AFRC changing med processes

ROBINS AFB, Ga. - Col. John Buterbaugh took the helm as command surgeon here at the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) in late summer, and outlined four initiatives to make changes to improve processes for some 70,000 reservist-citizens serving around the world. In an Aug. 28 letter, Buterbaugh outlined the initiatives to increase medical readiness that included eliminating medical case backlogs, removing mental health requirement differences between Active Duty and Reservists, providing more full-time medical staff at local units, and increasing decision-making ability on medical cases at the wing and squadron levels. “The current Reserve medical system is out of step” with the mission and the reservists, Buterbaugh wrote. It has “negatively affected” medical readiness, and decreased the ability of the AF Reserve to “take the fight to the enemy,” he wrote. The aligning of mental health requirements initiative has seen the most progress and has affected the largest number of reservists. The standards are now the same, and some have been eliminated. The changes also affected the Guard. (Source: Air Force Reserve Command 11/27/18)