The Air Force has unveiled new software that airmen and Guardians can use to submit and process award nominations online, but past submissions in the old program have to be resubmitted.
The new program, "myDecs Reimagined," comes amid frequent complaints from airmen and Guardians who said the previous program "myDecs" made it difficult to submit or correct information for decorations.
"Trust and responsibility is placed back with the approval authority, and the record now updates automatically upon signature," Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said in a press release. "Our goal is to make the system more intuitive and create a smoother process for users."
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Under the new system, airmen and Guardian decorations are fully editable until signed; users can add comments and routing notes; and, upon approval, the decoration goes directly into the service record, among other changes, according to the Air Force.
Many of those new features came after troops "met with [Department of the Air Force] decorations experts to shape the new system and were the catalyst for the policy changes."
Decorations that can now be processed in the new program include the Air and Space Meritorious Service Medal; the Air and Space Commendation Medal; the Air and Space Achievement Medal; the Aerial Achievement Medal; the Combat Readiness Medal; and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
Other honors and awards may be able to be submitted through the program in the future.
A November memo for the Air Reserve Personnel Center warned airmen that the incoming new program would affect some promotions boards and it would "not accept any nomination submissions" after Dec. 4, 2023, except from those scheduled to meet the captains board Jan. 22-27, 2024.
Master Sgt. Deana Heitzman, an Air Force spokeswoman, confirmed to Military.com on Monday that airmen and Guardians who had unapproved submissions in the old program as of last week did not have them transferred over.
"All decorations that were in the legacy myDecs application will be lost and unrecoverable upon sunset, which was Jan. 14," Heitzman told Military.com in an emailed statement Monday. "All Force Support Squadrons were charged to develop local [rules] to ensure their current queue was cleared and any new decorations are held until the myDecs Reimagined launch."
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