Federal Drive interviews – Aug. 30

Federal Drive

Federal Drive interviews – Aug. 30

The Air Force's Chief of Transition Operations explains how a DoD program is helping servicemembers transition to civilian life. Plus, new training at milita...

Federal News Network Staff

August 30, 2012 9:07 am

2 min read

Peggy Rayfield — Chief of Transition Operations, Air Force

The Air Force is trying to do more to help servicemembers find success after the military. Beginning in November, its optional three-day transition program will expand to five days and become required training for all airmen. It’s for good reason: nearly half of all recent vets say they were not prepared to move on to civilian life, according to a Prudential survey.

Marilee Fitzgerald — Director, Department of Defense Education Activity

Students at Defense Department schools will head back to the classroom over the next few weeks. They may notice some changes, like healthier lunches and newer computers. But the biggest change can’t be seen. Teachers have gotten more training in how to deal with the high student turnover rate, unique to the schools on military bases.

John Mancini — President, Association for Information and Image Management

The Obama administration is making a new run at electronic record-keeping. In a new directive, it asks agencies to start working towards a 20-20 goal of totally online records. It gives agencies until November 15 to name a senior official to oversee e-record keeping. By 2016, agencies should be managing e-mail electronically.

Owen Unangst — Director of Enterprise Mobility Services, Unisys

Federal agencies are still parsing out the new bring-your-own-device strategy. It was rolled out by the Office of Management and Budget last week. Under BYOD, the government lets employees use their personal smart phones, tablets or computers to do government work. The BYOD policy leaves a lot up to agency discretion. Unangst recently left the Agriculture Department after a 34-year federal career to join Unisys.