USAF MSC AMA

Ask Me Anything for AY22 Selectees

Logistics
 Date: Fri 23 Jul 2021
 Time: 8pm to 9:30pm EDT
 Participants
o MSC Officers
 1stLt Watkins
 email unknown
 Maj (select) Maxwell
 tyler.d.maxwell2.mil@mail.mil
 Capt Scheer
 nathaniel.scheer.p.mil@mail.mil
o About 10 selectees (names not recorded)
o Note-taker: Nicholas Reithmaier
 nreithma@mail.usf.edu

Notes
I captured the below notes and organized them according to functional topic and augmented with
weblinks where available.

 Intro: The MSC officers opened with introductions.

o Capt Scheer started off with a slide deck outlining the potential rotations and work
sections for an MSC. He has experience in medical readiness and logistics, with
experience prior to MSC in acquisitions.
o 1stLt Watkins stated OTS isn’t as stressful as people think. Selectees can get their
uniforms early, but there are CBT classes that have to be done immediately prior to OTS.
o Maj Maxwell is the new Fellow at the Corps Office at Defense Health Headquarters
(DHHQ) and administrator of the Medical Service Corps official Facebook page. He has
experience in Medical Readiness, TOPA, GPM, and Medical Logistics. He asserted that
MSC was “the best” job in the USAF, and an amazing career field to be part of.
 MSC Background: Key MSC functions/rotations include but are not limited to Medical
Readiness, Medical Logistics, Medical Information Systems, Medical Resource Management,
Group Practice Manager, and Tricare Operations (TOPA). Other potential pathways may include
Air Evacuation and ground surgical teams. MSCs start out rotating thru the different functional
areas, and then “specialty match” in a particular functional area later on. However, just because
someone specialty matches to a functional area does not mean they will only work in that area
going forward. It simply indicates in specialty experience in their record and makes them a
candidate for potential positions looking for that skillset.
o A few functions of Medical Readiness include managing the Readiness and deployment
training requirements for medics, the Group’s Anti-Terrorism program, and Unit
Deployment Management functions.
 o The MSC has one O7/BGen Corps Chief, and four O6/Col functional leads.
 The new MSC Chief is BGen Flowers. He is inbound from his current duties as
the Space Force Surgeon General.
 https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/News/Biographies/Display/Article/
1567602/colonel-alfred-k-flowers-jr/
o One generally matches to a specialty at the O4/Maj time juncture, usually between the
8-10 year mark as indicated in the MSC Career Pyramid. An MSC officer must receive an
approved professional certification before being eligible to promote to O5/LtCol.
 https://kx.health.mil/kj/kx5/AFMedicalServiceCorps/Pages/board_certification.
aspx
o MSCs gain experience as healthcare executives typically assume a position as a Flight
Commander, Deputy Flight Commander or OIC equivalent upon graduating HSA and
typically rotate through 3-5 specialty functions prior to entering the window for
specialty matching. These positions are generally viewed as executive-level positions in
the private sector (e.g. CIO, CFO, etc.)
o Not everyone will get an assignment they want, but it’s important to enjoy the location
you get. Capt Maxwell: “If you think the assignment will be great, you’re right. If you
think it won’t be so great, you’re right. To a large degree, how much you enjoy the
assignment both personally and professionally is already decided by your attitude.”
 OTS and HSA School: The MSC selectees should focus on OTS and HSA school before anything
else. Selectees report to the MTF for 4-to-6 weeks after OTS before they go to HSA school. Even
after HSA school, there’s going to be new situations that the HSA school curriculum simply can’t
cover in depth due to their specificity to that location.
o The HSA school has teaches students scenarios about things that happen at MTFs. Maj
Maxwell assessed the tech school was high quality and relevant to the MSC job duties;
given the time available and sheer volume of material to cover, it does a fantastic job of
providing a 1,000 foot view but cannot hit every possible circumstance.
o Before HSA school, students must fill out an orientation tool about their MTF—for
example, how many patients and personnel does the MTF have? This will give them an
opportunity to make rotations through each discipline before gaining exposure in HSA.
 https://kx.health.mil/kj/kx7/HSASchool/Pages/pre-course_documents.aspx
o It’s worthwhile to review the DHA PIs, AFIs, Joint Pubs. As the transition to DHA
finalizes, so too do the AFI’s move to a joint purview/structure as captured in DHA-PI’s,
which supersede pre-existing guidance. MSCs will need to reference these publications
in their duties, particularly as they relate to the functional area within their area of
responsibility.
 DHA PIs: https://health.mil/About-MHS/OASDHA/Defense-Health-
Agency/Administration-and-Management/DHA-Publications
 AFIs: https://www.e-publishing.af.mil/Product-Index/#/?
view=pubs&orgID=10141&catID=1&series=23&modID=449&tabID=131
 Joint Pubs: https://www.jcs.mil/Doctrine/Joint-Doctine-Pubs/
 Career Advancement: Capt Maxwell: “The most important job is the one you have now. It’s a
small Corps, and your reputation precedes you. Your package gets your name to the table for
competitive selection roles, but that only means you met the requirements to apply. The
 selection committee members will either know you or know someone who does. We take care
of one another, which is where your brand and reputation are built.”
 There are around 1k MSC officers in the USAF. MSCs should talk with their commander about
their career goals during initial feedback, but be open to potential pathways they may have not
considered before, especially early in their careers. Don’t Segway yourself into a hole thinking
that’s the only path, because you may be closing other amazing doors that you didn’t give a
chance to know even exist.
o Billets: Some MTFs are larger than others, so it’s important not focus on billet titles.
For example, one can start as a flight commander at a small MTF and move to an OIC
position at a larger MTF. The OPRs should have the duties and level of responsibility.
 At smaller MTFs, MSCs learn more broadly about a functional area as a flight
commander and even potentially dual-hat, while at a larger MTF the MSC will
usually specialize within a particular part of the functional area as an OIC….the
programs are bigger and require more bandwidth.
o Fellowships: There are different fellowships that individuals can get. Each year, the
Corps (AFPC) publishes a list of Fellowships and Education opportunities which are vast.
AFIT is an educational opportunity and there’s also an Army-Baylor program that awards
a dual MHA. There’s also opportunities to work with private industry for a year,
referred to as EWIs (Education w/Industry)
 The list will outline the requirements for a position, such as needing a master
degree or experience in a particular specialty.
 These are all competitive. Most programs have you get a training report instead
of an officer performance report and each has a dedicated follow-on location.
 https://kx.health.mil/kj/kx7/AFMSCUtilizationEducation/Documents/AY22%20H
PERB%20%20ANNOUNCEMENT%20LETTER_12%20May%2021.pdf
o Networking: It’s important to network and build your brand, so expand your network
early and maintain good relations. HSA school is a good place to begin that journey.
 The MSC Association is a good networking organization. They include retirees
and active duty personnel and can be a good resource.
 Professional organizations, such as the ACHE, are good sources to network as
well. ACHE holds their annual “Congress” annually in Chicago that MSCs can
attend—it is often unit funded but you’ll need to check your local MTF’s policies
(MDGI, etc.). There is often an Air Force breakout sessions for AF-only
members, where they can connect.
o Mentoring: Capt Scheer added that MSCs do a good job at developing each other,
compared to other AFSCs. Other AFSCs have told him that officers in other career fields
are competitive and may avoid helping each other. The reason we take care of each
other is two-fold: (1) our selection process ensures we are selecting people of character
to join the Corps, people who will protect the family and everyone within it, and (2)
There’s always a chance you’ll need the person you’re working with again in the future.
Maybe not 1 year or 5 years, but the day will come. What have you done to groom that
relationship and make a positive impression on the member(s)?
 o Command: Squadrons are generally led by an individual in a specific AFSC, but Group
level and higher have multiple AFSCs competing—for example, Group command
positions consider MSCs, BSCs, DC, NC, etc.
o PME: There’s no Service-wide PME for O1/O2s, but there are local (Wing-level) PMEs
that O1/O2s can attend such as a first-time flight commander, new officer courses, etc..
Check-in with the CAA (career assistance advisor) when you first arrive to base to gather
information.
 DHA Transition: MTFs are transitioning under control from the MilDeps to DHA.
o Maj Maxwell served as a local DHA transition officer at the Peterson MDG. The MTF
appointed an officer to stand up the program and track what DHA policies were issued
to ensure local SME’s could implement and track and shortfalls to completion. The
DHA-PI’s ensure the tri-service umbrella is following the same guidance and speaking
the same “lingo”, which is relevant both at the boot on ground and enterprise level. It
can take 3-to-5 years to change the culture of an organization, so while the DHA
integration will be complete next year the new accessions will likely experience some of
the growing pains as the transition matures to one of high performance.