Consolidation puts all Military Personnel Flight services into Bldg. 460 Published July 21, 2008 By Danielle Gregory Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- The Air Force has recently mandated that every base will consolidate their personnelists into the newly activated Force Support Squadron, particularly the Military Personnel Section, previously known as the Military Personnel Flight. For Tinker, there are approximately 46 personnelists from the 552nd Air Control Wing, 3rd Combat Communications Group, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and other areas around base that will be consolidating with the MPS. Commanders will no longer have a commander's support staff or Military Personnel Data System access at their disposal. This will leave several administrative duties at the units to be absorbed by members of individual organizations. "We would like to ensure the commanders are ready and base personnel are prepared for the changes. We briefed base leadership and unit personnelists on the changes that will occur within their organizations. It is critical for each commander to understand which programs will no longer be available at the unit level and be prepared for the responsibilities that will remain at the unit," stated Maj. Maya Green commander, MPS. Feeling the squeeze The consolidation was brought on by forcewide personnel cutbacks to save money for other resources, including aircraft and equipment. The MPS has already lost 24 positions; other organizations will feel the added pressure of more work with less manpower as well. "The commander's support staffs can't continue performing the same workload with the loss of personnelists," said Major Green. "Some commanders don't agree with the initiative to consolidate all personnelists, but separately we're not going to be able to maintain the services that have been offered in the past." The MPS was activated July 8 and will gradually begin to service the entire base in the upcoming months. Air Combat Command personnelists are expected to join the new section beginning Aug. 1, starting with the 3rd CCG and the 552nd ACW. Three months after all the units have merged, commanders will provide feedback on the new process to see where improvements can be made. All consolidation will be completed and be headquartered in Bldg. 460 by Oct. 1. More online According to Air Force Headquarters, while budget cuts have caused significant challenges for conducting day to day operations, it has also brought more resources for the customers. Many processes that originally required face-to-face resolution can now be accomplished online. Air Force members can access their records: including officer performance reports, enlisted performance reports, decorations and service member's group life insurance information through the automated records management system in the AF Portal. The MPS will also house a new section called the Personnel Services Delivery center where customers can find out how to navigate through the MPS and online services to get the information they need. People will be encouraged to utilize the resources available to them online including virtual MPF and the AF Portal. Business hours Business hours have changed to better accommodate customer working hours. Normal hours for the ID Card Section will be 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Special hours will be: 6 am to 6 pm every first and third Wednesday of the month. Military personnel in uniform will be offered military priority Tuesday's and Thursday's from 8 to 10 a.m. This means that there will be two sign up sheets and at least two ID personnel designated to military. The first Saturday of the month the ID Cards Section will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. Other sections of the MPE will function on an appointment only basis. This includes: Retirements and Separations, Outbound Assignments, Promotions and Reenlistments. To make an appointment or contact an office in the MPE use the numbers listed below: Reenlistments & Extensions Rm 204 C 739-2975 Promotions Rm 204 C 739-2975 Outbound Assignments Rm 204 739-3616 Separations Rm 204 B 739-7388 Customer Service Rm 119 739-7646