(This was sent to all IMAs and PIRRs 19 Sept 2022. 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 SUPER Buzz Vol 39
Happy 75th Air Force Birthday! Here's to the next 75 years.
I want to start by thanking all of the individuals who have acknowledged CAFR’s TASKORD. Thanks to your responses, 93.3% of IRs have acknowledged, but we need to get the last 6.7% For those who have not acknowledged, now is the time. To ensure we achieve 100% acknowledgement, I have directed our orders writers to verify acknowledgement status prior to processing any orders. For those still pending, we'll process requests for orders once you complete acknowledgement of the TASKORD. The links are HERE. Also, you might notice above that this is not just a regular buzz, but a SUPER Buzz. That’s because we have more info than the norm to share with you, and all of it is important. Be sure to read all the entries!
TEMPORARY TRAVEL PAY DELAYS
Over the last 3 months, we have seen the anticipated summer travel increase and the corresponding increase in travel vouchers. August/early September is historically the high point in travel vouchers being processed, and this year has exceeded previous years in overall magnitude. Until approximately 2 weeks ago, we were keeping the median processing time slightly above our 10-business day standard and in the 12-14 business day range with overtime and some shifting of manpower within RIO. However, over the last 2 weeks we have seen a significant increase in processing time to over 20 business days for travel vouchers. NOTE: This has not impacted reserve pay, as that is still being processed within 4-5 business days, only travel voucher processing has experienced the delay.
This will be a short-term spike. We anticipate clearing by the end of October, and will not have a repeat of the significant delays we had at the end of last FY. Last year the summer surge in travel was accompanied by a loss in RPA support that is not happening this year, so we will be able to work through the surge and get the voucher processing time back within limits quickly.
For comparison, in August of FY21 we received 1,289 travel voucher requests and completed only 766 pay actions due to lost manpower. This August, we received 1,426 travel voucher requests and completed 1,409. September of FY21 was similar with intake of 1,178 requests and completion of only 638 pay actions. In the first week of September, there were 443 travel voucher requests submitted, and we had completed 352 by the end of the week. To ensure this is a short-lived spike, we are increasing overtime and moving more people from other sections for approximately 3-4 weeks to process travel vouchers, all while maintaining our RPA support.
IMA MENTORS ARE STANDING BY TO HELP YOU!
The HQ RIO IR Advisory Council’s IMA Mentorship Program is a resource that offers one-on-one assistance that augments service provided by the Detachments and local Unit Reserve Coordinators. Its purpose is to increase the overall readiness of the IMA force by enhancing knowledge and communication between HQ RIO and the IMA population.
If you or a fellow IMA would benefit from the IMA Mentorship Program, please reach out to the IR Advisory Council member assigned as the point-of-contact for your respective Detachment. The list of mentors can be found HERE.
COVID-19 GOOD YEAR RELIEF
I wanted to give an update for those of you who were unable to earn a “good year” (50 points between your R/R dates that count toward earning retirement) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The FY21 NDAA (Section 516) has granted authority to the Secretary of Defense to grant 35 retirement points during Declared National Emergency Proclamation 9994 for Reservists to qualify for a good year (50 points).
If you were affected in such a way that travel and duty restrictions during this time resulted in you not earning a good R/R year, you MAY be granted additional non-pay points allowing you to qualify for a “good year” during the National Emergency Declared in Proclamation 9994. For more information on this, read the full guidance update HERE.
UPDATED MEMOS FOR GTC MISSION-CRITICAL STATUS AND MTF ACCESS FOR IRS
We have updated the memos on the website to assist you in getting your GTC put in mission-critical status if you experience any delays in reimbursement as well as easing your access at MTFs and Fitness Testing Cells near you. You can find the GTC memo HERE and the MTF/FTC memo HERE.
GLOBAL FEDERATED USER DIRECTORY (GFUD) TRANSITION HAPPENING SOON
In mid-October, the USAF is transitioning to DISA's Global Federated User Directory (GFUD). This is a DoD mandate which limits individuals to a single mailbox account per Common Access Card (CAC). If this applies to you, you will receive an email stating which account will be marked for inactivation and eventual deletion after the effective date. If the wrong email account is slated for deletion, contact the GFUD help desk.
For more information, visit this website (https://usaf.dps.mil/sites/The-Hub/GFUD – CAC-needed).
If this results in your losing your us.af.mil email address, see the next paragraph for reactivation of your AFNET account.
DESKTOP ANYWHERE ACCESS FOR NON-US.AF.MIL EMAIL HOLDERS
It’s taken a while, but I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve cracked the code on Desktop Anywhere access for those of you who don’t have a us.af.mil email at your unit of assignment. This is even more crucial now with the GFUD transition happening.
It turns out that having an active AFNET account and having a us.af.mil are not mutually exclusive. If you have an Air Force CAC and certs, you can have an active AFNET account, regardless of your email. That account is what’s needed to access Desktop Anywhere.
You can request to have your AFNET account reactivated through your assigned unit Comm Focal Point, or use the steps on this new Quick Guide to request AFRC/A6’s assistance. A BIG thank you to that team for agreeing to service our IRs in this way.
While you still won’t be able to use Outlook in DA for your non-us.af.mil email, you’ll be able to access your unit’s webmail (if they have it) and other websites/functionalities that are limited to NIPR access.
For more information on Desktop Anywhere, just search for it on the AF portal. The downloads and instructions are there.
NEW ETP FOR DTS FOR MEMBERS ON MPA ORDERS
AFRC/FM recently released a significant policy change regarding the use of DTS for Reservists on MPA tours, a change that was driven by HQ RIO at the request of many of you for greater flexibility while on MPA tours. We intend to implement this starting 1 Oct 2022 and we are aggressively working execution guidance for our IR population that will be impacted by this policy change. We expect to release it before the end of this FY.
The new changes will drive almost all MPA orders to DTS versus RTS and will also allow for members to use DTS, when on MPA orders and under the AC unit’s hierarchy, for TDY requests and vouchers. The execution guidance will explain the process requirements and any steps you’ll need to take. Please be patient while we work through this substantial change. Please note that this policy change will not affect any vouchers already in process, but is only for new authorizations/vouchers after policy implementation.
RIO MEDICAL IS MOVING SOON TO myFSS
RIO Medical will be moving from myPers to myFSS soon! IRs will be able to use this platform to submit their medical inquiries and contact the HQ RIO Medical team. Because of the this, MEDCON applications won’t be processed until 3 Oct while that portion of the system migrates. The transition will likely have other blackout dates with data migration, so be on the lookout for more information in the coming weeks.
Finally, I promise we will not make all of the Buzzes this long going forward. We simply have a lot going on and wanted to keep you informed.
v/r
Col Edward “Chad” Segura
HQ RIO Commander