August 15, 2014
August 15, 2014
Kaiserslautern American
Page 1
HAVE YOU READ YOUR KA TODAY?
Airmen turn C-130 into mobile ER
Photo by Senior Airman Hailey Haux
Airmen from the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron convert a C-130J Super Hercules into a flying critical care unit, July 26, 2014. There were enough medical supplies and equipment necessary to perform surgery in the aircraft. See MOBILE ER, Page 2.
Volume 38, number 32
Static closeout dates and elimination of CRO report phase-out begins with technical sergeants WASHINGTON (AFNS) — The chief of staff and chief master sergeant of the Air Force announced in July a series of changes to the enlisted evaluation and promotion system which will focus on ensuring job performance is the most important factor when evaluating and identifying Airmen for promotion. Announced changes will be implemented in stages over the next 18 months for the active duty Air Force and over the next 30 months for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, or ARC. The first set of changes include static closeout date for technical sergeants and elimination of change of reporting official enlisted performance reports. The change supports planned implementation of static, or fixed, annual closeout dates for each rank tied to regular Air Force promotion eligibility cut-off dates. Once implemented, static closeout dates will enable implementation of the forced distribution and stratification policies, Air Force senior leaders announced last week. Allowing closeout of all reports for a particular grade at the same time helps raters ensure an equal playing field and supports the ultimate goal of having better performance-based evaluations. The new technical sergeant SCOD will be Nov. 30. Implementation details will be included in interim changes to the Air Force instructions governing evaluation and promotion. Information will also be posted on the myPers website and released in public news articles to ensure Airmen are informed. Forced distribution, which will be introduced later in 2015, will not be included in the November SCOD for See STATIC, Page 3
LIFESTYLES
Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! Even in cold weather, dehydration is possible.
NEWS
Tip of the Week
FEATURES
FEATURES
Proper use of athletic mouth guards, Page 3
POV shipment issues to be addressed, Page 6
Medieval fest in Volkspark Kaiserslautern, Page 25