DENVER -- Air Force Reserve officers are reaping the benefits of completing their Reserve Officer Development Plans as they step into new opportunities to serve.
"Without development team involvement, in particular being on the squadron commander list, I would never have received an opportunity to be an individual mobilization augmentee to a squadron commander," said Lt. Col. Mike Heard, IMA to the commander of the 11th Civil Engineer Squadron at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C.
"Working with my civil engineering assignment facilitator, who helped me find appropriate opportunities, was invaluable. The work my facilitator does should be studied and copied by all functional areas."
The R-ODP program is an opportunity for officers to voice their Air Force career goals. Airmen are asked to consider where they want to serve, if they want a command position, and what developmental education they desire. They're encouraged to include their qualifications and short-, mid- and long-term goals.
Colonel Heard said completing the R-ODP was easy and didn't take much time.
"You can get so bogged down in the day-to-day or month-to-month keeping up with participation and readiness requirements," he said. "The R-ODP gives you an excuse to step back and think about your future and the contributions you could make."
Reserve officers can complete their R-ODPs by going to the Air Reserve Personnel Center Web site at www.arpc.afrc.af.mil and clicking on the blue "R-ODP -- Take charge of your Reserve career" box.
Last year ARPC hosted 34 development team events, and the team reviewed more than 11,000 officer records.
Through open dialog, the teams determine the best counsel for each reservist and create vectors. The teams determine -- based on the R-ODPs, performance reports and other relevant personnel information - the officers best qualified to serve in key leadership or commander positions. The resulting key position/commander certified list is then provided to hiring officials across the Air Force.
Lt. Col. Jannette Zmaeff attributes her recent selection as the 911th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron commander at Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pa., to being on that list.
"My new commander (Col. Frank Amodeo, 911th Operations Group commander) was quite committed to make his choice from the recommended list of commanders," Colonel Zmaeff said.
In fact, Colonel Amodeo is an absolute believer in force development and recommends other commanders tap the key position/commander certified list when hiring.
"This process provided to me candidates I would have otherwise not known about," Colonel Amodeo said. "Force development is long overdue in the Air Force Reserve Command, and if developed properly will help promote quality leaders caring for our Citizen Airmen and global mission for years to come."
The 459th Air Refueling Wing at Andrews AFB, Md., also selected a new AES commander using the key position/commander certified list.
"The force development process provided numerous highly qualified and vetted candidates," said 459th ARW Commander Col. William Cahoon. "I was ultimately able to select a fine match against the needs of the 459th (from the list)."
Although Colonels Heard and Zmaeff must now travel further from home to participate, ARPC officials are quick to point out changing bases is not necessarily a requirement to accept a new opportunity.
"If you want to serve close to home, put that in your R-ODP," said Maj. Eric Levesque, chief of Force Development at ARPC. "If you want to stay where assigned, that can be communicated as well. We're here to help you down the path that suits your needs and availability."
Despite the many force development success stories, ARPC officials are not satisfied with the number of completed and commander endorsed R-ODPs they receive. To date, only 38 percent of Reserve officers have received leadership endorsement to their completed R-ODPs.
"We'd like to see that number around 80 to 90 percent," Major Levesque said. "A commander's endorsement is vital because it provides additional information the development teams can consider such as if the commander concurs with the officer's goals or desires. Commander input may also be helpful in deciding if the desires are realistic or not."
Officers should update their R-ODPs annually, as directed by their career field manager before their development team meets, or any time circumstances warrant an update, he said.
As with any complex process, there have been a few bumps in the road to force development, but officials are committed to improvement.
"We've streamlined and standardized our process," the major said. "We're testing and growing the assignment facilitator concept. We've broadened our focus to ensure we provide 'actionable' vectors and have developed an updated Master Vector List with links and more information to provide when vectors are delivered.
"In short, we do a lot to continuously refine our program," he said. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)