Special needs office streamlines process through AFSO21

  • Published
  • By the 86th Medical Group
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  The 86th Medical Group Special Needs Identification and Assignment Coordination office is currently in the process of implementing improvements designed to better meet the needs of Air Force families in the Ramstein and KMC communities.

The SNIAC office recently underwent an Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century initiative, or AFSO21, with the goal of reducing the amount of time military and family members take to get medically cleared to PSC to their next duty location.

Currently family members require multiple trips to different medical offices. Precious time is spent waiting for appointments and obtaining information from the necessary support agencies before being able to route this information to the SNAIC office. These visits can result in up to 105 total days before the family can finally receive the travel clearance.

Under the new process developed during the AFSO21 event, the SNIAC office will contact the active-duty member and provide them with all of the information needed to facilitate the clearance for travel. The SNIAC office will pull information from the different medical and community agencies, and if appointments are needed, will personally coordinate with the member to obtain the necessary medical appointment information.

This will serve the dual purpose of decreasing the time that members are away from work and limit the number of appointments the family members will be required to attend. The end result will be to reduce the time a family has to wait for the clearance, enabling them to PCS within 38 days.

Some adjustments to SNAIC staffing will also be made to implement these improvements. The SNIAC office will continue to offer a full walk-in service schedule Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m., and to better match demand, more staff will be available to assist clients during the morning hours.

To prepare for these changes, briefings will be given to key community agencies and base support organizations to inform them of the new process. In addition, information has been provided to Ramstein First Sergeants on the new changes and walk-in hours. The 86th MDG SNIAC office thanks you in advance for your patience and assistance while the conversion to the new process occurs.