A day in civilian personnel

Published July 1, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Ashley L. Gardner
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit." - American Author Napoleon Hill

Retirements, separations, outprocessing and customer service are regularly provided for uniformed service members on a military installation, yet many forget that military installations also provide support for military civilian employees.

When civilians need advice, or are trying to get a job on a military base, civilian personnel is the office that provides them with the assistance they need, given their familiarity with Department of Defense civilian employees.

The civilian personnel office not only works with civilians, but on some occasions will also work with military members. Most times it is when a military member is the supervisor of a civilian employee, as some protocols differ when supervising civilian employees in comparison to military members.

Day to day, the personnel office experiences and overcomes a number of challenges.

"The toughest part about my job would be the amount of multi-tasking we have to do," said Suzanne Brooks, 20th Force Support Squadron civilian personnel officer.

Adding on to the many tasks, the DOD has decided to go through with a furlough, which means a little more work has been added on to their plate to include everything from paper work and reviewing records, to also trying to help employees find better offers.

Although sometimes things get tough, the team of four still stick through it together.

"I am fortunate to work with a good group of people," said Christopher Orbe, 20th Force Support Squadron human resources specialist.

Handling all the cases, both good and bad, while trying to make things easier for civilian employess, the personnel office continue their efforts one day at a time.