Air Force transforms filing personal claims

  • Published
  • By Derek Kaufman
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KETTERING, Ohio --  Airmen and Air Force civilian employees will no longer have to wait up to two months to get paid on claims for loss or damage to their household goods, thanks to the new Air Force Claims Service Center here.

The center, located in a business park about 15 miles from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, now processes every personal property claim worldwide, using an innovative on-line process designed to both make it easier to file a claim and speed payment.

Only a year ago, the Air Force Claims Service Center was just a concept, said Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. Today it has completely transformed the old paperwork-centric process it replaced. Airmen or their families can now file their entire claim on-line from the convenience of their home, day or night.  Certain documents needed by claims adjudicators can now be easily scanned and uploaded into the system. Those who need assistance will find they can reach a paralegal at the center 24/7 with a toll-free telephone call.

"This is an incredible achievement," Secretary Wynne said, and an improvement over the old claims process--one that he acknowledged had changed very little in the last 50 years--that some Airmen found so daunting they'd elect to forgo filing a claim for small losses just to avoid the hassle. 

Knowing there had to be a better way, young enlisted paralegals working in claims offices conceived the concept of a centralized, Internet-based claims process. Air Force leaders approved the concept in March 2006 and directed it be implemented in only 12 months.

Secretary Wynne called the Air Force Claims Service Center "a bona fide, efficiency and productivity winner," which exemplified Air Force Smart Operations 21. The Secretary was joined by Zack Gaddy, Director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and Maj. Gen. Jack Rives, Air Force Judge Advocate General to formally dedicate the center March 23.

Maj. Gen. Rives said the center was a cornerstone of the JAG Corps 21 program, which, in conjunction with AFSO 21, focuses on transforming legal operations to better meet Air Force requirements. The center is projected to save the Air Force $60 million over the next 10 years. The consolidation returned more than 200 personnel slots back to the Air Force to be reallocated and support recapitalization efforts.

"The Air Force Claims Service Center motto is 'Fast, Friendly and Fair,'" Rives said. "The feedback we're getting is: 'You're living up to that motto.'"

A key enabler for fast processing and payment of claims was forged from the close partnership between Judge Advocate Corps and Defense Finance and Accounting Service experts who focused early on to streamline the process start to finish.

Thanks to their efforts, "an end-to-end process that use to take 60 days can now be accomplished in less than 10 days," said Mr. Gaddy.

Lt. Col. Eric Bee, is chief of the AFCSC. He said the purpose of the claims center "is all about taking care of Airmen."

"We stood this organization up on a fast track and couldn't have done it without great support from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base," he said. "The 88th Comm Group, 88th Contracting Squadron, and Civilian Personnel Office were amazing."

Bee said the initial cadre of paralegals reported to Kettering on temporary duty in order to establish an initial operational capability ahead of schedule on Sept 29, 2006. Now all AFCSC staff are permanently assigned. The staff, which will grow to about 100 Airmen and civilians, assumed responsibility for personal claims worldwide on March 1. 

"They see the difference they are making every day," Bee said. "It's fun to get up in the morning and come to work here."

Pete Petersen, a civilian paralegal at the AFCSC, likened its creation, rapid standup and transition to a totally paperless process to the creation of the Air Force by early airpower visionaries.

"This is really special. It's exciting to be part of something that is truly transformational from its genesis. You can't understate the historic significance."