Air Force officials introduce new civilian training vehicle; Air Force print news

Defense AT&L, July-August, 2008

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Without it, they are stuck in park. With it, however, they can rev up their future. With the introduction of the Standard Form 182, which was rolled out recently by the Office of Personnel Management, Air Force civilians now have an elite vehicle in their inventory that can effectively steer them toward their individual training goals.

Whether it's an advanced clerical course, a motor vehicle operating class, or one of hundreds of other critical courses and training conferences, the SF-182 is the mechanism that can put civilians' training needs in motion.

"The new form is a big improvement over the DD Form 1556, which we have been using for more than 25 years or so," said Hugh Lovelady, chief of the workforce effectiveness section with the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "The SF-182 is clearer, more specific, easier to use, and should help our customers better identify and communicate their individual training needs."

Besides ease of use, another factor behind OPM mandating use of the form was to give government agencies the ability to enter training data in the Enterprise Human Resource Integration System, which is a tool initiated by OPM to maintain training data and personnel information.

"The SF-182's user interface helps Air Force training managers use that information more effectively," said Mike Hameroff, the Air Force's academic programs branch chief at the Pentagon. "With help from the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System, they can now track completed training using a variety of reporting and filtering tools."

At the base level, training offices currently accept the SF-182 in electronic and in hard-copy forms. Electronic routing, however, is preferred.

"Even though it has been an adjustment for people who were used to using the older 1556," said Patricia Lapsley, who serves as the civilian training manager for more than 5,000 civilian employees at four Air Force bases, "we do see the long-term potential with the new form's electronic signature process and drop-down code menus. We encourage units to submit SF-182s via e-mail so we can electronically sign the form. It speeds up the process."

The SF-182 can be downloaded at <www.opm.gov/forms/>. Air Force members can use blocks in the basic information, course data, and cost and billing sections to meet their specific needs. Although not required, military members can also use the form to put their training goals on the fast track. Interested individuals can see their local training program manager for details.