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Osan to conduct combat outprocessing

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Marsha Smith
  • 51st Fighter Wing AFSO21 process manager
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Every member of Team Osan is familiar with the motto, "Ready to Fight Tonight." With that in mind, the MPF recently instituted a new process to ensure every Airman remains combat ready until 24 hours prior to their PCS departure from Osan.

With the new combat out-processing, members will keep their chemical warfare deployable equipment until the day before they get on the plane. Airmen will no longer be stranded without the appropriate gear when the beloved giant voice speaks.

What used to be the month-long task of outprocessing has been compressed into just three duty days, allowing the member to stay in their duty section longer prior to departure. This is also a valuable tool for supervisors to know when their personnel will be out for the day.

Combat out-processing, which began Jan. 31, is an excellent example of an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century initiative.

In recent months, there has been a lot of talk about working better and smarter in the Air Force. In light of the recent funding cuts and force manpower reduction initiatives, everyone must help ensure the wing is appropriately and effectively utilizing its personnel. Thus, we are looking to AFSO 21 to help us do our jobs better and more efficiently.

Combat out-processing saves time for the member and returns this time to Osan by reducing the amount of time members are away from their duty sections. This innovative program removes the non-value added time that it takes for a member to stop doing their task, travel to their appointment, wait to be seen and travel back from their appointment.

Through this program, unnecessary travel and wait time have been removed. In one sitting, people can now receive their medical and dental records, plane tickets and submit their travel vouchers. The day prior to the port call date, servicemembers will turn in their CWDE and have their final-out appointments at the MPF. The total time saved for the member is about nine hours.