Career enhancement: logistics civilian career enhancement program logistics career broadening program.

Logistics Civilian Career Enhancement Program--has met a multitude of challenges with regard to the logistics workforce, while providing management with quality service when filling positions. Through the Base Realignment and Closure in 1995 to implementation of the air and space expeditionary forces to the current Chief's Logistics Review and combat wing organization changes, it has supported the Air Force by providing well-educated, prepared civilian employees and leaders. The program was created to provide central management of developmental and training opportunities for the logistics civilian workforce and provide a central means of referring qualified candidates to management.

Logistics Career Broadening Program--provides aircraft maintenance, munitions and missile maintenance, logistics readiness, contracting, acquisition, and finance officers a chance to gain specialized knowledge in acquisition logistics and life-cycle sustainment support, but in practice, it is much more than that. The program not only provides unique instruction in logistics but also lends opportunities to grow as a leader and manager. Through the course of the program, the career broadening officer works in various disciplines, learning the functions and challenges of other logistics career fields and earning professional certification in Level I Program Management and Level I Acquisition Logistics. Finally, the participant has an opportunity in the final phase of the tour to concentrate in one area in order to fine tune what was learned in the first phase. This job assignment is usually related to the person's primary logistics specialty.

Logistic Civilian Career Enhancement Program

LCCEP Charter: To encourage and manage the development of employees to their fullest potential to meet the logistics needs of the Air Force.

Many employees probably have heard of the Logistics Civilian Career Enhancement Program (LCCEP) but do not realize the impact it has on the logistics civilian workforce. Since LCCEP's inception in October 1980, it has met a multitude of challenges with regard to the logistics workforce, while providing management with quality service when filling positions. Through the Base Realignment and Closure in 1995 to implementation of the air and space expeditionary forces to the current Chief's Logistics Review and combat wing organization changes, LCCEP has supported the Air Force by providing well-educated, prepared civilian employees and leaders.

LCCEP was created to provide central management of developmental and training opportunities for the logistics civilian workforce and provide a central means of referring qualified candidates to management. The LCCEP PALACE Team at Randolph AFB, Texas, conducts the day-to-day operations of the program.

There are 19 functional civilian career programs within the Air Force, with LCCEP being the largest. In 2003, more than 3,000 positions were covered by LCCEP, with more than 500 referral certificates issued each year. The LCCEP Team is provided management oversight by a policy council composed of senior logisticians. Each career program has a policy council, similar in structure but different in the nature of program activities, to meet mission needs according to its functional requirements.

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LCCEP Policy Council

The LCCEP Policy Council oversees the program to ensure requirements are reflected in the development and selection of employees. It has representatives from all major commands (MAJCOM) and air logistics centers and has four executive panels that assist in providing oversight of the program's day-to-day operations (Table 1). These panels work to design, implement, and maintain operational procedures.

LCCEP PALACE Team

The LCCEP PALACE Team conducts the day-to-day operations for the logistics career program. It consists of logisticians from across the Air Force, from a variety of occupational areas, who work with a servicing team of permanent personnel specialists. The team, through its operational programs, provides quality referral certificates, administers the career development program, assesses the logistics workforce, and provides career counseling to logistics employees.

Career Program Positions

General oversight procedures for the civilian career programs are contained in Air Force Manual 36-606, Volume 1. Positions identified and approved by the Policy Council are managed centrally through the career program office. LCCEP covers all GS-13 through GS-15 positions in the series shown in Table 2. Approximately 50 percent of the GS-9 through GS-12 positions are also covered. Requests to fill Career Program-covered positions are processed through the LCCEP Team.

Fill Actions

Implementation of the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System (DCPDS), during the last 6 months of 2002, presented a tremendous challenge to the personnel community and the PALACE Team. During this period, LCCEP experienced an increase in the number of requests. A large number of the corresponding referral certificates had to be produced by hand because all installations had not fully implemented DCPDS. The result was an increase in overall processing time. However, once the system was fully implemented in September 2002, certificate-processing time improved greatly, particularly with the internal certificates, to the point they are now averaging 27 days process time from the date the request is received in the LCCEP office. Figure 2 shows the processing time over the last 2 years. Process improvement is continuing, with the objective to significantly reduce processing time to less than 2 weeks.

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The Operations Section of the LCCEP Team receives the fill request and announces the vacancy on Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Web sites. Air Force employees indicate their interest by self-nominating through the AFPC secure Web site. A promotion plan is constructed by the respective occupational work group from the Position Management Panel. The promotion plan, based on skills needed for the position that is being filled, is used to identify skills, beginning with basic skills, and three other areas, with each area becoming more definitive regarding the quality of experience sought. As an employee's experience record passes through the promotion plan, it is given points in each of the four levels. The promotion plan is used to produce a candidate referral roster, containing the names of all self-nominating candidates, in descending order, based on the number of points awarded based on an employee's experience and Whole Person Score (WPS). The top 15 candidates are referred, along with any ties.

Since DCPDS is a real time data system, it is important that employees keep their personnel records current. When a promotion plan is run, the system uses the most current information on file. Career briefs are available online through the AFPC secure Web site, and the LCCEP Team recommends that employees review them annually and report any changes or corrections to their servicing civilian personnel flight.

Career Development Opportunities

A tenet of current diversity training, presented to Air Force leaders, is, "Quality is something you must create." LCCEP is mindful of this as it identifies quality developmental opportunities for logistics employees. LCCEP budgets for various education and training opportunities to support individual employee development. All these opportunities are available on the LCCEP Web site. Please note that participation in some programs may require senior leader endorsement.

Approximately 60 percent of the LCCEP training budget supports tuition assistance, which is provided for mission-related courses offered at accredited institutions. Funding follows the guidance of the Civilian Tuition Assistance Program in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36401 and authorizes payment of 75 percent of the semester or quarter-hour tuition. The AFI also establishes a fiscal year cap for tuition assistance received by each employee. These limits change occasionally, so employees seeking tuition assistance should review the LCCEP Web site or AFI for the current cap. Tuition assistance is provided at any time during the year, as long as funds are available and the request to LCCEP arrives 30 days prior to the class start date.

LCCEP also offers Long-Term, Full-Time, and PartTime In-Place (PTIP) programs. These programs allow employees to attend college, either full time or part time, and receive their salary. Employees in the PTIP must attend work on a part-time basis to account for the full workday. Annual nominations for these programs are solicited each fall, and senior leader endorsement is required.

One of LCCEP's primary programs for developing employees is the Career Broadening Program. This program provides a 2-year assignment at a location, other than the home installation, and at a different organizational level than that of the participant. It includes 35 positions at the GS-12, 13, and 14 grade levels at a variety of locations as listed in Table 3. Approximately 66 percent of the assignments are located in the Pentagon, with the remainder at various major commands.

If eligible, selection for the program may result in a temporary promotion. Interested employees must meet the prerequisites for self-nomination and obtain a senior leader endorsement and take-back agreement.

Career enhancement positions provide yet another individual career development opportunity. Currently, these positions are provided only through the PALACE Team. However, additional opportunities have been approved that will permit crossflow between Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) personnel and the operational commands. This program, the Logistics Enhancement Program, will be initiated in fiscal year (FY) 2004. The objective is to provide potential logistics leaders an opportunity to work more closely with military counterparts, often referred to as bluing, while providing operational commands a source of AFMC business acumen.

Measuring Career Development

Early in the development of LCCEP, senior logistics leaders recognized the need to foster the knowledge desired for logistics experts. This resulted in the creation of the WPS. The WPS comprises attained experience and education, along with the employee appraisal of record and credit attained for the WPS Assessment Interview (used only for employees eligible for promotion to GS-14). Employees, who self-nominate for announced vacant positions, compete under a promotion plan prepared for the vacancy. They are awarded points from basic eligibility through possession of the current skills of the position, with the WPS being calculated at the same time. Points for WPS are included in the total ranking points attained. The WPS is also used when employees are considered for training and developmental opportunities offered by LCCEP. Because of DCPDS implementation, online WPS capability no longer exists. However, LCCEP is working to provide online capability, which will permit employees to calculate their WPS without having to selfnominate for a vacancy.

The WPS Assessment Interview is conducted annually for promotion-eligible employees to grade GS-14. The interview measures employee responses to questions reflecting the five logistics managerial competencies and results in a maximum of 120 additional points.

Five Logistics Managerial Competencies

* Conceptual and Strategic Thinking

* Self-Confidence

* Initiative

* Entrepreneurial Achievement

* Working Through Others

When logistics employees become eligible to compete for GS-15 LCCEP covered positions, the Professional Credentials Score (PCS) is used to assess and refer candidates. The elements of the PCS are designed to evaluate employee credentials through the use of assessment criteria derived from the Air Force-approved five pillar whole person assessment model for developing civilian leadership. The first four pillars (Figure 3) are scored similar to the methodology used for the WPS and are based on data contained within DCPDS . The fifth pillar, managerial competency, is assessed from employee-prepared responses citing credentials toward the five OPM Executive Core Qualifications: Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions/Communications. The Managerial Competency Score (MCS) is developed through evaluation of an employee's submitted, self-assessment package by a candidate review board of general officers and Senior Executive Service members. When the resulting MCS assessment points are added to the points credited to the other four pillars or criteria, the result is a PCS, which allows these employees to compete for GS15 logistics-covered positions.

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The Future

   The goal of Civilian Force Development is to identify
   cross-functional
   paths that will expose our civilians to a broader scope of
   Air Force operational activities in preparation for senior
   leadership positions

   --General John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff

The work of LCCEP continues with its involvement in a variety of leading issues and initiatives such as workforce shaping, human resource capital studies, and force development. The Civilian Force Development initiative, outlined in the Chief's Sight Picture of 2 May 2003, has impacts as yet undetermined. However, it is clear that increased developmental opportunities will be available. Employees and supervisors are encouraged to be vigilant regarding opportunities that enhance individual careers. The Civilian Work Force Development Integrated Process Team has been established to provide a strategic plan with anticipated recommendations to be available in late FY 04.

Contacting the LCCEP Team

The LCCEP Team is here to assist employees with questions and career counseling. It has established a list server to facilitate the communication of policy and program changes and special announcements. All interested employees are encouraged to subscribe to the list server; a link to subscribe is provided on the LCCEP Web site. The following generic e-mail address, [e-mail], may be used when making inquiries or simply communicating with the PALACE Team. Please visit the LCCEP Web site for more information: http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil

Program Highlights

The LCCEP provides central management of developmental and training opportunities for the logistics civilian workforce. It also provides a central means of referring qualified candidates to management.

There are 19 functional civilian career programs within the Air Force, with LCCEP being the largest. In 2003, more than 3,000 positions were covered by LCCEP.

Approximately 60 percent of the LCCEP training budget supports tuition assistance, which is provided for mission-related courses offered at accredited institutions. Funding follows the guidance of the Civilian Tuition Assistance Program in Air Force Instruction 36-401 and authorizes payment of 75 percent of the semester or quarter-hour tuition.

LCCEP also offers Long-Term, Full-Time, and Part-Time In-Place (PTIP) programs. These programs allow employees to attend college, either full time or part time, and receive their salary. Employees in the PTIP must attend work on a part-time basis to account for the full workday. Annual nominations for these programs are solicited each fall, and senior leader endorsement is required.

One of LCCEP's primary programs for developing employees is the Career Broadening Program. This program provides a 2-year assignment at a location, other than the home installation, and at a different organizational level than that of the participant. It includes 35 positions at the GS-12, 13, and 14 grade levels at a variety of locations.

Table 1. LCCEP Executive Panels

Panel                   Purpose

Position
Management Panel        Establishes and reviews criteria for position
                        coverage by the program. Develops promotion
                        plans used to provide competitive referral
                        certificates.

Executive Resource      Develops and administers the WPS processes
Panel                   (applies to majority of covered positions) and
                        the Professional Credentials Score (applies
                        to GS-15 covered positions only).

Career                  Reviews training requirements and criteria
Development Panel       and provides general administrative guidance
                        for LCCEP training and developmental programs.
                        Oversees the LCCEP PALACE Acquire Intern
                        program.

Strategic Integration   Develops, evaluates, and implements strategies
Panel                   to integrate Air Force developmental programs
                        that cut across LCCEP programs, initiatives,
                        and activities.

Table 2. Occupational Series

1. Primary Series. Occupational series covered only by LCCEP.

Series           Title

0346             Logistics management
1152             Production control
16XX             General facilities and equipment, equipment
                 specialist
20XX             General supply, supply management, inventory
                 management distribution and storage management,
                 packaging and supply cataloging
2101, 2012,      Transportation specialist, transportation
2130, 2131,      assistant, traffic management, freight rate,
2144, and 2150   cargo scheduling, and transportation operations

2. Shared Series. Occupational series covered by LCCEP and other
programs, depending on the duties and skill coding of the position.
Positions must have at least 50 percent logistics skill
codes and be in one of the following organizational function
codes: AP, AQ, AW, CE, CJ, CR, CS, CY, DC, DD, DF, DT, DU, MA,
MM, MT, OP, PA, PB, PP, SE, SU, or TA.

0301             Miscellaneous administrative
0343             Management and program analysis
1101             General business and industry
1910             Quality assurance

3. Percentage of Coverage by Grade for Primary and Share Series.

100 Percent      MAJCOM Determination (up to 50 percent)

GS-13 through    GS-12, GS-09 through 11 for series 21XX,
15               GS-11 for series 2032

Table 3. LCCEP Career Broadening Position Locations

     Command               Location            Series   Positions

Space Command        Peterson, AFB, Colorado    346        1
Air Combat
Command              Langley, AFB, Texas        346        3
Air Mobility
Command              Scott, AFB, Illinois       346        1
Pacific Air
Forces               Hickam, AFB, Hawaii        346        1
HQ Air Force         Pentagon, Washington DC    346       23
Air Force
Personnel Center     Randolph AFB, Texas        301        3
United States
Air Force in
Europe               Ramstein AB, Germany       346        2
Special Operations
Command              Hurlburt Field, Florida    346        1
Total                                                     35

Ms Lowin is chief of the LCCEP Career Development Section, located at Randolph AFB, Texas, that oversees the career broadening program, tuition assistance, and other developmental activities for Air Force civilian logisticians.