RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Prior to the question and answer portion of the virtual town hall April 13, Brig. Gen. Mark R. August, 86th Airlift Wing commander, highlighted the first operational use of the Transportation Isolation System.
The system is designed to transport patients with contagious diseases from austere locations to a place they can receive definitive care. A team of Air Mobility Command Airmen activated the TIS, successfully and safely delivering three Americans for treatment as the mission of the World’s Best Wing continues.
Chief Master Sgt. Ernesto Rendon, Jr., 86th AW command chief, reminded viewers of the resources available to assist them with resiliency. He also discussed the purpose of leadership in this pandemic and the importance of physical and mental health, and overall resilience.
Clint Lock, civilian personnel office, joined Ramstein leadership for the town hall to answer questions for civilian employees in the Kaiserslautern Military Community. Below are summarized answers to some of the questions fielded during the session.
Can we talk about proper mask wear? In both the Base Exchange and Commissary there are a handful of people who have their noses exposed, and many families come in without face coverings on their kids.
The goal for wearing a protective face covering is to stop the spread of germs, especially if you are asymptomatic. Proper wear means the cloth covers both the nose and mouth. Wear of a protective face covering is mandatory at the Base Exchange, Commissary or any other public gathering place for ages 2 years or older. It’s also mandatory to wear a face covering when coming through the base gates.
Can more guidance be given on the choice of staying home on administrative leave if you have an autoimmune disease and how the process would work?
Healthy employees always have the option to request personal leave for safety reasons. If you feel as though you would like to take leave, please do so and commanders are encouraged to approve those requests.
The categories of the high risk employees are defined for us by the Center for Disease Control or, for our local national colleagues, through the Robert Koch Institute. Guidance has been provided to commanders and is posted on our website. These circumstances will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
For employees who are asymptomatic, report to your chain of command in writing, you will be required to submit medical documentation to support your request. Supervisors, need to exhaust all human resource flexibilities prior to putting use of weather and safety leave, such as telework or alternate work location to ensure workforce protection measures.
Employees on weather and safety leave must remain in the local area and are subject to recall. If you become ill, you would need to go out on sick leave. For further information, please refer to the detailed guidance on our website, then elevate any questions through your chain of command.
Does the health protection condition depend solely on the healthcare situation in the States or in host nations? For example, if Germany downgrades the health care risk and people return to work, will my husband be allowed to return from his deployment?
The current HPCON is Charlie. That decision was made at the Secretary of Defense level and covers all Department of Defense forces. We cannot know for sure if we will see the downgrade based on localized conditions. However, we will continue to keep you informed as we get more information on this topic.
As for deployments, work with your command team and explain your unique situation. There are opportunities for us to do what's right by families and by our service members. If you have a specific concern, route that through your chain of command for guidance on exception to policy requests for possible approval.
What is it going to look like to return back to normal operations?
Our planning teams are already working this. Efforts will be closely coordinated with the Army and the headquarters here on Ramstein. However, we are currently in HPCON Charlie as directed by the Secretary of Defense. More information will become available as we work through this.
How do we get our college students home, both the Traffic Management Office and Personnel told me they will not even consider starting until June?
If your college student has orders for student dependent travel and this is a financial hardship, this is a perfect example of a time to execute an exception to policy.
For those who have already used your student dependency travel, work with a copy of the parents’ orders, Status of Forces stamp and dependent ID card. There is the option to fly back commercially, however there is an automatic and mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
Will General Schedule employees be eligible to request a one year extension? How will PCS orders be prioritized once the stop movement is lifted?
These will have to be handled on a case-by-case basis. Get with your supervisor and the civilian personnel office to help determine a potential way ahead. In general, if you've been here for three years, an extension can be requested by your commander. If you've been here over five, or at the five year mark, there are provisions already in place for a short term extension of up to 180 days that can be requested. Those however, remain mission based and adjudicated by the appropriate approval authority. Please get with your supervisor and elevate that through to civilian personnel.
As it relates to the permanent change of station moves, in the order by which they will be decided or executed, this issue is currently being discussed.
On the military front, there is no automatic one-year extension for military, either. We're working through extensions, but we're following the normal processes for those as well.
Are you putting Airmen in lodging once they get back from deployment?
We have an installation quarantine and isolation plan. Most likely, this will not be required. However, it will depend on individual circumstances that will need to be addressed at the unit level and passed to the appropriate authorities.
What's the difference between social gatherings of more than two people, versus people required to go to work with more than 20 people near each other?
The two-people, social gathering rule refers to social purposes; the latter relates to military- or work-related businesses. We're not allowed to gather with groups larger than two people socially, and there's a fine associated. However, when it comes to military, we've got to get the mission done.
What is the most efficient way for people to get mental health support if they're unable to get support on base?
If you require mental health services, reach out to our mental health office. If they can't physically see you, they will work through the referral process through the TRICARE network to get you the appropriate services.
There are many resources available. The COVID hotline was recently established; you can call in and have a discussion with a qualified mental health specialist who will be able to talk through some of the issues you may be dealing with. There are Military Family Life Consultants, chaplains and Military OneSource in addition to our Mental Health clinic. For more information about resources available to you, reach out to your first sergeant or key spouse and they can assist.
Is there any plan in the works to get more service members tested once more tests become available to ensure medical records reflect contraction in case there are long term effects?
The medical community is only testing individuals that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization requirements. Once a test comes back positive for coronavirus disease 2019, it will be appropriately annotated in your medical records for the future.
Is there a push to update and correct where necessary employee position descriptions as listed in FASCLASS or MyBix with regards to categories “emergency essential” and “telework eligible”?
Supervisors are always asked to keep position descriptions accurate and current. These processes continue and can be accomplished virtually through both the Civilian Personnel Office and Air Force Personnel Center. Additionally, procedures for telework have been placed on the CPO website to include the required documentation and the training.
When can we register a new car?
Reach out to your first sergeant and squadron commander as they are authorized to approve exceptions to policy when warranted.
Do inbound PCS members have to quarantine for 14 days when arriving to Ramstein? If so, where do they stay? Who handles getting food or other necessities?
This is a new policy and we are working the specific details. We will continue to pass the information as it becomes available.
This is the time to reach out to the gaining unit to make sure they take care of you if you have any issues.
Hiring action has already started for my replacement for my family's August DEROS. In the event the DEROS is pushed due to another stop movement, what happens to me in limbo? Will I retain my current position and will that hiring action be placed on hold?
Hiring actions do continue to ensure we remain postured once the crisis is over. We are working actions to establish effective dates to ensure both inbound and outbound can navigate effectively once the stop movement is lifted. You will remain at your current position until such time as we establish a new move date for you back to the U.S. This may create a temporary, short term overlap here. However, we'll be able to navigate that and it will have no impact on your employment.
Can we explore different safety measure initiatives at fitness centers to get them back open?
Some decisions were made at the Office of the Secretary of Defense level. As we work through our team of experts and transform into a proactive posture, we're discussing decisions that will be made locally to get back to a more normal state of operations. However, the gym, child development centers and schools are outside of our decision making authority. It's going to be some time before that decision is made.
If Germany puts a moratorium on rent payment, are service members still expected to pay rent?
There's been no changes to overseas housing allowance. As long as Overseas Housing Allowance and Living Quarters Allowance continues to be paid, you need to pay your rent.
With the vast amount of civilians representing different commands as tenant units, which guidance should we follow? Not every tenant is part of USAFE.
We are very fortunate to have a very large and complex service population here at Ramstein that includes multiple tenant units. Measures implemented by the installation command in regards to protection of the force and our mission apply to all tenants. If you have specific questions, please elevate those to your chain of command.
How will the stop movement impact members coming up on priority placement programs?
PPP procedures will continue as normal, with the exception of travel that's connected to the stop movement order. For those that have accepted positions and have orders, those orders will be amended to change the effective date once the stop movement is lifted.
If you have accepted a position and you don't have orders, we will establish an effective date outside of the stop movement order.
If you've received a valid job offer from the Air Force Personnel Center, please connect back with them and continue the process to accept the offer. Again, your established effective date will be put outside the stop movement order.
Lastly, for those coming up on your DEROS, you will continue to be registered virtually with a member of the CPO staff.
For alternative work schedules, what level of supervision has authority?
Alternative work schedules are a first-level supervisor authority, in connection with the commander's approval. Please get with your supervisor for an alternative work schedule to help increase physical distancing in the workplace.
The Department of Labor posted on their website about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act emergency paid sick leave for up to 12 weeks for GS employees with school aged children to care for. Any idea when that will be going into effect?
The public law itself came into effect on April 1. However, we have not received guidance on execution. As soon as that information is available, we will get it out to the workforce.
The full virtual town hall video can be viewed on the Ramstein Facebook page. Visit the Ramstein homepage (www.ramstein.af.mil) and go to the COVID-19 tab located in the top-right side of the page for the most up-to-date information.