Base members receive deployment briefing Published April 14, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Christopher Stoltz Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- A "Why me?" deployment briefing was held by the 42nd Logistics Readiness Flight at the base theater to field questions and respond to concerns about the deployment selection process. The selection process is the No. 1 complaint the 42nd LRF receives. The 42nd LRF usually hosts installation deployment briefings once a month for the base leadership, but this event was unique because it allowed any personnel to ask questions about why they are getting deployed instead of someone else. The event not only provided service members an open forum for questions, but also shared the in-depth process of deployment selection. Senior Airman Luanna Ramirez, a logistics planner with the 42nd LRF, said the briefing would help Airmen understand why they are tasked to an assignment. "I know how the deployment process works, this is a chance for me to help other people understand," Ramirez said. To make the briefing easier to understand, the 42nd LRF handed out cards to the audience, each card containing a specific Air Force Specialty Code accompanied with specifics about a simulated Airman. James Parris, the deputy chief of operations with the Readiness and Intelligence Division for Air Education and Training Command, listed different deployment scenarios for the audience. Mr. Parris then said what type of deployment was needed and narrowed it down to a few people using the process of elimination. If a person did not meet the AFSC, year, age, health and training requirements of the deployment, they were asked to sit down, eliminating them from the chance of being deployed. After narrowing the audience down to a select few, Mr. Parris listed what was happening in the lives of the few who were still eligible for deployment. There were different scenarios for each person still standing. He then told the audience who would be selected for the deployment. "Choosing a person for deployment is not as easy as an example demonstration," Mr. Parris said. "Narrowing the amount of people eligible for a deployment is simple, choosing from the few remaining is the hard part," said Maj. Kevin S. Groff, commander, HQ Squadron Section and director, Manpower and Personnel AU/A1. "The system allows us to narrow the amount of people we have to choose from by meeting certain criteria for the deployment needed. Their grade, skill level, whether they are male or female, their deployment availability code and duty limitation code play part in who is eliminated from being deployed and who can go. "At this point, it becomes the commander's personal decision as to which member deploys," said Major Groff. "That is the tough part, because the commander then has to consider multiple factors." Some factors considered are the member's previous deployment history, how frequently they have been deployed and how recent the deployment was. "Keep in mind that each commander determines the deployed differently," Major Groff said. "There are no set rules to consider when there are multiple personnel qualified and available for the deployment tasking. At that point, it just comes down to who the Air Force needs the most." For more information about the deployment selection process, call the 42nd LRF 953-5056.