Holloman Air Force Base addresses the Force Management Program of 2014

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chase Cannon
  • 49 Wing PA
Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. --  The United States Air Force will face major changes in the fiscal year of 2014 in the form of force management, which will include a personnel reduction of more than seven percent.

"Bottom line is because of the fiscal environment that we are in, we cannot afford the man power and the costs that we have right now," said Col. Andrew Croft, 49th Wing Commander. "So in an effort to try and reduce those manpower costs in addition to airframes such as the A-10, the KC-10 and the MQ-1, we are going to cut force structure and manpower in an attempt to give the Air Force long-range affordability for future operations."

To help make this transition easier for Airmen, the Air Force has initiated voluntary and involuntary separation programs. Members who meet the criteria for voluntary separation will be selected by factors such as rank, time-in-grade, years in service and other working variables will decide who will be accepted by these force-shaping programs.

"Airmen will receive an email alerting them to their eligibility for these programs, but I ask that you keep in mind, just because you are eligible does not mean you are going to be forced into one of the programs," said Lt. Col. Caryn Kirkpatrick, 49th Force Support Squadron commander.

"There were two choices the Air Force could have made, we could have waited another four or five months and tried to make all of these cuts from around April or May through the end of September, and do it at the last minute because you could be notified in as little as four months that you are being separated." said Croft. "Or we could come out earlier with all of these programs, in an attempt to get people to volunteer through different incentives to separate from the Air Force voluntarily versus mandatorily."

New guidance for these programs is being delivered to the Force Support Squadron every day to identify how and when they will be executed to ensure the Airmen involved will receive proper benefits and treatment as they prepare to reintegrate into the civilian lifestyle.

With the Air Force preparing to lose almost 25,000 members, programs such as Transition, Goals, Plans, Success (GPS) also known as Transition Assistance Program (TAP), will extend its hours to provide assistance for Airmen to get an early start in their transition process.

"This is the largest single percentage cut of man power in the 66-year history of the Air Force," said Croft. "This will be a significant, emotional event for a lot of us here over the next year."

As members of the USAF, Airmen have been trained to adapt and overcome. It is important to keep that in mind as these programs begin to take effect that Team Holloman will continue to push forward and accomplish the mission.