Officials provide A-76 update at town hall meeting

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tonnette Thompson
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Oct. 9 town hall meeting at the base theater offered an update on the status of the A-76 study. 

The A-76 review, which is due to be completed in early 2008, will evaluate jobs on base currently held by military and Defense Department civil service employees, and determine how these jobs can be done most efficiently. 

No matter what happens, those at the town hall meeting were encouraged to keep the A-76's main goals in mind: sustaining readiness, improving efficiency and effectiveness, generating savings to modernize the force, and focusing on personnel and readiness to support the Air Force mission. 

The military people whose jobs are "tagged" will be reassigned to other bases. 

For civilians, on the other hand, it could be a little more complicated. Depending on the outcome of the study, civil servants could have the possibility of continuing work in civil service, be placed in a similar position at another base, hire on with a contractor or discontinue employment at Sheppard altogether. 

Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux, 82nd Training Wing commander, reassured those assembled that the A-76 will benefit the Air Force in the long run because once completed, the vacuum left in base operations when a military member deploys will no longer exist, as it will be permanently filled with civilian workers. It will increase the long-term stability of civilian jobs, the general said. 

One change briefed at the meeting was the removal of the 82nd Communications Squadron from the list of reviewable areas. According to the general, the "regionalizing and consolidating" that the squadron is currently undergoing is already maximizing its efficiency. 

This leaves 496 positions at Sheppard that will be reviewed - 193 military, 233 civilian. The remaining areas for review are civil engineering, fitness center employees, services, technical training support and trainer development. 

Those in attendance were encouraged to remain focused on the bigger picture. 

"The 193 military jobs that may go to civilians have the potential to bring both Sheppard and Wichita Falls more job continuity," said Col. Marcia Rossi, director of competitive sourcing, citing the increase in jobs available to the local community. 

While A-76 may mean that some civilian jobs will be done under a contract, it is not necessarily so. 

Sheppard has a team, the Most Efficient Organization, already writing a proposal bid to keep Sheppard's employees exactly where they are. According to the website www.whitehouse.gov, "federal employees have won 87 percent of competitive sourcing studies in 2006." 

For those civilians who may be affected, several programs are available to provide counseling, job placement and transition. One mentioned during the meeting is the Priority Placement Program, offered throughout the Department of Defense. 

"We want to cover all the bases, make sure our civilians are taken care of," Colonel Rossi said.