approach now is anyone's guess. Back in December and January, I was hopeful that the process would be transparent. As April approaches, I'm less optimistic that anything will be different this time... Sorry Fozzy.... Perhaps AFPC is now in the "try to disapprove as many VSP applications as possible due to narrowly worded eligibility guidance" phase

I was actually just joking about the migration and using that time to get waiver authority. I definitely agree the VSP processing will probably occur after TERA, due to the timeline difference. I'm still curious as to when they will release the "updated" RIF matrix. Until that happens, I don't think they'll process VSP. Unless they are just gonna keep the RIF numbers secret... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

vMPF is back up... I'm still "Referred to BPO." It appears that this downtime was not used to get SECAF waiver authority for UPT ADSC....

Any bets on whether or not the vmpf migration loses all of our VSP applications? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Weren't they just supposed to update the RIF matrix? Why did they pull it down? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is sadly unsurprising that the official responses continue to avoid answering the relevant questions. The questions among officers primarily deals with those who were listed as overages on the January RIF matrix. Since AFPC has pulled that matrix, rather than updating it, it leaves many of us puzzled: Am I in an overage AFSC/yeargroup? I was in January, but now I'm unsure. When will this information be released? If 50% of applicants are ineligible, then what's the holdup on the other 5,000 applications? The January 23 voluntary matrix is still posted on the MyPers website. Were the "ineligible" applicants in blue rectangles or red ones? AFPC could save itself a lot of wasted effort by producing clear and timely guidance and by updating, rather than subversively removing, the previously released guidance. With all the flail around these programs, you would expect some changes to the Voluntary Matrix and the RIF matrix. It's been two months....

First off, thank you for asking the question. Senior Leaders always want questions, especially the "tough" ones that come from the people whose voices and concerns normally get watered down through the layers of bureaucracy as they pass through the official channels. Unfortunately, as other have previously mentioned, the tendency is for Senior Leaders to deflect and not actually answer the specific question. No, Madam Secretary, there are 415 pilots listed as an overage (not just mobility) of about 2500 (which does not include any fighter pilots) -- we are ONLY talking about the overage and eligible numbers produced by AFPC. I would like to infer from her answer that we can expect those ADSCs to be waived, but we also inferred from Gen Welsh and 13-130 that those eligible for RIF were eligible for VSP (reality -- still unknown). One thing I take from this is that the primary concern of 2500ish pilots is not getting the direct attention of the SECAF. There are two parts to the question that she didn't answer: 1) Is the 415 number an accurate overage? Will a new matrix be released with new numbers? If so, when will that happen? Will these new numbers be significantly different than the ones released in January? If so, what caused the change in numbers? I don't expect her to know this exactly, but someone in the front row should get her that info ASAP. When AFPC release numbers and then pull them back, people question the validity of anything they produce or say, thus they move up the chain for answers. Your question mentioned nothing about fighter pilots, who are not listed as eligible on the Voluntary or Involuntary Matrices -- you know what you're talking about, while she does not have the same info. If only you could have had the RIF matrix projected onto the screen for her to see... 2) Will the SECAF authorize ADSC waivers for those who apply for VSP and are listed as an overage? Is that what she means by "processed?" Many of us were under the impression that part of the holdup on our applications involved "statutory limits" and "waiver authority," per the AFPC memos a couple weeks back. If you are the waiver authority do you intend to approve these waivers or to delegate the authority? Have the statutory hurdles been cleared? We can all understand, grudgingly, that a pause to help AFPC get their stuff together may be a necessary delay. What we do want to know is what happens next. This is a question that she should be able to answer, as it requires her signature. If the waiver authority request hasn't gotten to her yet, then why not? I do appreciate her last response as to the logic of allowing people to voluntarily separate before meeting an involuntary board. That's what we've been talking about this whole time. The question is, can we expect a response soon? If she is able to ask this of the personnel folks using that logic, she should then be able to answer question 2) and maybe question 1).

It would be nice for AFPC to notify these individuals and THEN make a press release. It seems that this process is: Protect Manufacture the appearance of competence at AFPC, then clean up the details later. Speaking of notification of eligibles, weren't we all supposed to receive an email in December notifying us of the programs for which we were eligible?

Based on the initial RIF matrix, there were 2563 pilots (11X) eligible for the RIF in the 2005-2008 year groups. Of those eligible, there was an estimated overage of 415, all with UPT ADSC remaining. So, does AFPC now decide that 16% overage is no longer an overage? Or is VSP only available to those in the 2001-2003 year groups which has an overage of 135 (10%) of 1298 eligible (though some may still have ADSCs in those year groups). For those without ADSCs, it seems a bit wasteful for the Air Force to pay these people to get out, when they already have the option to separate or face the RIF. The VSP is more useful to provide those who don't already have the option to separate with an opportunity to forgo the trouble of meeting the RIF board. Plus, UPT ADSCs were waived in '07; how is the rationale different this time? I'm still assuming a lot, though I doubt any of it is safe. It would seem that AFPC would identify overages for the RIF prior to processing VSP applications. However, it would also seem appropriate to know what your plan is before you start a program, but that obviously did not happen either.

So, does this mean no UPT waivers? If so, are no officers with a UPT ADSC going to be RIF eligible? How could you have 5,000 of 10,000 applications not eligible -- Answer: Unclear guidance. If you didn't know what you were doing when you started, don't try to blame it on those poor saps who applied...