ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Teams from Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command here are visiting more than 30 bases to develop timelines and actions in accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure law.
Five bases received visits in January. The command’s site activation task force teams are composed of experts from a variety of career fields who assist with the complicated issues of units adding or losing people, aircraft and equipment.
“The final BRAC law tells us the overall changes that we have to accomplish,” said Maj. Gen. Allen R. Poulin, AFRC vice commander. “Our headquarters teams are tasked with helping our unit folks. Together, we can figure out what specific actions will take care of our people and comply with the law.”
According to the Department of Defense, the purpose of Base Realignment and Closure is to make the most efficient and effective use of all resources, improve operational efficiency, save taxpayer dollars, advance transformation and enhance the combat effectiveness of U.S. military forces.
“The site activation task force is the first step to raising questions and identifying issues associated with the realignment of our mission,” said Col. William Flanigan, 939th Air Refueling Wing commander whose Portland, Ore., unit is scheduled for a visit in February. “It’s important for people to understand specific answers may not be developed during the SATAF. In those cases, issues will be identified and taken back to the subject matter experts at reserve command headquarters for action.”
A primary issue for these teams is the movement of people. If affected by BRAC, old jobs will go away, and people will have to compete for new positions wherever available. To ease the transition, the command is working to ensure gaining units give those moving under BRAC first priority. To do that, the command is providing full-time civilians and reservists new Web-based job placement services. Called clearing houses, these virtual job fairs take into account personal career and location preferences and work to match BRAC-displaced people with new opportunities.
Command people displaced by BRAC can learn more about the job-placement clearing houses and other assistance by accessing the guide from a military computer at https://wwwmil.afrc.af.mil/hq/dp/brac.
Before the moves are considered permanent, the units receiving the BRAC additions must successfully complete environmental impact evaluations over the next few months. Portland’s 939th ARW is just one of many military units that will be affected by BRAC. In Air Force Reserve Command alone, BRAC will affect more than half the command in the next five years. (AFRC News Service)