(This was sent to all IMAs and PIRRs 2 Oct 2020.  If you did not receive it in your personal email, please log in to the vMPF and make sure you have a good personal email in that system.)

 
RIO Buzz                                                                                           Vol. 15

It’s time to wrap up this fiscal year and move on to FY 21.  That’s what we are doing this week at HQ RIO.  Here’s the Buzz:

VIRTUAL TRAINING: ALL THINGS MEDICAL
Our next virtual training will be about all things medical: readiness, getting service from your nearby MTF or dental clinic, profiles, and much more.  The training will be held on Friday, 9 October, at 1200 EDT/1000 MDT.  Click the link below to attend.  We will also host a Q&A session during the event, so bring your questions!  You do not need an account or log in to attend; the functionality works best on a personal computer, smartphone, or government computer WITHOUT VPN.  Remember that you can use this link to watch a recorded version if you can’t be there live. 
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjUxNDRhM2ItZWI4Yi00MzRmLWIyMGMtM2NkN2NlNzA3ZThk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2221acfbb3-32be-4715-9025-1e2f015cbbe9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%222d811298-f7de-4345-a9ab-0b6a322aefe9%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d

HOW DO YOU START YOUR PAY IF YOU ARE ON ORDERS OF 30+ DAYS?
If you are on 30+ day orders, you need to pre-certify your orders on the first day and submit them to the HQ RIO Reserve Pay Office (RPO) to begin being paid every two weeks.  DO NOT wait until the end of your tour to certify your orders.  For instructions on pre-certifying your orders, see page 36 of the IR Guide (https://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/HQ-RIO/IRGuide/).  You can submit the pre-certified orders to the RPO via myPers at this link: https://mypers.af.mil/app/dynamicforms/display/form/271.  Remember, if your orders are curtailed or extended, you need to send in the modification using the same link in order for the RPO to change the ending pay date. 

EXPECTATION MANAGEMENT FROM ME ABOUT PAY AND TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT
My #1 priority is your pay.  I want to pay you accurately and quickly each time, every time.  We’ve made great progress with pay, but we definitely have a long way to go.  Just so you’re aware, we are only authorized 12 civilians in our pay office and 12 civilians in our travel reimbursement office.  With approximately 8,000 of you and only a handful of pay technicians, we have to be honest with expectations.  We recently completed process maps for all of our pay programs and we are maximizing efficiencies that are in our control.  This includes taking advantage of the few automated pay systems we have, like UTAPS and the AROWS-R online Tour of Duty Certification (TODC).  The more you use these systems instead of creating myPers tickets you will get paid faster and we can help more IRs.  We also requested additional manpower (yet to be determined), participated in the AFR Travel Reimbursement CPI event, will start a manpower study in Oct and are prioritize our resources.  Please know we will continue to come up with creative ways to serve you and I work this personally every day.   

That’s the buzz for now.  Thanks for ALL you do!

v/r,
Col Amy Boehle, HQ RIO Commander