“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave,” so the classic tune by the Eagles goes. For those Ramstein patrons who are in the middle of out-processing in preparation for an upcoming permanent change of station, you may be able to relate to those lyrics. Fortunately, help is on the way.
An important aspect of the 86th Airlift Wing’s mission is to operate the Air Force’s premier installation to enable and assure strategic capabilities. One way we do that is by taking care of the 54,000 Americans who call the KMC home while providing an exceptional quality of life. Another way we do that is by ensuring our mission support processes (housing, finance, personnel) are as efficient as possible to minimize Airmen’s time away from work.
Anyone who PCSd to Ramstein more than two years ago knows first-hand that it was a cumbersome, confusing process to in-process the myriad of base agencies. For many, in-processing took more than four weeks of appointments and running around. We had to get better.
In 2011, we utilized principles from Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century to examine and improve the entire in-processing system and, after much hard work, we’ve seen incredible success. The process that once took four weeks now takes only three days. That was a huge win for world-class customer service.
Now, as we head into 2013, the 86th AW has once again put “eliminating non-value added activities in our major processes” as one of its top priorities. The first of seven major processes that we will overhaul is Ramstein out-processing.
As the team champion for this AFSO21 event, you have my pledge that we will not simply make our internal processes more efficient by outsourcing our work to you, our customer. We’ve all seen that before as organizations try to do more with less in an era of competing and/or declining resources, but it does not save the customer time, nor does it help enable and assure strategic capabilities.
Our goal is to complete this AFSO21 event in time to affect the bulk of the 2013 summer PCS movers. Since many out-processing actions begin 90 to 120 days before the actual move, we have an aggressive schedule and a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we’ll get it done. In the coming weeks, the team will engage with agencies all over the base and across multiple organizations. From getting that initial assignment notification to finally boarding the plane, we will analyze every step in the process and weed out all non-value activities.
We know that there is no magic wand to wave and make a process perfect. We also know that working smarter, not harder, requires user input, so we invite your feedback by sending your suggestions and first-hand experiences to 86msg.cce@ramstein.af.mil.
The end goal is an out-processing system that is simple to understand, that minimizes your time away from work or other priorities, and that is overall effective for clearing base agencies.
Hopefully, instead of feeling like you’re trapped in “Hotel California,” you’ll soon be singing another Eagles classic, “Take it Easy,” as you begin your PCS out-processing actions.
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News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany 
“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave,” so the classic tune by the Eagles goes. For those Ramstein patrons who are in the middle of out-processing in preparation for an upcoming permanent change of station, you may be able to relate to those lyrics. Fortunately, help is on the way.
An important aspect of the 86th Airlift Wing’s mission is to operate the Air Force’s premier installation to enable and assure strategic capabilities. One way we do that is by taking care of the 54,000 Americans who call the KMC home while providing an exceptional quality of life. Another way we do that is by ensuring our mission support processes (housing, finance, personnel) are as efficient as possible to minimize Airmen’s time away from work.
Anyone who PCSd to Ramstein more than two years ago knows first-hand that it was a cumbersome, confusing process to in-process the myriad of base agencies. For many, in-processing took more than four weeks of appointments and running around. We had to get better.
In 2011, we utilized principles from Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century to examine and improve the entire in-processing system and, after much hard work, we’ve seen incredible success. The process that once took four weeks now takes only three days. That was a huge win for world-class customer service.
Now, as we head into 2013, the 86th AW has once again put “eliminating non-value added activities in our major processes” as one of its top priorities. The first of seven major processes that we will overhaul is Ramstein out-processing.
As the team champion for this AFSO21 event, you have my pledge that we will not simply make our internal processes more efficient by outsourcing our work to you, our customer. We’ve all seen that before as organizations try to do more with less in an era of competing and/or declining resources, but it does not save the customer time, nor does it help enable and assure strategic capabilities.
Our goal is to complete this AFSO21 event in time to affect the bulk of the 2013 summer PCS movers. Since many out-processing actions begin 90 to 120 days before the actual move, we have an aggressive schedule and a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we’ll get it done. In the coming weeks, the team will engage with agencies all over the base and across multiple organizations. From getting that initial assignment notification to finally boarding the plane, we will analyze every step in the process and weed out all non-value activities.
We know that there is no magic wand to wave and make a process perfect. We also know that working smarter, not harder, requires user input, so we invite your feedback by sending your suggestions and first-hand experiences to 86msg.cce@ramstein.af.mil.
The end goal is an out-processing system that is simple to understand, that minimizes your time away from work or other priorities, and that is overall effective for clearing base agencies.
Hopefully, instead of feeling like you’re trapped in “Hotel California,” you’ll soon be singing another Eagles classic, “Take it Easy,” as you begin your PCS out-processing actions.