Deadline approaches for voluntary retraining into undermanned fields

Enlisted airmen have until Sunday to apply for voluntary retraining into an undermanned career field under the first phase of the Air Force’s fiscal 2014 Noncommissioned Officer Retraining Program.

The program is meant to help roughly 970 second-term and career airmen who are in overmanned career fields find new jobs and balance the enlisted force. But the Air Force Personnel Center said that as of June 24, only 5 percent of that number had been approved.

Chief Master Sgt. Brian Shearer, the Air Force Personnel Center’s skills management branch chief, encouraged airmen to apply for the first phase to give them as much control as possible over their career paths.

“Until July 7, airmen in overmanned fields will have some influence over their retraining options, but at midnight July 7, those options go away and we enter NCORP phase II — non-voluntary retraining,” Shearer said.

Selection for the second, non-voluntary phase will run from July 8 to Sept. 8.

To apply for voluntary retraining, airmen must be on at least their second enlistment, be a staff sergeant or staff-select through master sergeant, and have a minimum 5 skill level in their control Air Force specialty code. Staff sergeants must have fewer than 12 years of active service as of Sept. 30, and technical and master sergeants can have no more than 16 years of active service by Sept. 30. Retraining applicants must have at least 24 months of retainability upon completion of their new career field technical school.