{"id":16009,"date":"2018-04-06T14:14:03","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/06\/air-force-slashes-queep-paperwork-for-airmen-deploying-to-middle-east\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:20:20","slug":"air-force-slashes-queep-paperwork-for-airmen-deploying-to-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/04\/06\/air-force-slashes-queep-paperwork-for-airmen-deploying-to-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force slashes \u2019queep\u2019 paperwork for airmen deploying to Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For years, stacks of paperwork and hours of computer-based training requirements<\/a> have chewed up airmen\u2019s valuable time while they prepared for deployment to the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now, U.S. Air Forces Central Command has taken an ax to its pre-deployment requirements in a bid to free up hours of airmen\u2019s time<\/a>. And AFCENT hopes that will let deploying airmen spend more time with their families and improve their quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re wasting time,\u201d Richard Leech, chief of AFCENT\u2019s manpower and readiness division, said in a March 30 interview. \u201cEvery hour wasted is another hour that a guy could be at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFCENT\u2019s pre-deployment streamlining represents the Air Force\u2019s latest attempt to reduce unnecessary or additional duties, known informally in the service as \u201cqueep.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein in late 2016 finished a review of additional duties imposed on airmen through official Air Force instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service began eliminating some outright or pushing them on to support staff to free up airmen to do their real jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James\u2019 successor, Heather Wilson, has continued the effort to reduce airmen\u2019s unnecessary duties and return time to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFCENT\u2019s new, streamlined pre-deployment requirements went into effect March 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAirmen are under more demands now than ever,\u201d Col. Devin Statham, the A1, or manpower, personnel and services director for AFCENT at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, said in a March 27 release. \u201cWe need to be good stewards of their time, and allow them to focus on the more important mission-impacting items while maintaining a good work-life balance.\u201d
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Leech estimates they will save deploying airmen at least 263,600 hours per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the more than 49,000 airmen who went through the Middle East last year, that averages out to at least five hours saved per airman annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deploying airmen will save \u201canywhere from a 15-minute CBT [computer-based training session] to a two-hour wait at the hospital,\u201d Leech said.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, that five-hour-per-airman estimate doesn\u2019t take into account the amount of time airmen take traveling to multiple offices, waiting around, and reading, comprehending and completing checklists, said AFCENT spokesman Maj. Patrick Simmons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe hours of savings is probably highly underestimated,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cAlthough even five hours is important to that airman and his loved ones … that really doesn\u2019t accurately convey what we\u2019re doing for the airman.\u201d
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A pair of Air Force and Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians work together to cover one another during a joint service EOD field training exercise at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, May 23, 2017. Airmen with specific skills, including EOD, are often called upon to deploy with Army, Marine and Navy units. (Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reducing the dreaded CBT requirements is a major part of AFCENT\u2019s streamlining effort. Leech said AFCENT\u2019s review showed that some CBTs weren\u2019t necessary and were imposing too much of a burden on airmen\u2019s time.
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