oh thank the nonexistent gods above, below, and on pluto
By diana on Apr 2, 2010 | In capricious bloviations
i just had a scare.
Every now and again--like, once a month or so--I slip out to the Air Force personnel site to see if I can dig up some indication of when I might be Maj Black. I'm not obsessive, but...I wanna know, right?
Today, I was skimming through the news at the Air Force Personnel Center's website, just to see what's going on with my comrades* in arms, and I stumbled across...this: Air Force Leaders Expand Force Management Options.
* I know. I used the word "comrade." That makes me a Communist! (Just a little Glen Beck humor for those of you who are wondering.)
"Force Management" is the military's way of saying "I know we have a contract and you'd be prosecuted if you ended it prematurely, but we can end it whenever we want." In other words, the Air Force is "trimming more of the fat," and I don't mean people who are fat.
This makes me a bit antsy, because my career field is invariably on these lists. Note this sentence: "Officers with more than six and less than 12 years of commissioned service in specific career fields and year groups will be offered voluntary separation pay as a means to encourage their transition from active-duty service."
Ugh. I'm at 9 years of active duty commissioned service.
Not. Again.
Then I skimmed through this follow-up piece: Eligible Officers May Apply for VSP April 1. Sure enough, my career field (33S) is among "the chosen."
I think I almost had kittens as I read that. I took a moment to break out in a cold sweat before I noticed this: the only affected year groups 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
I was commissioned in 2001.
*whew*
Now I'm going to be a good little student and do my homework. Y'all have a great Friday!
d
5 comments
Whew! Heavens… Everyone’s cutting back nowadays aren’t they? You know it’s bad if the AF is too. Being a former Army wife, I’d never lived anywhere nicer than an AF base… Right near you, actually…
Diana,
Sounds like the Practical Joke Department is getting back into the swing of things after spring break. (Grin)
I’m glad you dodged that bullet once again.
Any speculation why 2000 and 2001 were spared?
Dave
I don’t know, Dave, and I’m afraid to ask. They might check their figures and say, “You know…you’re right. We are overmanned for those years….”
2000 and 2001 were the hardest hit–and most over-burgeoned–of all the years in my career field at the last RIF, and I thought they were still the “fattest,” since the VSP and RIF last time could only take a small portion of the “fat,” by law.
So I’m confused. But thank heavens I’m not personally in the line of fire this time.
(Force management is very, very bad for morale, though. I’m sure y’all remember how many outstanding officers got the axe last time. I see another blow to my faith in the establishment in my future, not that I had much faith to spare in the first place.)
d
Diana,
I understand. People expect “right-sizing” (or whatever euphemism they call it now) in the corporate world. But in a job that you had to swear an oath to get, I imagine you’d expect a little more loyalty from your “management.”
Plus I’ve never seen a layoff yet where the people cut were all deadwood that needed to be cut. But the rules of non-discrimination say you can’t single out the people who deserve it.
Dave
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