Air Force minimizes moves by families with high school seniors

Dick Benoit

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 9 a.m.

It has long been a personal problem for career service members and a retention problem for the services. Just when teens in military families approach their senior year of high school, and friends and school activities are perceived as having lifetime social significance, military dads or moms are faced with change-of-station orders.

Now the Air Force is taking action with a new policy, and some Air Force families with a child entering the senior year of high school may get to stay longer at their current duty stations.

"In today's environment of deployments and high operations tempo, it's important that we alleviate stress on families wherever we can," Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald Murray said.

"This is a policy we think increases the quality of life for Air Force families," added Roger Blanchard, Air Force assistant deputy chief of staff for personnel. "The intent is to decrease turbulence and increase stability for military families."

The High School Seniors Assignment Deferment Program allows senior master sergeants and below, as well as officers through the rank of lieutenant colonel to apply for a one-year assignment deferment.

"Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis," Col. Kathleen Grabowski, chief of assignment programs and procedures at the Air Force Personnel Center, said. "The goal is to approve as many requests as mission needs allow without being unfair, but the reality is that some requests won't be possible due to Air Force needs," she said.

To be eligible, the senior in high school must be a dependent of and living with the airman requesting the deferment. Officers must apply before being put on assignment, while enlisted people will not apply until after being matched to an assignment, said Master Sgt. Letty Inabinet, superintendent of assignment procedures.

Officials estimate that annually 20 percent to 25 percent of Air Force officers and senior noncommissioned officers have children entering their senior year of high school and perhaps one-third of those could be eligible for assignment in a given year, officials said.

In brief