BOSTON -- As part of the Air Force Reserve’s strategic priority, Reform the Organization, and aligned with the Air Force Chief of Staff’s vision to Accelerate Change or Lose, Air Force Reserve Command and Kessel Run recently kicked off a new software development program to simplify and update the user interface of the Air Force Reserve’s Unit Training Assembly Personnel System (UTAPS) and its Air Reserve Order Writing System – Reserve (AROWS-R).
The new software development program is named Project SUPRA – Super UTAPS Product Replacement with AROWS.
“AFRC is leading this initiative by elevating the critical importance of these mission support platforms that our Citizen Airmen depend on,” said Col. Gregory Kuzma, project lead for the travel pay reform initiative and an Individual Mobilization Augmentee assigned to the Headquarters Individual Reservist Readiness Integration Organization.
UTAPS and AROWS-R are the primary systems by which Reserve Citizen Airmen schedule inactive duty training and annual tour periods. This system is also used for duty certification and drives the process by which members are paid for their duty through the Defense Finance and Accounting System myPay system.
This user interface redesign effort is the first initiative that falls under the Reserve’s travel pay reform initiative to evaluate and improve the travel pay process from beginning to end.
Under this effort, Air Force Reserve leadership has solicited feedback from Reserve Citizen Airmen on how to improve the current travel pay system, which sometimes results in significant delays in travel and pay reimbursement for Reservists.
“AFRC’s partnership with Kessel Run will help accelerate change and have a positive impact on the resiliency of our Citizen Airmen. The goal for this phase is to develop a completely new, browser-agnostic interface that is mobile compatible. Citizen Airmen will be able to schedule, approve and get paid for duty through their smartphones,” Kuzma said.
Kessel Run, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the operational name for Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Detachment 12. Its mission is to deliver combat capabilities to warfighters and revolutionize the Air Force software acquisition process. Kessel Run has a proven track record in enhancing efficiency, saving costs and modernizing the way the Air Force operates with its agile software development. It will now lend its talents to modernizing the Air Force Reserve pay system.
“As a Reservist who has personally experienced the pains of being dependent on antiquated systems, I am proud that Kessel Run will be able to help streamline and modernize the way we pay our Airmen,” said Col. Brian Beachkofski, Kessel Run commander. “This is yet another example of how Kessel Run is helping move us into the future.”
“I look forward to working with the outstanding team at AFRC A1 (Manpower, Personnel and Services Directorate), A6 (the Communications Directorate), FM (the Financial Management Directorate), HQ RIO, the Technology Services Organization and Kessel Run to work toward a shared goal of making the travel pay process easier,” Kuzma added.