You have only 3 days to refuse yearlong tours

[unhappycamper]

You have only 3 days to refuse yearlong tours
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 22, 2008 8:10:49 EDT

Because the Air Force wants to give airmen selected for yearlong combat deployments more advance warning, those who are selected will have less time to say no.

The Air Force wants to notify airmen 120 days ahead of yearlong deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa, but about one-third of those tapped in 2008 received less than 60 days’ notice, according to the Air Force Personnel Center.

To get those deployment notifications out to airmen on time, Air Force officials must find out right away if an airman refuses so they can tap someone else. For that reason, the personnel center is tightening deadlines, said Letty Inabinet, branch chief at the center’s assignment procedures office.

Under the old rules, airmen had up to seven days to refuse the deployment, Inabinet said. Now they will have just three days to say no.

The three-day countdown starts the next working day after an airman receives the deployment notice from his commander, Inabinet said. Weekends and holidays are not counted.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/airforce_365_deployments_091908w/%2e