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AFPC streamlines retirement, separation actions

  • Published
  • By Air Force Personnel Center News Service
As the result of processes developed under the Air Force Smart Operations 21 initiative, retired or separated Airmen seeking corrections to their Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, commonly referred to as a DD Form 214, will get a response in record time.

In August 2006, the Air Force Personnel Center's Directorate of Personal Program Management convened a DD Form 214 Correction Rapid Improvement Event with the goal of drastically improving both accuracy and response time to these requests. The team, lead by Mr. Tim Goad and Tech. Sgt. Brian Cyr, focused on mapping the steps involved in correcting a 214 from the time it is received from the Board of Corrections of Military Records until it is returned to the BCMR.

"We found significant improvements including a 33-percent reduction in touch time, a 91-percent reduction in handoffs and a 40-percent reduction in the number of steps to process a DD Form 214 correction," said Mr. Goad.

Given the success of this particular initiative, Mr. Goad's team was subsequently asked to assist, not only in the correction of existing DD Forms 214, but in the overall production of all such forms for retiring and separating personnel worldwide. Working in conjunction with future operations and Air Force Contact Center personnel, a team was assembled to take on this responsibility.

"By consolidating a portion of the workload of 84 military personnel flights into one service center, the DD Form 214 production process has been streamlined considerably. Now Air Force members with an approved retirement or separation can log into the Virtual MPF on the AFPC Web site and, using the "Self-service Application," complete the majority of their DD Form 214 themselves. Should they require personal assistance, the new technology provides access to a qualified technician with a simple click of their mouse," said Mr. Goad.

To navigate to this new application, logon to the AFPC Web site and click on vMPF Self-Service Applications in the Site Maps section. Retirees can also call toll free to (800) 616-3775, and select options 1, 1, 2. This phone line is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.