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Air Force Will Now Consider Child Custody Agreements in Duty Assignments

Airmen with a court-ordered child custody arrangement will have more say in staying close to their children, thanks to a new policy change.

The Air Force will now take child custody into account, offering airmen the chance to ask for an assignment located near their children, or a deferment to stay near them. That will be the case even if the airman is not married to their co-parent, the service announced Aug. 5.

"We recognize family dynamics don't always look the same and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing people's careers and assignments," Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, deputy chief of staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, said in a release. "We ask our people to move frequently, and we know that can cause additional stress and sacrifices for their families. This change gives us the flexibility needed to better take care of them."

Officials did note in the release that troops are still required to meet the needs of the service, perform their duties, and stay eligible for permanent change of station moves, despite the additional flexibility the new policy adds.

"This is one we've been working on for a while, and I'm glad we could get it across the finish line," Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright said in the release. "This Air Force life is a family business. As such, we owe it to our teammates to make sure they have every opportunity to keep their family together whenever possible."

Eligible applicants must be named as a parent, either biological or adopted, and have a court-ordered child custody agreement. Assignment matches that meet the need of the Department of the Air Force will be made when possible, the release states.

Airmen can apply through  myPers  beginning Aug.17.

With the number of custody and visitation issues among military families growing, the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act was approved by the National Conference on Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2012. As of 2020, 14 states have enacted it.

This act requires courts to take into consideration a military parent's deployments and not to use them as the sole basis of determining custody.

The change comes at the conclusion of Gen. David Goldfein’s tenure as Air Force chief of staff. During his time in the post, he has spoken about his interest in retaining female airmen in particular, a challenge often closely connected with the demands of parenthood.

“In our study, the female Air Force officer focus groups discussed children or the desire to have a family as major factors influencing decisions to remain in or leave the service, noting the difficulty of frequent moves, deployments and demanding work schedules,” senior behavioral and social scientist Miriam Mathews wrote for Rand Corp. in 2018 .

-- Bing Xiao can be reached at [email protected].

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Air Force Grants 1st Assignment Under New Co-Parenting Accommodation Policy

Less than 24 hours after the Air Force began accepting relocation applications from parents with joint custody of a child, the service granted its first such request.

Master Sgt. Willian Rotroff, an F-35 integrated section chief with the 756th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, said in a statement that he got approval less than 24 hours after he submitted the package requesting to be stationed near his son. Now, he is set to leave Arizona and join four-year-old Chevvy in Florida this fall.

The Air Force announced Aug. 5 that it would start considering the circumstances of airmen with a court-ordered child custody arrangement when determining assignments, even if they are not married to the co-parent.

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"We recognize family dynamics don't always look the same and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing people's careers and assignments," Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, deputy chief of staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, said at the time. "We ask our people to move frequently, and we know that can cause additional stress and sacrifices for their families. This change gives us the flexibility needed to better take care of them."

In Rotroff's case, he'd opted to relocate his son and ex-wife to Florida earlier this year, before finding out his overseas orders were canceled. In the release, he said he'd believed the location would provide a better support system for them in his absence.

Rotroff said he got help from his local Military Personnel Flight to ensure he was eligible for consideration under the policy. He'd expected to receive a decision approximately 30 days after he submitted his package.

"I was in shock," said Rotroff. "I know the assignment process is busy, with a lot of moving parts. I'm just so grateful to the assignments team and everyone that was involved with making this happen."

"One of the greatest parts about being a squadron commander is that I have the ability and authority to fix many problems for my Airmen relatively quickly," Maj. Joseph Langan, Rotroff's commander, said in a statement. "Sometimes the problems are messy and have complex solutions, but this was one of the easiest and most satisfying wins I've had during my time in command."

Cristi Bowes, Military Assignment Policy and Procedures at the Air Force Personnel Center, said Rotroff's proactive steps and the documentation he submitted contributed to the quick turnaround time. Fully rained assignment teams are ready to accept and review all requests immediately and get the decisions back to airmen as soon as possible, she said.

"We deliberately designed the process to have minimal required coordination to enable the process to be swift for Airmen and their families," Bowes said.

"This program truly shows how the Air Force cares for their Airmen and families," she added. "It provides an opportunity for Airmen to continue serving in the greatest Air Force in the world and not have to choose between their career and their children."

Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Hoglund, Air Force Personnel Center command chief, credited the team of experts working behind the scenes to support such programs successfully.

"The ability to take a vision and turn it into reality has set a mark for future programs to continue to generate wins for our Airmen and families," he said in a statement. "I look forward to this program running on all cylinders and becoming normal muscle movement for our assignment functional managers in our operations execution directorate."

Rotroff said he expects to arrive in Florida in time for his son's fifth birthday.

"Everyone's situation is different, everyone's urgency is different, but it's a blessing this program exists," Rotroff said. "I'm thankful my son will be able to have his mom and dad; his happiness means the world to me."

-- Bing Xiao can be reached at [email protected] . She can also be found on Twitter @binghsiao1 .

Related: Air Force Will Now Consider Child Custody Agreements in Duty Assignments

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Airmen with child custody arrangements will now be stationed near their kids if possible

The Air Force said Wednesday that, when possible, it will station airmen and space professionals with court-ordered child custody decrees near their children.

Service members also can ask for their assignments to be deferred if the move would take them away from their kids, the Air Force said. Child custody was previously not considered in assignments.

“We recognize family dynamics don’t always look the same, and there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to managing people’s careers and assignments ,” said Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, the Air Force personnel chief. “We ask our people to move frequently, and we know that can cause additional stress and sacrifices for their families. This change gives us the flexibility needed to better take care of them.”

Service members will be able to apply for the assignment or deferment near their kids through myPers, beginning Aug. 17.

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The change applies to parents of both biological children and adopted children. Service members must be named as a parent, and have a court-ordered child custody agreement to apply for a deferment or an assignment near their kids, the Air Force said.

However, the change does not give airmen complete power to veto an assignment. The Air Force said assignment matches will be made when possible, and must meet the best needs of the Air Force. But the Air Force said it will try to accommodate airmen’s child custody situations, unless it has no other option for a particular assignment.

“This is one we’ve been working for a while, and I’m glad we could get it across the finish line,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright said in the release. “This Air Force life is a family business. As such, we owe it to our teammates to make sure they have every opportunity to keep their family together whenever possible.”

Airmen will still be required to fill manning requirements, do the jobs for which they were trained, and meet all requirements to be eligible for a permanent change-of-station move without waivers, the Air Force said.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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