how to get a humanitarian reassignment with af

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AF Humanitarian Reassignment and Deferment Program

The Humanitarian Reassignment and Deferment Program, run by the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), assists active-duty Airmen in resolving severe, short-term problems involving a family member while Airmen continue to meet the needs of the Air Force. A reassignment or deferment is a one-time action to resolve a critical problem with a family member, normally 12 within months. The definition of 'family member' is limited to spouse, child, parents, or other persons actually residing in the household who are dependent on the Airman for more than half of their financial support. For more information, Airmen can chat with a personnel specialist live on myPers . Click on the Humanitarian/EFMP link under 'Assignment Programs' on the active-duty myPers Assignment landing page, hover the mouse cursor for 30 seconds and a chat window will appear.

For more Air Force news, visit the Military.com Air Force section . For more military family support resources, visit the Military.com Spouse and Family section .

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HUMANITARIAN/EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBER REASSIGNMENT/DEFERMENT PROGRAMS

The following information is provided to help you better understand the subject programs and what, if any, options are available if you desire consideration under either program.

HUMANITARIAN REASSIGNMENT/DEFERMENT PROGRAM : This program is designed to assist you in providing assistance to your extended family when short term problems arise that are not resolvable without your presence. Situations that warrant approval of a humanitarian request include those based on the terminal illness of an extended family member (siblings do not normally qualify), financial hardship not as a result of overextension or misuse of your military pay (i.e., loss of home/possessions through fire/theft/natural disaster), to complete adoptions, recent death of a spouse or child (member must apply within 6 months of death), sexual abuse/assault of a dependent, child abandonment, or to establish/operate an effective family advocacy program. Our tasking under this program is to place you at the closest location to the family member(s) in need. Retraining may be utilized to accomplish this.

EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBER REASSIGNMENT/DEFERMENT PROGRAM (EFMP) : This program is designed to ensure your dependents receive any special medical or educational care they require at your present and projected accompanied assignment locations. Enrollment in the program is mandatory, however, reassignment or deferment under the program is voluntary. Enrollment is accomplished by the EFMP office located in the medical treatment facility at your base of assignment. Once you are enrolled, the AFPC medical staff will load an Assignment Limitation Code Q into PDS. When you are selected for reassignment, this code generates a printout at base level notifying the local EFMP officer that the availability of services for the exceptional family member(s) needs to be coordinated prior to you proceeding on the assignment.

Regrettably, we do not have the resources to let you know whether services are available for your exceptional family member prior to your selection for assignment. In order for the system to work as it is designed, you are selected for assignment first, then services are coordinated at base-level (medical treatment facility to medical treatment facility) via processing of an AF Form 1466. If it is determined services for the exceptional family member are not available at the projected location, it is your responsibility to submit an application IAW AFI 36-2110, Atch 7, if you desire consideration under this program.

If you are enrolled in the EFMP and selected for reassignment to an overseas location, the following options apply:

a. If selected for a long tour regardless of volunteer status and dependent travel is denied based on nonavailability of special education services (or any medical service that impacts the child's ability to be educated, i.e., speech therapy, occupational therapy), you will be released and the assignment canceled. This is mandated by public law, not Air Force policy. However, if a pinpointed assignment is made available, and you were selected as the most eligible nonvolunteer, you will be required to proceed to the pinpointed assignment. (NOTE: A pinpointed assignment is an alternate location identified by the command surgeon as having available services. It is the resource manager’s decision whether or not manning supports diverting you to the alternate location.) If you have been selected as the most eligible nonvolunteer and the assignment is to a split-tour (remote) area, where the unaccompanied tour length is 15 months or less and dependent travel is denied, you are required to proceed unaccompanied.

b. If selected for a long tour as a volunteer and dependent travel is denied based on nonavailability of general medical services, you may request release from the assignment through the appropriate resource manager.

c. If selected for a long tour as the most eligible nonvolunteer and dependent travel is denied based on nonavailability of general medical services, you may volunteer for a short tour. If there are no current or projected short tour requirements available, you will be required to serve the unaccompanied tour length at the projected overseas location.

Under both programs, deferment is normally for a period of 12 months. You may apply for an extension if the problem continues to exist, however, extensions are normally only for a 6-month period, except in the case of terminal illness of a parent, in which case you may receive a 12-month extension (total deferment not to exceed 24 months).

When you are reassigned under the Humanitarian Program, you are deferred from reassignment and extended TDY (in excess of 30 days) for 12 months from date arrived station. Reassignment under the EFMP defers you from selection for PCS for 12 months, but does not provide for deferment from extended TDY. If you are reassigned under EFMP and require deferment from extended TDY, you must submit a separate application for such consideration. If approved, the Humanitarian/EFMP Assignments Branch will direct the requesting MPF to update DAC 44 for a specified period (not to exceed 12 months).

It's important to understand reassignment/deferment consideration under these programs is not automatic. The member must submit a formal application for consideration IAW AFI 36-2110, Atch 7. Additionally, these are not base of preference programs. Humanitarian reassignments are driven by the location of the reason for the request, while EFMP reassignments are driven by needs of the Air Force and availability of special services.

REASONS HUMANITARIAN APPLICATIONS ARE MOST OFTEN DISAPPROVED

The approval authority will not approve your application for reassignment or deferment if the problem might exist for an indefinite period or you base your request on one of the following circumstances:

·          Threatened separation, divorce action, or the desire to pursue child custody.

·          A single parent’s desire to make or facilitate either short or long-term child care arrangements.

·          Psycho neurosis (such as various psychic or mental disorders characterized by special combinations of anxieties, compulsions, obsessions, phobias, and motor or sensory manifestations) resulting from family separation incident to military assignment.

·          Climatic conditions or geographical areas adversely affecting a family member’s health, and the problem is of a recurring nature (for example, asthma, allergies). An exception to this is when continued presence in such an environment is clearly life threatening.

·          Normal pregnancy, possible miscarriage, breech birth, cesarean sections, or RH blood factor.

·          The existence of a housing shortage or home ownership problems.

·          A financial problem, to include bankruptcy, resulting from over extension of military income.

·          A financial or management problem related to off-duty employment, the spouse’s employment, private business activities, or settling estates.

·          Passport or visa problems involving newly acquired dependents in the overseas area.

·          A desire to provide emotional or domiciliary support to a parent or parent-in-law due to age, nonterminal or chronic illness, or recent death in the family.

·          The problem existed or was reasonably foreseeable at the time of latest entry on active duty or prior to departure on PCS. For airmen, reenlistment, without a break in service, is not the latest entry on active duty.

·          A consecutive PCS or deferment based on the continuation of the same circumstances.

·          A request based on the medical condition of the Air Force member.

·          To receive preferred medical treatment when adequate treatment is available at the current or projected PDS.

·          If you falsified or omitted information on an AF Form 1466. Unless your presence is essential, your dependents will return to the CONUS and you will complete the overseas tour length prescribed based on your status.

REASONS WHY EFMP APPLICATIONS ARE MOST OFTEN DISAPPROVED

·          The approval authority will not reassign or defer you for the following circumstances:

·          Reassignment from the CONUS to overseas for the sole purpose of establishing an EFMP.

·          Reassignment based on the availability of a free or lower cost program in an area other than where you are currently assigned (unless significant financial hardship is being incurred).

·          Your dependent is in an institution, unless institution officials certify your frequent and regular visits will benefit your dependent, or if admittance to or retention in the institution requires establishing, continuing, or renewing, state residency.

·          The disability is due to a short-term illness or injury, or when the prognosis for complete recovery is satisfactory without the benefit of reassignment or deferment.

·          Climatic conditions or geographical areas adversely affecting a family member’s health, and the problem recurs and the environment is clearly life threatening.

·          Reassignment in order to establish or continue an EFMP based on the availability of a preferred or optimal program in an area other than where currently assigned when adequate facilities or services can be, or are provided. Also, you can not have an EFMP deferment to pursue a preferred or optimal program.

·          If you caused or contributed to the commission of an AF Form 1466 violation, either by falsifying or omitting information. Unless your presence is essential, your dependents will return to the CONUS and you will complete the overseas tour length prescribed based on your status. 

GOVERNING DIRECTIVES: The following Department of Defense and Air Force directives and instructions apply to Humanitarian and EFMP assignments and deferments:

DODD 1010.13 DODD 1315.7 DODD 1342.12 DODD 1342.14 AFI 36-2110 AFI 36-3020 AFI 40-301

HUMANITARIAN/EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBER PROGRAM FAQ

Military Humanitarian or Compassionate Assignments

Requesting Assignments for Extreme Family Circumstances

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Exceptional Family Member Program

Humanitarian reassignments.

• Army Compassionate Requests

Examples of Approved Requests

Examples of denied requests.

Rod Powers was a retired Air Force First Sergeant with 22 years of active duty service.

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It's an unfortunate truth that sometimes during a military career, a member may experience a severe family hardship which requires their presence to resolve, with circumstances which make resolving it with  emergency leave  impractical.

To help military members in such situations, each of the services has developed a program that allows military members to be re-assigned, or temporarily deferred from an assignment if they have a severe family hardship which requires their presence to resolve. The Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard call this program Humanitarian Assignments. The Army calls their program Compassionate Assignments.

While not a component of Humanitarian/Compassionate Assignments, the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) warrants special mention. EFMP was developed to make sure military family members (dependents) with special needs—medical, psychological, or educational—receive the special attention they require. A small part of this program is integrated into the military assignments system.

When a military member has dependents (spouse, children, stepchildren, and other close family relations) with special needs, they are enrolled in EFMP. The dependent can have conditions such as asthma, attention deficit disorder (ADD), need inpatient care for more than six months, and many other difficulties.

If the member is selected for an accompanied assignment, one of the first things that happen is the EFMP folks at the losing base contact the EFMP folks at the projected gaining base to determine if the dependent's special needs can be adequately addressed at the new location. If not, the assignment is canceled. It ensures that military dependents are not forced to move to locations where their special needs cannot be adequately addressed, either by the military installation or in the local community.

EFMP does not restrict a member from doing their share of unaccompanied assignments, however, so they can still deploy. The program merely makes sure that members aren't selected for an accompanied assignment to areas where their dependents would not get the special attention they require.

A Humanitarian Assignment is a special assignment authorized to alleviate a hardship so severe an emergency leave cannot fully resolve it. While each of the services has different procedures, there are some requirements that are common to all the branches.

To qualify for a Humanitarian Assignment consideration, a military member must have a documented and substantiated problem involving a family member, which is significantly more severe than other military member's situation. "Family Member" is generally defined as spouse, child, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, a person in loco parentis or other persons residing in the household who are dependent for over half of their financial support. In the Coast Guard, father-in-law, and mother-in-law do not qualify as family members for Humanitarian Assignments.

The problem must be able to be resolved within a specific time-frame (six months to two years, depending on the branch of service). Military members are expected to be available for worldwide assignment, at all times, according to the needs of the service. That's a large part of why they get a paycheck. For those who have a permanent or prolonged family problem that prevents reassignment, humanitarian discharge is generally the appropriate action.

The Comptroller General has ruled that the military services cannot fund an assignment relocation for humanitarian reasons only. That means there must be a valid slot at the gaining base for the person's rank and job. For example, the Air Force would not be able to reassign an F-15 Fighter Aircraft Mechanic to a base that does not have slots for F-15 Fighter Aircraft Mechanics. However, sometimes a service will allow a member to re-train into a different job, to fill a required slot at the Humanitarian Assignment Location.

Army Compassionate Action Requests

The Army calls their Humanitarian Assignment Program, "Compassionate Action Requests". Compassionate Actions are requests from individual soldiers when personal problems exist. The two types of compassionate requests are when personal problems are:

• Temporary (resolvable within a year)
• Not expected to be resolved within a year

Reassignment may be authorized when there are extreme family problems, and the soldier's presence is needed. A soldier may get a deletion or deferment from an overseas assignment if the problem requires them to stay in the U.S. for a short time.

If the problem is chronic or can't be resolved in a short amount of time, a compassionate discharge procedure is generally the most appropriate action. Consideration for reassignment may be given in cases of extreme family problems that are not expected to be resolved within a year if it meets the needs of the Army .

Requests are made on DA Form 3739, Application for Assignment - Deletion - Deferment for Extreme Family Problems submitted through the chain of command. It must be done by the soldier. Commanders can disapprove of Compassionate Requests when they do not meet the prerequisites. The Army Personnel Command has approval authority for a Compassionate Reassignment. 

• The soldier needs to be present to resolve the problem, and it can't be done with leave.
• The problem cannot have been foreseen when the soldier last entered active duty.
• A family member includes spouse, child, parent, minor brother or sister, a person in loco parentis, or the only living blood relative of the soldier. If not one of those people, they must be documented as a dependent or, in the case of parents-in-law, no other member of the spouse's family can help.
• For reassignment, a job (MOS) of the correct rank must be available at the requested installation.
• A pending assignment may be deferred until the request is decided. However, soldiers in basic training will not be deferred from AIT pending the results.
• The problem must be temporary and resolvable within one year, although longer deferments are sometimes approved.
• Death, rape, or a severe psychotic episode of your spouse or minor child
• Terminal illness of an immediate family member whose doctor documents they are expected to pass within 12 months
• Major surgery for a spouse or minor child which will have 12 months or less of recovery time
• If you were separated from your family due to military service (not negligence or misconduct) and your children are being placed in foster care
• Adoption if the child is being placed within 90 days and the adoption was initiated before notification of reassignment
• Soldiers en route from an accompanied OCONUS tour to an unaccompanied OCONUS tour may be deferred for up to 30 days. The deferment is for settlement of family when the soldier's presence is required for unforeseen problems
• The recent death of other family members with extenuating circumstances
• The desire to move to a new area
• Divorce or separation and legal actions relating to it, including child custody
• Gaining child custody in a divorce
• Sole parenthood
• Spouse's difficult pregnancy
• Family member's allergies
• Housing problems
• Financial problems
• Chronic problems relating to parents or parents-in-law

If a Compassionate Action Request is disapproved, a soldier may only request reconsideration for the same family emergency one time. If that is disapproved, there will be no further reconsideration.