Reduction/elimination of full-time telephone operators at Tyndall

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Reel
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCEBASE, Fla. --  As of April 1, full-time base operator services are now only available Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to midnight.

The changes are part of the Air Education and Training Command's Culture of Cost Consciousness, or C3. Headquarters AETC is looking to achieve cost savings by using technology to eliminate the use of full-time base operator services.

These services include Hearts Apart, Morale calls, conference call hosting and the elimination of directory and base locator services.

"Rest assured, service to our customers is still a priority for AETC- we just think there are smarter and more efficient ways to provide these services," said Rebecca Meares-Jones, chief of AETC Computer Systems Squadron's Services Flight.

Hearts Apart and Morale calls will be handled through the use of PIN access.

"Deployed members who previously called back to their home station through our operators (morale calls) will use their pin to complete calls automatically," said Jerry Flowers, 325th Communications Squadron chief of operations flight.

These changes will take effect in phases through complete implementation on Oct. 1, 2012.

Beginning May 1, the base locator and directory services will only be available during duty hours, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. All calls during non-duty hours will be handled by an automated call tree.

By August 1, Tyndall is expected to have all phases complete and eliminate the consolidated telephone operator services," said Daniel Moran, 325th Communications Squadron deputy director. "All calls will then be handled through the automated call tree."

The 325 CS is working in coordination with AETC headquarters on implementation and will work to minimize impacts to the base.

"Manpower constraints will drive us to reduce operating hours before all of the automated solutions are in place," Meares-Jones said, "but we will ensure all possible actions are taken to minimize impact to AETC's mission and personnel."

For your reference, the Tyndall Guide is at the following link: http://www.militarymediainc.com/tyndall/