Sixty-six assignments at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, will be 24-month tours, regardless of accompanied status, according to an Air Force Personnel Center release. The change applies to anyone selected for those positions after Jan. 1 or later.
Turkish airmen and civilians of the 10th Tanker Base Command sing the Turkish national anthem alongside U.S. Airmen during the Ataturk Memorial Day Ceremony Nov. 10, 2013, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (Senior Airman Chase Hedrick/Air Force).
The positions include those held by airmen first class through lieutenant colonels who “directly support the priority level one mission” there, said Bill Warner, AFPC’s assignment programs and procedures branch chief, in the release.
“The purpose of the tour extension is to provide a level of continuity at Incirlik Air Base that is currently constrained due to the tour lengths that are now in place,” said Master Sgt. Norris I. Agnew, public affairs spokesman for USAFE-AFAFRICA, in an email.
“There are certain positions and specialties at Incirlik that require longer-than-average training time upon arrival, especially for junior airmen,” Norris said.
Priority level one missions and equipment are those that have the highest security requirements, said Maj. Gerardo Gonzalez, spokesman at USAFE-AFAFRICA, in an email.
These PL-1 missions can be anything from “supporting certain high priority aircraft, such as Air Force One, to maintaining critical communications equipment,” he said.
“Tour extensions will allow these airmen to get the full breadth of training required while maximizing the benefit of that training by keeping experienced airmen in place longer,” Norris said.
All enlisted positions will be advertised through the Enlisted Quarterly Assignment Listing, or EQUAL Plus, accessible through the Virtual Military Personnel Flight or the myPers website.
The positions will clearly indicate the new tour length requirement.
Airmen currently assigned to PL-1 positions will not be affected and will continue their 15- or 24-month assignments, Warner said.
For more information about assignment opportunities and other personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.
No Comments
So because these 12-15 month short tours are being changed to 24 month tours, does that mean we will not be getting our choice of follow on assignments? The only reason I had incirlik on my listing was to get out of my current base and be able to finally get a base I wanted. Seems like most people who did this will be getting a decrease in morale due to the air force changing promises and plans :/