ARMS available at Whiteman: Base is first in ACC to reach full

  • Published
  • By Capt. Kathleen O'Neill and Dave Grover
  • 509th Mission Support Squadron
WHITEMAN, MO --  Airmen no longer have to come to the military personnel flight to get copies of paperwork found in the unit personnel record group. 

At the end of February, the MPF undertook an intensive initiative to screen 3,446 active duty military UPRGs in preparation for electronic conversion. 

Twelve active duty, civilian and contract personnel in the MPF logged 1,800 manhours over three weeks searching through each UPRG to determine if documents included were extraneous, outdated or missing. The MPF mailed 77 boxes of UPRGs to the Air Force Personnel Center March 19. 

As of April 13, Whiteman became the first base in Air Combat Command to have all electronic UPRGs available in the Automated Records Management System. 

ARMS is available through the AFPC Secure website found at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil. 

Every active duty Airman will have access to his/her own UPRG through ARMS. 

If you need a copy of your EPRs for a decoration; a copy of your Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance for your mobility folder; if you are reaccomplishing new security clearance paperwork and want to review your previous SF 86; or if you are moving on base and need a copy of your PCS orders to Whiteman -- all those documents and the rest of your personnel record will be maintained electronically, said Mr. Dave Grover, MPF customer service site manager. 

All personnel in the MPF retain access to every Airmen's UPRG electronically. 

"At this time, AFPC has issued a quota of two per unit, but in the future we'll be adding access for chiefs, 1st sergeants and others with a need to know," said Capt. Kathleen O'Neill, MPF commander. 

Additionally, a limited number of people in each squadron will have access to records for everyone in their unit. 

"This is an exciting time in the personnel community," said Capt. Kathleen O'Neill, MPF commander. "There are several initiatives in work to help with the administrative responsibilities of supervisors at all levels. 

"Converting the UPRGs to an electronic system allows leadership to access records right from their desk no matter what time of day," Captain O'Neill said. 

In the past, a lot of important documents were only found in one location -- the hard copy UPRG. If you're a techical sergeant or below and your UPRG was lost or destroyed, your original EPRs were gone and the UPRG had to be built from scratch, Mr. Grover said. 

The conversion has fixed this issue. After being scanned into ARMS, AFPC will back up the records on two different systems to ensure no loss of records. 

From this point forward, any new documents will be reviewed by the applicable MPF office and forwarded to AFPC to be scanned into the record. 

"This electronic conversion is part of a bigger shift in the personnel world to focus more of our resources on the war fighting mission," Captain O'Neill said. 

"Automated personnel systems like ARMS and virtual MPF along with the newly developed Air Force Contact Center are promoting a self-service environment in the human resource area," Captain O'Neill said. 

For more information on the electronic UPRG conversion, call the MPF at 687-6426