SSI Significant Activities 18 APR 2013

TRADOC Commander’s Priorities.

1.  Adapt TRADOC. NSTR.

2. Leader Development. a. Equal Opportunity (EO) Training Support Packages (TSPs): The EO Training Proponency Division continues to revise the EO TSPs for Common Core Levels II (Pre-Commissioning); IV (Drill Sergeant/Recruiter), and VI (Senior Leader).

b. AG Professional Development Sessions: The AG Proponent conducted two professional development sessions with field units to discuss future changes to the Corps and opportunities for civilian credentialing and broadening. The Chief of Proponency discussed current and future changes with officers, NCOs and civilians from USMEPCOM on 24 Apr 13 and with officers, NCOs and Soldiers from the 21st TSC on 2 May 13. Both sessions were held virtually using DCO and VTC technology.

3.  Design the Future Force. Multi-Compo Capability Working Group: The Chief of AG Proponency participated in a working group from DA G3/5/7 to examine opportunities for active component positions to be transferred to the reserve component to develop enhanced capabilities by blending the components in a single organization. One of the proposals called to reduce the AC HR Companies, currently aligned to a Sustainment Brigade, by moving one platoon to the reserves. The AG School and CASCOM representatives non-concurred with this proposal as it would eliminate over 200 positions from the approximately 1300 remaining SRC12 active duty spaces. This would result in the AG Corps reaching a tipping point that would not have sufficient AC capability remaining to execute its wartime responsibilities for early entry and immature theater HR requirements. It would also severely jeopardize future Force Design Update (FDU) proposals, such as the Human Resources Operations Center (HROC), from working as intended. The AG School recommends reexamining AC/RC opportunities after the HROC FDU Jr. has been completed to determine if efficiencies or gains can be made. Also, the AG School recommends a habitual alignment of one HR or postal platoon from the RC to each AC Company, in effect bringing the total number of platoons from three to four to achieve the desired multi-compo effect.

4.  Concepts and Doctrine.

a. CDID HR Doctrine Writing Team. CDID doctrine team along with AGS staff finalized the adjudication of comments received back from the worldwide staffing of FM 1-0. Currently those accepted comments are being incorporated into the Final Draft. CDID is currently scheduled to present the revised FM 1-0 to the Commander SSI/ Commandant AGS NLT 2 May 2013. Tentative time for Final Draft staffing is 3QTR FY13. The Program Directive (PD) for ATP 1-0.1, S-1 Operations is currently under development. Continue to review non-proponent doctrine for impacts on HR.

b. CDID FM Doctrine Writing Team. Revision of FM 1-06, Financial Management Operations is under way with a tentative completion date of 4nd Qtr FY13. The PD for FM 1-06 revision has been staffed and comments adjudicated. The PD will now be sent to CASCOM for approval. ATP 1-06.1, Field Ordering Officer and Pay Agent Operations is still at Army Publication Directorate (APD) awaiting publication. ATP 1-06.2, Commander's Emergency Response Program, has been officially published (April 2013). ATP 1-06.3, Banking and Disbursing Operations, author's draft, is under development with a tentative completion date of 3rd QTR FY 13. Work has begun on the initial drafts of ATP 1-06.4, Internal Controls and ATP 1-06.5, Cost Management with the initial draft of ATP 1-06.5 nearing completion.

c. Architecture. Concepts attended a DCO session with CASCOM's Architecture Cell to update the HR Architecture OV-1 through OV-6 products on 9 April. The CASCOM Architecture Cell stated in the meeting that they want to validate all the data types and data flow for all HR business processes. The process to validate date types and data flow will be a long term project and they stated it will require a face-to-face meeting and they had funding to come to Ft. Jackson.

5.  Training and Education for the Future.

a. Financial School submitted another draft of the FM Sustainment Commander's Handbook to the Financial Management School (FMS). A sort of "FM for Dummies," the purpose of the Sustainment Commander's Handbook is to provide sustainment commanders (primarily sustainment brigade commanders) a simplified overview of their FM mission that explores their capabilities and role in integrating FM into operational planning and training. It also shares lessons-learned and offers helpful FM operational checklists to further empower them to sustain forces with money as the weapon system that provides the agility, to Prevent, Shape and Win.

b. TDD In-house IMI/dL Development. The Training Development Directorate (TDD) conducted a teleconference with Dr. Kenyon, Office of the TRADOC Capability Manager, The Army distributed Learning Program (TCM-TADLP), ATSC on 25 Apr 13. Discussion focused on obtaining dL funding support for in-house development / revision of GFEBS dL courses and for mobile application development. TDD requested in-house funding support for several Adjutant General School and Financial Management School courses on the FY13 dL Nominations List and recently submitted additional justification for in-house development of the GFEBS courses. Funding support of in-house dL capability will enable SSI to keep the Financial Management School's GFEBS dL courses current and relevant as GFEBS business processes continually change to support upgrades in the GFEBS system.

c. Blackboard. The Training Development Directorate conducted a teleconference with Ms. Remily, ATSC, the TRADOC Capability Manager, The Army distributed Learning Program (TCM-TADLP) on 26 Apr 13, to discuss SSI participation in the ATSC Blackboard.com pilot. Use of Blackboard.com has potential to eliminate network security issues associated with operating on the ".mil" environment. SSI participation in the Blackboard.com pilot could provide an alternative source of support for SSI resident courses that do not include classified or FOUO training materials.

d. Recruiting Company Commander First Sergeant Course (RCCFSC) Redesign. The pilot for the Recruiting Company Commander First Sergeant Course (RCCFSC) redesign began on 15 Apr 13 and will end on 3 May 13. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the Training Development Directorate and the Recruiting and Retention School. The RCCFSC course redesign employs learner-centric instructional techniques, includes DA standardized Company Commander First Sergeant tasks, and is vertically aligned with the Center Commander Course to provide an authentic and realistic training environment. The Training Development Directorate is validating courseware daily, throughout the pilot.

e. Distributed Learning. Army Training Support Center, (ATSC) advised the Training Development Directorate's (TDD) Distributed Learning (dL) Branch that four FY13 dL course nominations are on the ATSC prioritized list for funding support to begin immediate dL course development. The four courses prioritized for development include the Adjutant General School's S1 Adjutant Coordinating Module and Human Resources Coordinating Module (Phase II AG CCC-RC), the Financial Management School's FM CCC-RC (Phase II), GFEBS Essentials course, and GFEBS Project Systems course. The distributed Learning Branch and the Education Technology Branch are working collaboratively to develop the GFEBS courses using TDD's in-house interactive multimedia development capability.

f. Staff and Faculty. Sixty-four instructors, representing the multiple TRADOC schools, competed for the FY12 TRADOC Instructor/Facilitator of the Year (I/FoY) title in seven categories: Educator, Officer, Warrant Officer, Noncommissioned Officer, Civilian, National Guard, and Army Reserves.

g. Army Service Specific Training (ASST) Support Packages of the Equal Opportunity Advisor Course: As a result of the complete review and update of the ASST course curriculum, validation of nine of the revised lesson plans occurred 22-26 April during the Chief of EO Training Proponency visit to the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). Additionally, instruction by seven Army instructors was evaluated utilizing the ASST Classroom Observation Checklist.

h. The Equal Opportunity Leader Course (EOLC) Working Group: The EOLC working group was formed on 11 April and conducted a review of 18 of the 22 lessons. EO Training Proponency will incorporate, over the next weeks, the suggested updates/revisions to the course curriculum. Once complete, the working group will reconvene to complete the review of the remaining lessons. The EOLC Working Group Composition includes: EO Training Proponency, select senior EOAs, select Fort Jackson Installation EOAs, USMA EOA, USCC EOA, and select USARC EOA.

i. Integrated Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS) Audit-ability: The iPERMS monthly in-progress review (IPR) to The Adjutant General, BG MacEwen, occurred on 1 May 13, with a follow-on monthly IPR to the Human Resources Command (HRC) CG, MG Mustion, scheduled for 1315-1415, 8 May 13. The Army is updating the iPERMS system and all associated policies to meet Congressionally mandated audit readiness standards. Soldier Support Institute (SSI) involvement consists of training development and instruction related to these pending policies and iPERMS technical changes. SSI is participating in the Army-wide staffing of the new AR 600-8-1-4 (Army Military Human Resource Records Management), will incorporate updated iPERMS web-based training and certification into all Initial Military Training and Professional Military Education courses as needed, and has begun updating/developing training products in support of this requirement.

j. Point of Sale Postal Financial Transaction System: The Postal School continues to work with both the US Postal Service (USPS) and the Military Postal Service Agency (MPSA) on the Point of Sale (POS) postal financial transaction system and Pitney Bowes postal meter/scale system. Field implementation is tentatively scheduled for August / September 2013. The new equipment requires a major update of current F5 and F4 lesson plans. The current Integrated Retail Terminals (IRT) will be replaced and officially phased out 1 Oct 13. Additionally, representatives from the USPS visited the Postal School to discuss new equipment and training integration. The representatives were pleased with the progress made and way-ahead plan. The Postal School will host initial field training in early Jun 13 for various military postal representatives. No commercial internet connectivity is required for the new system. USPS will provide CD and/or thumb drive updates as needed.

k. Advanced Civil Schooling: The AG Proponent is working with Human Resources Command and the University of Louisville (U of L) to build Advanced Civil Schooling opportunities for our officers and NCOs attending career courses at Fort Jackson. U of L will examine the POIs of the AG School courses and evaluate them for constructive credit with the University's master and bachelor programs. This will provide additional opportunities for AG Soldiers to earn advanced degrees in an HR related discipline. The need for our future Army to have trained HR professionals that understand modern, Civilian HR is growing to meet demands related to changes in policy, pay & entitlements, and functional operations with civilians and contractors within our organizations down to the tactical level. The advanced civil schooling opportunity is a way of meeting that need.

6.  Army and Joint Training.

a. Human Resource Managers Qualification Course (HRMQC) Mobile Training Team (MTT): The AG School conducted the HRMQC via MTT for the Colorado Army National Guard hosted at the State Joint Forces Headquarters in Centennial, CO. The course enabled 18 officers who are either serving in, or scheduled to serve in an HR professional assignment to gain AG branch qualification and/or Duty MOS Qualification (DMOSQ) as needed. The class consisted of 16 ARNG officers from Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Rhode Island as well as one Army Reserve officer from the 7th Civil Support Command and one from the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The instructors provided HR technical training and the HR Core Competency – "Conduct HR Planning and Operations". The Colorado State Adjutant General, MG H. Michael Edwards, visited the class to express his appreciation to the students for attending the training as well as the AGS for providing the instructors. He reiterated his goals in personnel readiness management for the state of Colorado in support of the Director Army National Guard, LTG William Ingram's national HR focus on readiness.

b. Postal Mobile Training Team (MTT) Completed: The Postal MTT for F5 Postal Operations training at Yongsan, South Korea was completed 19 Apr 13. The Postal School deployed two certified instructors for F5 Postal Operations Class 703-13 and had 28 Soldiers graduate the course.

7.  Plans and Operations. NSTR.

8.  Capabilities Development Process and Sync.

a. Tasks, Conditions, Standards Solution (TCS) & Gap Analysis: CDID must complete analysis of TCS for Capabilities Needs Analysis (CNA) NLT 30 April. TCS are being linked to fielded and programmed solutions with assessment of how the solution mitigates the task along with percentage of mitigation.

b. IPPS-A. CDID completed the DOTMLPF-p analysis addressing the implementations associated with the fielding of IPPS-A. Based on this analysis, CDID is currently creating an IPPS-A chart which depicts SSI milestones for each of the IPPS-A releases based on the DOTMLPF domains for which SSI is responsible. Based on the RFI responses received from the PM's office, SSI has completed revision of the original DOTMLPF-p analysis. SSI will forward the document back to the PM well within the original 30 May 2013 suspense. SSI CDID will consolidate all RFI's originally answered by the PM's office as TBD for future submission as system develops.

9.  Strategic Engagement and Messaging.

a. New Arrangement of the Army Song: The Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) has directed that any time "The Army Goes Rolling Along" is performed it will be with an introduction to allow the audience to be prompted to stand and sing, and then be followed by the Verse, Chorus, and Refrain. This is a new version since Army bands have normally only performed the Chorus and Refrain. This guidance will be coming out from HQDA to all Army activities via an ALARACT message. United States Army School of Music (USASOM) will distribute the new musical arrangements to all Army bands to comply with CSA's directive.

C.  Other Significant Events.  (Captured in Commander’s Summary).

1. Army National Guard (ARNG) G-1 Visit: The ARNG G-1, COL Miracle, visited the AG School on 22 April. During the visit, she received an update and demonstration of training materials the school has developed for human resources credentialing. This development directly supports a Presidential Directive and the recently approved Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act. The AG School also provided updates on its efforts to build expertise and institutional training products for the Integrated Personnel Pay System- Army (IPPS-A) and share them with the ARNG Professional Education Center (PEC) to support their HR training mission, and Warrant officer accessions process for ARNG Soldiers. Each of these areas reflects future readiness issues for the ARNG, and the AG School plans to provide assistance to the ARNG in each areas.

2. The Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) Common Core Critical Task List (CCCTL) Video Tele-Conference (VTC): The BOLC CCCTL VTC was 18 Apr 13 in the Soldier Support Institute (SSI) Conference Room. The BOLC Director of the AG School provided best practices to all BOLC branches in the writing program. Every Lieutenant has a requirement to write a Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER) and a Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) award as a writing assignment. The Center for Army Leadership (CAL) asked that we send the products to their headquarters to push to all branches to utilize to support their effort on counseling development in the field.

3. Force Design Division (FDD). The Division is continuing to monitor the progress of The Human Resources Operations Center (HROC) Force Design Update (FDU) packet. It is in field staffing at ARCIC with an estimated completion date of 1 June 2013. FORSCOM is currently working to implement an internally sourced pilot HROC prior to its approval. We are providing assistance to ensure they execute within the parameters of the proposed structure changes. The HROC is designed to mitigate the Corps and Division G1/AGs capability gaps associated with personnel readiness through evaluation of HR performance metrics, training, and talent management. We are in the final stages of the standards of grade table updates. The Division is also working with the Army Training Support Center (ATSC) System Training Integration and Devices Directorate to update the TADSS program to reflect the latest changes to the finance training system.

4. Lesson Learned Division (L2D). N/A
(a) Trends analysis of FM & HR OIL trends. Lessons Learned Division will continue to update Commandants as we receive new OILs and as those new OILs drive refinement of the trends analysis.
(b) Conducted Soldier Support Institute R-CAAT- lite VTC with Commander, 16th STB. Received numerous Observations, Insights & Lessons (OILs) from an O1D (Finance) Commanders perspective.

D.  Significant Challenges.

Enterprise Lifelong Learning Center Blackboard (Bb). The SSI TDD Director requested assistance from the ATSC Commander on 19 April as SSI continues to experience Bb performance issues. The ATSC Commander assured SSI that ATSC is dedicated to providing the best possible support and resolving ongoing Bb issues. Although it appears that Blackboard has become more stable and reliable recently, SSI continues to have performance issues with IMI products on Blackboard. Stabilization of the Bb platform will improve SSI's training capability and the Soldiers' training experience. We continue to work with ATSC to resolve all Blackboard performance issues.

E.  Upcoming Event(s).

   1.  10 May 13                                   Finance Corps Ball

   2.  31 May 13                                   AG Corps Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

   3.  31 May 13                                   National AG Corps Ball 

   4.  18 Jun 13                                   SSI Safety Stand Down Day