JANUARY 2011 TFSC -DENVER UTA SUPPORT, STOP LOSS CLAIM DEADLINE EXTENDED, NEW vPC-GR ENHANCEMENTS, EDUCATION UPDATES CRUCIAL TO OFFICER PROMOTION PROCESS Published Jan. 3, 2011 ARPC NOTAM 085 - Commanders -- JANUARY 2011 TOTAL FORCE SERVICE CENTER - DENVER (TFSC) UTA SUPPORT (ANG, AFRC) - TFSC Denver phone counselors will provide UTA support the following Saturdays, January 8 and 22. There will not be support the third Saturday, due to the federal holiday. In addition to answering your personnel questions, January 8, specialists from the PCARS (Point Credit Accounting and Reporting System) office will be available to specifically address points questions. During UTAs, counselors can be reached by calling 800-525-0102 or DSN 926-6528 from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. MT. Citizen Airmen can always request assistance 24/7/365 by logging onto the virtual Personnel Center-Guard and Reserve, the customer service Web portal for personnel services, at http://arpc.afrc.af.mil/vPC-GR/. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STOP LOSS CLAIM DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 4, 2011 (ANG, AFRC) - Reservists and Guardsmen whose service was involuntarily extended beyond an approved separation or retirement date as a result of stop loss may be eligible for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay compensation of $500 for each month that they served on active duty while they were affected. The 2009 War Supplemental Appropriation Act set aside $534.4 million to compensate members, including those of the Reserve components who served on active duty who were affected by stop loss between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2009. Eligible individuals now have until March 4, 2011 to file their claim. For more information or to download and submit a stop loss claim application visit the ARPC website at https://arpc.afrc.af.mil/vPC-GR/StopLoss_intro.asp. ARPC counselors at the Total Force Service Center are available at 800-525-0102 to answer any questions regarding your eligibility. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW vPC-GR ENHANCEMENTS (ANG, AFRC) - In order to provide the most user-friendly applications in vPC-GR to our customers, we have recently launched four new enhancements that will make personnel services online even easier to use. 1) The Document Request enhancement allows a customer to submit requests for 19 different document types and aids in rapid fulfillment of these requests. 2) The Dashboard Action Requests tab groups all request types by functional area; this enhancement provides two new areas to help customers manage their own personnel records. 3) The Total Force Knowledge integration enhancement links customers with the Total Force knowledge Base, providing access to current knowledge and information on various personnel programs for all components. 4) The Home Page login enhancement automatically redirects customers back to the Home Page after login and displays some of the most-requested data items from their personnel record-including Retirement, Decorations, and Evaluations information. Effective Wednesday, Jan. 5, an enhancement to the ANG Separation application will be released. ANG Separation Order Publication will be centrally located at ARPC. The enhancement allows ARPC to publish separation orders for all ANG voluntary/unique/involuntary separations. MPS/JFHQ HR technicians will no longer be required to publish and attach a separation order for requests. For more information about these enhancements, you can contact the Total Force Service Center at 800-525-0102 or view the full bulletins located within the vPC-GR dashboard. For online personnel transactions, log in to the Virtual personnel Center - Guard and Reserve at https://arpc.afrc.af.mil/vPC-GR. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDUCATION UPDATES CRUCIAL TO OFFICER PROMOTION PROCESS (ANG, AFRC) - Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is the sole source providing updates into the Military Personnel Data System (MilPDS) on academic degrees for officers on active duty, and in the guard or reserve. Officers should note that timely education updates are very important to the promotion process. In some cases, your promotion depends on it. Officers are highly encouraged to ensure their degree status is correct and updated by AFIT well in advance of being considered by a promotion board. To access personnel data, officers should view their record via the virtual MPF (vMPF) by logging into the AF Portal and clicking on the vMPF link under the Personnel/Finance Top Links on the left side of the page. For further information on academic education updates please visit the AFIT site at: http://www.afit.edu/coding/index.cfm. Note: the section cannot update Professional Military Education (PME) - SOS, ACSC, etc, or any type of board certification or short course training items. For information on this and other frequently asked questions visit: http://www.afit.edu/coding/faq.cfm. //signed// PATRICIA S. BLASSIE, Colonel, USAFR Commander, HQ Air Reserve Personnel Center Subscribe to ARPC News Service - http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/news/subscribe.asp View past NOTAMs - http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/news/index.asp?catid=284 ARPC hours and contact information - http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11336