MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, S.C. -- Since the first week of August, the Installation Personnel Administration Center has implemented a way to manage the workflow by weeding out unnecessary trips to IPAC by way of Personal Administration Request forms.
Although having a PAR form is a requirement before going to IPAC, not everyone has to do it.
“Currently, sergeants and below have to come to their S-1 to fill out a PAR form prior to taking their problem to IPAC,” said Cpl. Keisha Dennis, an administration clerk with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron. “That’s just how the system is right now.”
The reason for the change was so service members were bringing their problems straight to IPAC, instead of their unit S-1.
“Currently, sergeants and below are bringing in the most foot traffic into IPAC,” said Master Sgt. Veronica Sanchez, the personnel chief for customer service and quality assurance. “A lot of their problems can be handled by their squadron S-1 shop.”
This way the workload within IPAC can be managed, and they can better serve the service members aboard the Air Station while squadron S-1’s can have records of all the inquiries, according to Sanchez.
“The way it’s supposed to work is, Marines take their problem to their S-1 to get a PAR form and to see if their problem can get handled prior to going to IPAC,” Sanchez said. “From there it is documented and only one Marine takes all the PAR forms to S-1 as opposed to having multiple Marines at IPAC therefore making it a more efficient system.”
According to Sanchez, at the end of the day, everyone is working together towards mission completion. The S-1 benefits in its own way and IPAC benefits from the decrease in foot traffic and unnecessary work.
“I understand they can get overwhelmed with the amount of people who come to them,” Dennis said. “This is the way IPAC chose to handle the situation and the amount of inquiries. It has paid off for us also.
“Now the PAR forms are implemented, we have a better way to keep track of all the administration related problems,” Dennis added. “Without the PAR forms, it would be harder to manage the amount of inquiries we have.”
All Marines, E-5 and below, need to go to their squadron S-1 prior to making a trip to IPAC from now on. According to Sanchez, the PAR forms are here to stay and have had a positive effect on the Air Station.