Growing number of airmen extending tours overseas

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Growing number of airmen extending tours overseas
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, February 18, 2008

The number of airmen who chose to extend their tours at overseas bases increased last year, saving the Air Force about $34 million.

Those deciding to extend are still in the minority in both U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Pacific Air Forces. But the numbers have risen since the service decided to mandate four-year tours at stateside bases in November 2006 and encourage longer stays abroad.

The Air Force approved 32 percent more In-Place Consecutive Overseas Tours for airmen stationed in USAFE in 2007 and 40 percent more IPCOTs in PACAF, according to figures provided by the Air Force Personnel Center. The number of involuntary and voluntary extensions — generally shorter and not considered complete second tours — also rose in both theaters.

In 2007, 4,152 airmen in USAFE extended in some manner. That’s only a bit more than 16 percent of the force. But it’s a 3 percent increase from the previous year. In PACAF, 3,123 airmen, or a little more than 10 percent of the force, extended tours in 2007 — a jump of about 2 percent from 2006.

Letty Inabinet, chief of assignments, programs and procedures at the personnel center, said the center has no way to tell how many airmen are applying for extensions overseas because applications can be stopped at the local level and never get forwarded up the chain. She said that, at least as far as enlisted airmen go, the center approves “a majority” of the extensions it receives.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52579