When disaster strikes Airmen should update AFPAAS via new web link

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lillian Chatwin
  • 151st ARW/PA
The Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System (APAAS) has recently integrated a self-assessment reporting system into their website (https://afpaas.af.mil) to help track personnel accountability, and to get emergency aid to military members as quickly as possible during regional disasters.

AFPAAS maintains a database of Air Force personnel, so when a widespread catastrophic event hits, a Geographical Area of Interest (affected area) is determined, and personnel who live and/or work in that area are flagged and will be accounted for. Total Force Airmen and their families who are affected, as well as civilian employees with an assigned pass code, can now use the site to report their accountability assessment status.

A Common Access Card (CAC) is not required for updates on the AFPAAS website.

"It is important for Air Guard members to become aware of, and familiar with, the AFPAAS self-assessment reporting website." said Col. Kenneth Gammon, 151st Mission Support Group commander. "In the event of a regional disaster, Guardsmen should try to log in and update their status. Instead of calling everyone, we can use the site to immediately see who has already reported, and then call out by exception instead. Those reports give our base leaders good visibility on our member's needs, and that will allow us to quickly work on getting them the help they need."

During a natural or man-made disaster, Airmen and their families can utilize the site to report their accounting status, update their location information if displaced, and request emergency assistance. Reports will then be assigned a case code along with a severity level. The case then flows to the local Family Readiness Center, where emergency relief is triaged and delegated to assist military members and their families.

In support of Air Force readiness, AFPAAS and Family Readiness Centers work together by providing affected members and families with case managers, counselors, subject matter experts, and community and national resources and services. Just a few of the needs they assist with are medical, locating missing family members, transportation, housing (temporary and permanent), financial assistance, family employment, child care, legal services, counseling, chaplain and funeral arrangements.

Airmen can still provide self-assessment reports to AFPAAS over the phone, 1-800-435-9941, in which an operator inputs caller information into the AFPAAS website.

"When phone lines are busy or clogged, providing self-assessments on the website can help cut down the confusion level, and produce more accurate reports," said Master Sgt. Jules Breaux, force manager for the 151st Force Support Squadron. "You are the best person to assess your level of need. No one knows better than you how bad you're hurt."

Airmen still need to call their command support staff to update their status.

"The website is not a recall roster substitute," warned Sergeant Breaux. "The recall roster is also used for many other scenarios, but during widespread disasters, the command staff uses the AFPAAS site to input those accountability reports."

The AFPAAS website was designed to standardize a method for the Air Force to account, manage, and monitor the recovery and reconstitution process for personnel and their families involved in a regional disaster or crisis. The AFPAAS website also provides the information to all levels of the Air Force chain of command, allowing commanders to make strategic decisions which facilitate a return to stability.