LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --
Junior enlisted service members gathered for an enlisted All
Call organized by U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kenneth Carter, 19th Airlift
Wing command chief, June 28, 2016, at the Walters Community Support Center on
Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
The event gave Airmen an opportunity to ask questions and
voice their concerns to leadership about a variety of topics.
The first question addressed recent retirement system
changes:
Do you have any new
information on the blended retirement system?
First, I would like to say that I encourage all Airmen to
take the Job Knowledge Online (JKO) leadership training module to learn more. It
is a great resource as an initial introduction to the blended retirement system
and will help answer questions as we move into implementation. Key areas of
interest are that those serving on or before Dec. 31, 2017, will be
grandfathered into the current retirement system of 50 percent of base pay after
retiring with 20 years of service, with a 2.5-percent increase for every year after
20. For those serving on or after Jan. 1, 2018, you will fall under the new
Blended Retirement System (BRS) which is 40 percent of base pay at 20 years of
service with a 2-percent increase for every year after 20 years. For those who
have 12 or less years as of Dec. 31, 2017, you will have an option to elect to
stay under the current retirement system or opt into the new Blended Retirement
System. The opt-in window will run from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2018. For
those who fall into this category, you will be provided one-on-one counseling
through the Airman and Family Readiness Center so that you are armed with education
to help make the best choice for you. What you are going to have to look at is
where you are in your military career and what your future plans and goals are
for completing your service. For those looking to make the Air Force a career
and complete 20 years of service, you may want to stay with the current system
depending on your TSP investments, other investments and where you are in your
career to see if making the transition to the BRS is a better option. For those
who joined for education or other reasons and plan on separating earlier than 20
years, investing now and leaving with some monetary savings may be your best
option. You have to determine what’s best for you, based on your goals and what
you want to achieve financially, personally and professionally. There are more
details on how the new Blended Retirement System works in the JKO training with
more financial counseling to follow. Please continue to educate yourself, and
ask your supervisors questions.
Will there be any
budget cuts on basic allowance for housing?
This question was generated from proposals in the 2017
National Defense Authorization Act that would affect the Basic Allowance for
Housing entitlement. Nothing has been finalized, but there is discussion on
making changes to this entitlement. Say you’re a military couple with no dependents.
You’re both drawing single rate basic allowance for housing. The plan would be
to look at both military members as residing at the same residence and draw one
BAH allowance. Similarly, changes are being proposed for military members
married to military members with dependents. The proposal also includes military
members that room together, because they reside at the same residence, would
split the rent payment by getting that amount for their BAH. Nothing has been
finalized on these proposed changes, but know that we have a loud voice out there
that speaks to Capitol Hill on these types of issues. Our senior leadership speak
for us, as does our Air Force Sergeants Association and other agencies who have
our best interests at heart. If you would like to learn more, seek out an AFSA
member or attend a meeting, they have more information on what you can do to
help keep this entitlement.
How can we learn more
about Developmental Special Duty (DSD) processes and opportunities?
You can learn more about developmental special duty
opportunities by talking with your leadership about your career goals, specifically
supervisors during feedback sessions. Planning for a special duty should begin
early in your career, as you look for career broadening opportunities that grow
and develop your leadership and communication skills. The vectoring process is
key to our developmental special duty cycles which are March and September of
every year. The Air Force looks to fill 10 special duties that include
recruiters, military training instructors, career assistance advisors,
technical school instructors, professional military instructors and first
sergeants to name a few. This need is filtered down to the Major Commands who
in turn look at our wings, who receive allocations to fill during these cycle
periods. We never know which of the 10 special duties we will be asked to fill,
that is simply based on Air Force requirements. To be proactive in our approach
to filling these needs, our groups are putting together lists of candidates who
meet the criteria for these special duties. Although this program is not
designed to be voluntary, with many times leadership selecting based on an
outstanding military record, looking at those who have the skill, experience
and talent to fill these positions, we do ask that supervisors at all levels
have conversations with people about these opportunities. Using these lists, we
will be better prepared to fill these allocations during the DSD cycles, using
our best efforts to match the right person at the right time for development. What
you can do is educate yourselves on what special duties are out there. To do
this, our first sergeants are putting together seminars which will be
advertised base wide soon where people who have served in these special duties
come out and speak to those interested. This will enhance your understanding of
the special duty as you talk to people who have been there and done that and is
information you can use in conversations during feedback sessions with your
leadership. In the end, we see the process of looking at your body of work,
educating you on these types of special duty opportunities and having a
conversation with you during feedback sessions about your goals as the best way
to vector and develop you for one of these special duty opportunities.