A list of our previous episodes, by episode number, release date, episode title, subject and/or guest contributor

Episode 04: Solo Flight mini-series Part 2a– Juno talks Kids and Deployments

Did you wonder where we went and what was going on the last month?  We wondered what was going on ourselves!  September took a nosedive early on, and our podcast recording, editing and publishing timeline was an unintended victim.  We’re back though and jumping right back into our “deployment” mini-series with a great interview from a special guest expert, Juno!

Juno is an Active Duty mom of three kiddos, and is no stranger to extended separations from her family.  She has completed two 6+ month deployments and a number of TDYs, some of which contributed to one year during which she was gone for 10 months cumulatively, without having actually deployed! In our conversation with Juno, she describes how she and her husband navigated the before, during and after of the “lost year” and other separations.

Several themes Juno discusses include creating consistency and stability for her young kiddos by creating and sticking to a routine; the unexpected emotions she encountered and managed during and after deployments; resources she and her husband used before and during a deployment; and how important her community was in helping her family survive.

This episode precedes our future episode about getting kids through deployments, but approaches that subject through the viewpoint of someone with first-hand experience.  Remember as we talk with Juno that when we use the word “deployment,” we mean any period of separation from your family or homefront that causes a significant change in your daily routine.  Also, while this episode is from the perspective of a female military member, her experiences provide extremely valuable insights for women whose partners will be deploying while they fight on the homefront.  If you’re a female military member who won’t have to deploy away from kids, or stay at home while a partner deploys, you’ll still find wisdom in this episode for you, as we talk about the importance of the military family and local community supporting families in their area as they tackle extended separations.

Episode 01: AFPC Insider with Patrick, an Air Force Personnel Center Assignments Officer

What are the top three stressors in military life?  Deployments?  Obviously.  We have a multi-part series planned to cover that huge topic.  PCSing/Moving?  For sure.  We’re going to tackle that subject over several episodes as well.  Navigating the assignment process?  Maybe some of you have survived every move cycle with relatively little stress, but for a lot of military members and their families, interacting with your assignments team may feel like a hostage negotiation.

In this episode, the first of a two-part series, and our very first guest episode, we talk with Patrick, an assignment officer at Air Force Personnel Command (AFPC).  This is an AF-specific series, but at the time of posting, we’re pretty sure all our listeners are Air Force-affiliated so we doubt anyone will feel left out!  In this episode, Bernadette and Julie ask Patrick to share the view of the assignments process from inside AFPC and ask several of the questions we all care about the most when it comes to assignments.

Patrick discusses:

1. AFPC’s organizational structure (see AFPC Functional Structure snapshot in Resources below and on the Episode Show Notes page above and follow along as Patrick explains each branch and what they do)
2. The assignment cycle
3. The job matching process
4. The policy flow diagram
5. Why you should love your functional manager
6. Talent Marketplace and MyVector

Here are a few excerpts that hopefully pique your interest:

Patrick sheds light on everybody’s biggest question after getting an assignment: “Where are my orders??!!” As Patrick explains, AFPC cuts assignment RIPs, but a member’s local FSS cuts their orders.  Listen for all the details.

Do you dread having to call the Total Force Service Center, but don’t know where else you should go with a question?  Patrick, and the snapshot below and on the Episode Show Notes page titled “Air Force Functional Structure” cover AFPC’s organization – who does what, and who to call to get your questions answered.

Have you gone through a few assignments and think you’ve got it figured out?  VML, PRL, reclama and ADP are all familiar terms, yes?  Guess what?!  Talent Marketplace and MyVector replace that process and are coming to your career field soon (or may already be in use).  Want to hear some first-hand accounts of how Talent Marketplace works?  Listen to Bernadette and Patrick discuss a real-life Talent Marketplace experience from only a couple of weeks ago.

“You can only truly be By-Name Requested if you’re a Major or above,” but listen as Patrick explains in this episode how the introduction of Talent Marketplace creates a caveat to BNRs (By-Name Requests).

“I think what people everywhere would be interested to know is that the BNR request process yields less than 50% results.”  Find out what factors influence BNRs and how AFPC approves or disapproves them.

There was so much to discuss and Patrick does a great job providing a lot of little-known detail, so we broke this topic up into two episodes.  Tune in next week for more from an AFPC insider, including information about the transition from three move cycles to two.  In the meantime, for more information, check out the Resources below, also available on the Episode Show Notes page above.