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Scott AFB affected by Air Force civilian workforce restructuring

  • Published
  • By 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  In response to direction from the Secretary of Defense for DoD to stop civilian growth above fiscal year 2010 levels and the need to add 5,900 positions against the Air Force's top priorities, the Air Force has eliminated approximately 9,000 positions.

Scott AFB has identified 313 Air Force civilian permanent positions that will be eliminated to meet these established budgetary guidelines. There are no positions being added to Air Force missions here as a result of this effort, however, several organizations on base, such as U.S. Transportation Command, are not affected by these measures and continue to hire against their mission priorities.

To begin shaping the workforce to meet future needs, the Air Force implemented hiring controls in May, followed by a 90-day hiring freeze in August, and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority/Voluntary Separation Incentive Program offerings in September.

Mandated by the fiscal year 2012 budget, these actions are designed to accommodate the reduced growth in the civilian workforce by allowing the Air Force to consider where new positions will best support future missions and where current tasks need to be eliminated or reduced.

Of those 313 positions identified at Scott AFB, 114 are ones that were vacant due to previous hiring controls and 49 positions are identified for employees who will voluntarily retire or separate from federal service by Dec. 31 as a result of VERA/VSIP incentives.

Through vacancies created by the voluntary separation programs and hiring freeze, 40 employees will be moved from eliminated positions into other positions for which they qualify. This leaves 110 eliminated occupied positions with employees who have not applied for incentive programs or for which no matching vacancy has been identified at this time. No timeframe has been established for when this action will affect the employees, and Air Force officials stress that every opportunity for voluntary reduction opportunities will be exhausted before the Air Force initiates any involuntary actions.

The Air Force will grow by approximately 5,900 positions in acquisition, the nuclear enterprise, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and other key areas whereas the 9,000 reductions will come from management, staff, and support areas. The positions at Scott reflect the Air Force's force shaping guidance with the largest number of 375th AMW reductions coming from the support areas in the 375th Civil Engineer Squadron and 375th Force Support Squadrons. In addition, the majority of positions affected at Air Mobility Command are in the Manpower, Personnel and Services Directorate, and the Installations and Mission Support Directorate.

The Air Force must still define an additional 4,500 civilian positions for reduction and plans to have those identified in early 2012. As the Air Force approaches the end of the 90-day hiring freeze Nov. 15, and employees approved for VERA/VSIP approach separation by Dec. 31, the Air Force will consider what additional measures may be required to meet future needs. Air Force members should expect continued workforce shaping measures.

Currently, there are 5,085 civilian authorizations at Scott AFB. The civilian workforce adjustments do not affect any Air Force-owned civilians working for U.S. Transportation Command or the Military Surface Distribution and Deployment command since they are funded through a different source. Other headquarters agencies not affected include the Defense Information Systems Agency, and the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization. In addition, these actions do not affect Air Reserve Technicians, which are the dual military/civilian positions for the Reserves.

The workforce organizational restructuring during the next several months will continue to be a high priority according to Col. Michael Hornitschek, 375th AMW commander.

"As part of the Air Force review, some tough decisions are being made in which areas to resource such as our intel, nuclear enterprise, acquisition and weapon systems," he said. "We'll be looking at how this will affect us and working to ensure we continue to provide the essential services members need and what the mission requires. We are committed to helping our employees through this process."

Air Force-wide, local leaders will be sharing the results of the civilian manpower adjustments with their workforces over the next several days.