AFPC briefs Team Minot Airmen on nuclear enterprise assignments Published Jan. 12, 2011 By : Ms. Laurie Arellano Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- A team of experts from the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas presented briefings and answered questions from Team Minot Airmen here Jan. 12 as part of a nuclear enterprise roadshow geared towards Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen in nuclear positions and with critical skills and experience. "This is a no-fail mission," said Maj. Gen. Alfred Stewart, commander of Air Force Personnel Center. "Many of you are in jobs that require no less than a 100 percent minimum score for passing." General Stewart said because of the high demands of the nuclear enterprise and the crushing operations tempo here, he wanted Airmen to know the Air Force appreciates the work they do here. "We are here to take care of you," General Stewart said regarding the mission of AFPC. "And we have to meet the needs of the Air Force." He said continuing to strengthen the nuclear enterprise is still the number one priority of the Air Force, and it is the personnel center's mission to ensure they are doing everything they can to support that priority. The team's nuclear assignments spokesperson Col. Michael Burton said there are some well-known challenges to getting right the personnel aspect of strengthening the nuclear enterprise. "Experience is spread thinner," he said. "The force is smaller and there are more (assignment) opportunities out there, which dilutes the experience." Colonel Burton said that's because there have been some key nuclear billets added in staff positions, along with additional units and expanded missions including the new B-52 squadron here, and the building up the Air Force's newest major command, Air Force Global Strike Command, at Barksdale AFB, La. "It's harder to grow an experience base," he said. He said building depth and breadth in nuclear experience and ensuring key billets are filled by the right people is a long-term part of continuing to strengthen the nuclear enterprise and meeting the Air Force's needs. "It takes time to get healthy," he said. But the personnel center is addressing the nuclear experience piece through several mechanisms, including advertising key nuclear billets on EQUAL-plus, considering several enlisted AFSCs for looks by developmental teams and increasing nuclear enterprise education. "We want to ensure the nuclear enterprise is empowered and developed to meet the mission," said Col. Burton. The team also discussed the enlisted assignments system and was available to answer questions from Airmen concerned about their careers and permanent change of station options. Colonel Burton emphasized to the Airmen the number one way to leverage the personnel system to their advantage is to volunteer. "Our system is based around people returning from overseas and people going overseas to fill those empty billets," he said. "Know where you're eligible to go, and volunteer." He said the cornerstone of the assignments system is fairness and equality. "The reality is Airmen have a significant role in the assignments process." Colonel Burton said because the system is built on fairness and equality, qualified volunteers are sought first. General Stewart said one of the reasons they decided to conduct the roadshow was to convey to Airmen AFPC 's mission is to take care of them, and to dispel misconceptions. Iit's important to remember your assignments are managed by the people in your career field, not anonymous personnelists," he said. The team met with senior leadership here, and relayed their understanding that the number one issue at Minot AFB is people qualified under the Personnel Reliability Program. "We know there are problems, from getting enough doctors here to clear the backlog, to having enough Airmen to meet the standards," said General Stewart. He said AFPC is working through the processes to ensure enough people qualified under PRP are available for duty at critical bases like Minot. He said he believes the changes being made regarding personnel in the nuclear enterprise will make a difference here at Minot AFB. "The manning issue is a huge process," said General Stewart. "We're not done yet."