Town Halls preview changes for civilians, supervisors

  • Published
  • By Capt. Michael Meridith
  • Public Affairs
Grand Forks AFB, ND --  Civilian workers and their supervisors recently got a preview of sweeping changes that will affect the base in the coming months. 

Senior civilian officials from Air Mobility Headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., unveiled the details of the new National Security Personnel System at two Town Hall meetings in the base theater, July 12 and 13. 

Grand Forks Air Force Base is scheduled to adopt NSPS for general schedule, non-bargaining civilian employees in January 2007. 

NSPS is the Department of Defense’s new civilian personnel system, designed to compensate and reward employees based on performance and contribution to the mission. According to DoD officials, NSPS provides flexibility for civilian employees to move more freely across a range of work opportunities without being bound by narrowly-defined jobs. 

“There has not been a change to the [civilian personnel] system since 1978, so we’re currently living with a ‘one size fits all’ system. We need something more responsive to bring the talents of our civilians to bear,” said AMC’s top official, Brenda Romine, who also noted that DoD’s flexibility in the immediate wake of 9/11 was one inspiration for the responsiveness designed into the new system. 

Among the key NSPS benefits Ms. Romine mentioned were that it will speed up the hiring process and introduce a new performance management system that encourages better employee-supervisor communication and supports broader skill development. She also noted that NSPS gives supervisors more input on salary decisions.
“We [the Air Force] are on the cutting edge of technology, but we can’t keep our people because we can’t offer competitive wages,” she said, adding that NSPS would change that. 

However, despite the promise of NSPS, AMC and wing leaders acknowledged that a great deal of anxiety about the new system still exists throughout the civilian workforce. Because of that, Ms. Romine was quick to add that NSPS would not change fundamental items like the merit system for promotions, veterans’ hiring preferences, retirement and health benefits, allowances, training opportunities and leave. She also pointed out that no one would see their pay reduced because of the transition to NSPS.
Similar reassurance was also offered by wing leadership. 

“We realize this is a significant emotional event - and scary,” said Col. Diane Hull, 319th Air Refueling Wing commander. 

“But I believe in the end it will help us do our mission better,” she added.