Streamlining Final Processing

Active duty airmen retiring or separating from overseas areas on or after Jan. 1 will no longer be required to travel to a stateside separation processing base to conduct final outprocessing actions, the Air Force Personnel Center announced earlier this month. Instead, under a recently introduced initiative, they will be able to take care of check-out tasks through various overseas base organizations and via a virtual military personnel flight, thereby allowing them to travel directly to their home of selection, or, for separating members, directly to their home of record or to the place where they entered active duty, said Ann Lacey, AFPC’s retirement procedures section manager. “This change will make things a lot easier for our airmen overseas because they won’t have to worry about making that additional stop,” she said. If applicable, the airmen may also complete the tasks by mail after arriving in the continental US. In cases where there are limited support facilities overseas, the airmen may need to return to a stateside base. And in some cases, the Air Force may deem it in its best interest that an airman goes through stateside outprocessing. For airmen in the Guard and Reserve, procedures for separating and retiring remain the same.