Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System Published Nov. 28, 2012 By Chief Master Sgt. Deborah Marshall 169th FSS MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, South Carolina -- The Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System is used to account for all Air Guard personnel and their families in the event of a state/national disaster. This program allows members to say "here I amneed some help." AFPAAS provides a tool to report individual status, current location, emergency contact information and requested assistance. It also helps the Air Force leadership account for personnel and make decisions that support members and their families. In this transient world, people go TDY, take vacations or even travel in their civilian jobs. If something were to happen like the Tsunami in Japan or Colorado wildfires, wouldn't it be nice to know that someone knows where you and/or your family are and can get you help. The intent of the program is to achieve 100 percent accountability of personnel and their families in an affected area within 48 hours. Members of the militar are required to Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System respond to recall, and AFPAAS is a part of the recall program. McEntire is working on a program above the normal "telephone tree" to contact members during recalls. In the near future members probably still will receive phone calls, but they might also receive a text, e-mail or see that they need to contact the unit via Facebook. For now, McEntire uses AFPAAS by exception, meaning if someone is in a disaster area they would go into AFPAAS and account for themself and their family. If the Internet is not available, members can call the unit direct, tell a Red Cross member to contact the unit or call the Total Force Service Center, 1-800-525-0102. So, what do members need to do before a disaster strikes? Logon to https://afpaas.af.mil to initiate your profile under the "My Info" tab. Login using a CAC, username and password or by personal information. There is even a mobile app that can be used for reporting after the profile has been set-up. It is critical that members maintain current family information in DEERs. Expect this to be the future for either real-world events or exercises. Check with unit Commanding Officer Representatives, (formally called Recall Managers) for more information.