Incirlik Innovation: AFSO21 process saves time and money

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Summers Jr.
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Over the years Airmen at Incirlik Air Base have found ways to save the Air Force time and money through various ideas and initiatives. A group of Airmen here found another way to add to this success and help relieve a stressor for members arriving with vehicles.

Maj. Steven Packard, 39th Air Base Wing training officer, and Airmen from the 39th Security Forces Squadron Pass and Identification office came together and discovered a way to save incoming Airmen $125 and several man-hours while registering their vehicles.

There was a $95 optional liaison fee all the Airmen, civilians and contractors could pay, said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Marra, 39th SFS NCO in charge of Pass and ID. "But, the process was complicated to the point where it was almost needed to get your vehicle stuff done and paperwork completed."

Packard agreed, saying the complicated process was presented in a way that left members feeling they had to pay the $95 fee per vehicle rather than attempt the complex process themselves.

Packard also said part of the convoluted process involved U.S. personnel going to downtown Adana to register their vehicles with the Turkish government, whose employees generally speak only Turkish, making the task even more challenging. 

Using the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century concept, Senior Airman Jose Moran, 39th SFS assistant NCO in charge of Pass and ID, traveled downtown to step through the entire process.

"It showed us the other side and took us out of the dark as far as what happens downtown," Moran stated. "Before we thought the paperwork went to one office, but in reality you have to use three or four different offices to get the actual registration process completed."

Also as part the AFSO21 process Packard and the SFS Pass and ID Airmen examined the job descriptions for local national who work in pass and ID.

"I obtained copies of the local nationals' position descriptions," Packard said. "They were very outdated - about 15 and 30 years old. As I was going through those I noticed the duty of one of those positions was close to identical to the service that personnel were paying $95 dollars to have performed."

After finding a way to save Airmen $95 for registration as well as an additional $30 for a deregistration fee, the office also discovered a way to dwindle the waiting time for vehicle tax exemption forms necessary for vehicle registration.

"Instead of waiting on your vehicle to get here, we are going to send that form to Ankara when you in-process," said Marra. "When you submit other registration forms, you're also doing a tax exemption. So, by the time you get that back and your car gets here you're not waiting for the tax form, cutting down on an enormous amount of time."

Along with saving time and money with vehicle registration, the group looked at other facets of the pass and ID office to find more ways to conserve time and resources.

"Another thing we did an AFSO21 project with was the restricted area badges," Packard said.

Packard explained the process of creating a RAB takes approximately 30 minutes, and members typically arrive in groups of three to five.

"If five people came in at one time, one person would get their RAB done in 30 minutes," said Packard. "The second person would have to be there a total of an hour for theirs, and every person after is adding another 30 minutes to their time. We went to an appointment basis so when they come in they can be seen and not necessarily lose man-hours waiting."