By Beth Zimmerman, Manpower Analyst, Office of Supply Corps Personnel, Naval Supply Systems Command
This is an updated version of an article that originally ran in the November/December 2014 issue. Just about everyone has heard of a Billet Change Request (BCR) and the Total Force Manpower Management System (TFMMS), but do you know what they mean and how those relate to you as a service member? In October 2017, the BCR became a Manpower Change Request (MCR). The MCR will automatically become a TFMMS packet in the updated web-based TFMMS program, negating the need to create a separate packet to incorporate the changes approved in the MCR. Funded billets drive detailing. Billet requirements comprise the minimal skills and qualifications needed to fill the position. Only those military billet requirements that are funded will have service members detailed to them. The requirement will identify if the billet is an officer, enlisted, civilian, or contractor; and for military billets, the funding will determine if it is active duty, full time support, or Reserve. Requirements also specify the rank/rating, grade, designator, Navy officer billet classification (NOBC), subspecialty code (SUBSPEC), additional qualification designation (AQD), and Navy enlisted classifications (NEC), as required for the billet. Any change to a billet requires an MCR to be submitted. Some changes do not require stakeholder approval and are processed quickly. However, many changes require several stakeholder reviews. For example, if the organization requires the addition of an AQD to an officer billet, or need to change the NEC on an enlisted billet, an adequate explanation of the change in mission, function, task, and why the change is beneficial to the Navy, must be provided to justify the change request. The change request is then routed via your chain of command and submitted to the Budget Submitting Office (BSO) N1 department for processing. The BSO manpower analyst reviews the request to ensure it is in accordance with Navy policy and supports the command’s mission. The change request is then submitted online via the MCR website. The MCR Decision matrix shows which changes require stakeholder input. The MCR decision matrix can be found at:
https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/organization/navmac/Documents/BCR_Decision_Matrix_8Aug18.pdf The MCR identifies the current billet requirements as well as the proposed changes. The request will be routed to all affected stakeholders, including community managers; program managers, such as additional duty (ADDU); Personnel Exchange Program (PEP); SUBSPECS; AQDs, etc., listed in the N12 MCR Decision Matrix. If the request will alter any part of the funding line, it must be reviewed by the Resource Sponsor because they provide the funding for the billets. Once all stakeholders have approved, the MCR applies the changes to TFMMS. TFMMS is a classified system which is the single, authoritative database for Total Force manpower requirements, active duty and Reserve manpower authorizations, and end strength. TFMMS does not contain ANY personnel information. Any change in TFMMS is immediate and will reflect as such in TFMMS, but it will not be present in the detailing system until the following week. Updates to the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) system take a bit longer. Once an initial MCR request is received by your BSO, it will take from one week to a month or more to go through the process and reflect on the billet, depending on the complexity of the issue and how many stakeholders are required to review the request. That is the mystery of the MCR and TFMMS in a nutshell. If you have any questions, please feel free to call N1 at your BSO for further information.
Spring 2019