Team Seymour plays key role in new deployment evaluation system

  • Published
  • By Capt. Kristen D. Duncan
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Increasing predictability and visibility on personnel readiness, commanders will soon have a clearer and more accurate deployment evaluation system.

According to the Office of the Surgeon General, three beta tests of the new system were completed over the past three months, including the first test here March 29 to April 4.

The test done here was for initial proof of concept. The concept came from a Chief of Staff of the Air Force initiative to increase commander involvement and improve commander visibility on medical issues.

"We took tons of inputs from Seymour and incorporated those into the regulations and the program," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Bruce Edwards, chief of operational medicine in the Aerospace Medical Directorate, Office of the Surgeon General. "I brought the program guy with me, so when people offered suggestions, then we put them in the program on the spot to see if they were feasible. They have their fingerprints all over the medical side."

What is the reason for the overhaul? 

Personal stories of back-to-back deployments and short notice deployments made their way up to senior leadership, prompting AF Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, to initiate a change towards improving the process.

According to Dr. Edwards, they've had problems with the system because it's antiquated and has needed improvement for three years. With the steady state of deployments and operations tempo, they uncovered the flaws and the root causes, so they overhauled it.

"It will be better for our people and will improve their quality of life," Dr. Edwards said. "It is meant to protect our people."

The new DLC program will be transparent for Airmen. It uses the same form, but informs supervisors what individuals are unable to do. Now depending on the circumstance, the supervisor interprets the limitations and is the best one to determine how to put that person to work and keep them productive, he said.

Another area of improvement involves being fit to fight. To streamline the program for people with fitness restrictions, if a duty limitation will impact fitness for 30 days, they'll get a fitness prescription from the Health and Wellness Center. For instance, if an Airman has a knee injury, they may start out with swimming, then walking, and then eventually running. The HAWC and DLC program give Airmen a plan to get back up to speed.

The system is also automated into an electronic program so that new providers and new members don't have to know all the regulations, helping solve high error rates. Now the program gives commanders the most reliable information. Improvements include collating the data and generating a meaningful report for health status of each squadron.

The new system now includes a database of all medical reasons that require a medical condition not consistent with retention in the AF. Instead of referring to an exhaustive list of conditions as before, it will warn medical providers if that diagnosis requires a medical evaluation board, Dr. Edwards said.

"As part of an air expeditionary force, we must maximize the capability of every Airman to deploy," said Betty Anne Mauger, Media Plans and Programs chief, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. "To ensure that the AEF process continues to run smoothly, the Air Force has reviewed the effect medical duty limitations have on short-notice deployment taskings.

"That review resulted in the development of a simplified electronic duty limitation system. The system sets clear business rules and includes more commander involvement. The effort is still in the data gathering and early coordination phases," she said.

According to Dr. Edwards, the commander response has been good, with overwhelming positive responses at the provider (physicians) level and by medical group personnel.

"The most important thing, it provides predictability," Dr. Edwards said. "If someone couldn't go, then they would need to find a substitute. What that means is we're trying to curtail the short-notice taskings for medical reasons.

"Once you've been identified, we're taking proactive steps to quickly assess medical conditions so we can get an answer faster - we might not get you fixed faster, but we'll get you an answer faster - a definitive answer on whether you can deploy."

Seymour Johnson AFB was the first test base because it is postured for deployment without a lot of other agencies, which simplified the whole thing, he said. Similar tests were completed April 18 to 25 at Tyndall AFB, because of its large size, and then again at Langley AFB May 17 to 23 where they trained the contractors and those who were going to execute the program.

The system for the AF is tentatively going to come out mid-July with a team of contractors to go to each base in the Air Force to teach the program. At each base, they will conduct training and then walk them through the first day with the new system, Dr. Edwards said.