CAFB hosts Civilian Commander’s Call

  • Published
  • By Sonic Johnson
  • Chief, 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. --  Colonel Jeff Dunn, 14th Flying Training Wing vice commander, hosted a Civilian Commander's Call June 18 at Kaye Auditorium for BLAZE Team Air Force civilians.
At the ceremony, civilian employees working on base were brought up to date on issues related to their role at Columbus AFB and several were recognized for their achievements. 

The first topic covered at the event was the delay for filling vacant civilian positions and how the Personnel Center plans to fix the issue. Currently there is a backlog of approximately 9,000 actions, 1,800 of them belong to the Air Education Training Command. The solution to this issue is that AFPC will transfer fill action authority to Air Force Material Command. 

Also discussed were the GS and Federal Wage Scale appraisal cycles and the importance of civilians to keep track of their accomplishments each year. During the 2008 cycle, 14th FTW civilians received over $120,000 in monetary awards and over 4, 000 hours of time off awards. In fact, 72 percent received cash awards and 80 percent received time off awards. 

Several civilians were recognized with various awards. Colonel Dunn presented four Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service awards to Calvin Harris, 14th Civil Engineer Squadron, Anthony Boykin, 14th CES, Chuck Fiske, 14th CES and Nicholas Roos, 14th Force Support Squadron for their efforts in support of the T-6 Texan II mid-air collision recovery last year. The Exemplary Civilian Service is awarded to Air Force employees performing a single service that significantly contributes to the accomplishment of the command mission. 

Deborah Douglas, 14th Logistics Readiness Division and Patricia Speights, 14th Operations Group, were awards service pins for their 30 year service to the government. Darla Turnan, 14th Medical Group, Benjamin Stanton, 14th LGR, Marsha Thompson, 14th LGR, and Sheryl McCauley-Allen, 14th Medical Support Squadron, were also recognized for their 30 years of service to the government though their pins had been previously awarded. 

Graelin Garlington, 14th FSS, was awarded an Air Force Certificate of Appreciation for his service and can-do attitude in providing 370 hot meals to the 14th Security Forces Squadron personnel guarding the T-6 Texan II crash site 50 miles from Columbus.
Bill Connelly, 14th FSS, and Jerry Ybarra, 14th Communications Squadron, were awarded Air Force Certificates of Appreciation for their support as members of the Search and Recovery team after the recent T-38 mishap on Columbus AFB. 

After fielding several questions from the audience, Colonel Dunn discussed the National Security Personnel System, the new DoD-wide "pay for performance" system that will eventually replace the current GS system. Colonel Dunn emphasized his main goals were to make the NSPS system more transparent to the employees, increase employee education of the NSPS process, to maximize communication and to provide recurring feedback. 

These goals will be accomplished by developing an NSPS business plan, conducting quarterly civilian calls and to produce informational e-mail newsletter. 

NSPS is designed to compensate and reward employees based on performance and contribution to the mission. 

The 2008 Pay Pool process, one important facet of NSPS, was discussed and the panel members were identified. Bill Sherman, 14 FTW Director of Staff, is the Pay Pool Manager. The voting members of the pay pool panel will be comprised of the deputy commanders of the 14th Mission Support Group, 14th Operations Group and 14th Medical Group and two senior civilians, Neil Cole, 14th CONS-CPTS Squadron, and Rod Roberts, 14th CES. 

Sophia Walton, NSPS Program Specialist, and Rita Williams NSPS Program Manager, can be contacted at 434-2637 or 434-2698 for more information. 

Colonel Dunn remarked that "Columbus AFB civilians are crucial to our role of building the world's best leaders, warriors and military aviators. Your contributions are often unseen and in the background, yet none the less important. Thank you for what you do."