Army Civilian News & Information

On Sun Feb 10, 2013 USAJOBS site will be offline from 12:01 am - 9:00 am EST. USAJOBS will be performing scheduled system maintenance. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. USAJobs.gov

Feb 4, 2013 - February is African American/Black History Month
The 2013 theme is "At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington."
This year's theme marks two important anniversaries in the history of African Americans and the United States ...    Read More

Jan 23, 2013 - Risk Mitigation in the Face of Fiscal Uncertainty    The Army faces significant budgetary uncertainty in the coming months and must take immediate steps to reduce expenditures. The uncertain Fiscal Year 2013 funding caused by the combined effects of a possible yearlong Continuing Resolution and sequestration, along with the need to protect wartime operations, may result in particularly severe reductions to Operation ...    NOTE: Additional guidance and FAQs added on Feb 7th- Read memos and more.

PORTAL DOWNTIME: Fri Jan 25 through Sun Jan 27 - Monthly Maintenance Weekend (MMW)   Production systems will go down starting Friday at 9:00 pm and will become available again on Sunday at 5:00 pm. All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.    Read more.

Jan 15, 2013 - 70 years ago today, the Pentagon was completed    Construction began on 11 September 1941, and continued rapidly during the winter of 1941-42. Architects for the project had little or no lead time; sometimes construction actually outpaced planning. On 1 December 1941, when the president signed legislation transferring the military construction mission from the Quartermaster Corps to the Army Corps of Engineers, 4,000 men were laboring on the building in three shifts. One section was completed by the end of April 1942 and the first tenants moved in. The basic shell and roof were finished in one year, and the building was completed by 15 January 1943. ...   Read more!

Jan 8, 2013 - Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Inauguration Day Holidays    As provided by law, Inauguration Day is a legal public holiday on January 20th of every fourth year in the Washington, DC, area, except when it falls on Sunday, in which case the next succeeding day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the President is a legal public holiday. In 2013, January 20th falls on Sunday, and the public observance of the President's Inauguration will be held on Monday, January 21. Since Inauguration Day falls on the same day as the holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., both holidays will be observed on the same day, Monday, January 21, 2013
Read OPM Memorandum   |    Additional OPM guidance on Federal Holidays-work schedule and pay

Jan 3, 2013 - Scheduled DCPDS downtimes planned for 3 weekends in January 2013. These downtimes are outside of the standard DCPDS patch schedule.
DCPDS users will not be able to login to RSO/HR/CSU applications during these 3 weekends ...    Read more.

Jan 3, 2013 - 2013 Pay Adjustments for Federal Civilian Employees     Public Law 112-175 provided that no statutory pay adjustments be made ... until the first full pay period after March 27, 2013.    Note: On Dec 27, 2012, the President signed an Executive Order implementing statutory pay adjustments the beginning of the first full pay period after March 27, 2013. The effective date will be April 7, 2013, for most DoD employees ...
Read complete information and memos.

Dec 28, 2012 - Army established Emergency Leave Transfer Program for employees affected by Hurricane Sandy

  OAS(M&RA) Memo - Army Emergency Leave Program Policy for Employees Affected by Hurricane Sandy dated 12/26/12

AG-1(CP) - Army Emergency Leave Transfer Program (ELTP) Implementing Guidance ...

Dec 27, 2012 - 2013 Pay Adjustments for Federal Civilian Employees Suspended     OPM announced 2013 Pay adjustments will be suspended until after 27 Mar 13, provided no intervening change in law is issued.
View memo from OPM Director Barry with additional information.

Dec 21, 2012 - Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Mon Dec 24th, 2012

Link to Executive Order from President Barack Obama announcing the Closing, and
Link to Q&A on Pay and Leave Administration for December 24 and 25, 2012 ...

Dec 20, 2012 - Army Civilian Workforce Transformation: 2012 Report
Civilian Workforce Transformation is the Army's program to transform the Army's Civilian cohort for the 21st century. CWT, now two years old, has accomplished much in a very short period of time and seeks institutional change across the Army resulting in more responsive and flexible Civilian professional development. The program's overall intent is to deliver "the right Army Civilian, to the right place, at the right time." ...

View the 2012 Report (Trifold PDF)

POTENTIAL DOWNTIME: On Thurs, 20 December 2012, beginning at 6:30pm Eastern, we will be performing emergency maintenance, with a tentative duration of approximately 2 hours. During this period, our customers may experience brief interruptions which could result in delayed or dropped connections to the CPOL website, Portal, and related applications.    We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

PORTAL DOWNTIME: Fri Dec 14 through Sun Dec 16 - Monthly Maintenance Weekend (MMW)   Production systems will go down starting Friday at 9:00 pm and will become available again on Sunday at 5:00 pm. All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.    Read more.

2012 Federal Benefits Open Season
This year's Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 12, 2012 through Monday, December 10, 2012. Eligible employees will be able to enroll and/or make changes to their Federal Benefits Programs such as FSAFEDS, FEDVIP and FEHB.
... Open Season - Read More

Dec. 6, 2012 (Army News Service) - 'Fiscal Cliff' would challenge Army to maintain readiness   Knowing there's a possibility the government will go over a "fiscal cliff" on midnight, Dec. 31, ... the Army faces repercussions and adjustments that would follow a nearly $500-billion cut to the DoD over the next decade ... "It is all about readiness," said Lt. Gen. William Grisoli, director, Army Office of Business Transformation. "It is all about as we take a look at the new strategy, we feel comfortable that there are some things we have to work as far as the readiness of the force."    Read More.

Dec 5, 2012 - Updates to The Delegation of Authority Matrix   The matrix that identifies and links documents for delegation of authorities, references, special instructions and more has been updated to include   #33 - Delegation of Authority - Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) for Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) and #34 - Delegation of Authority - Increased Annual Premium Pay Limitation for Calendar Year 2012 ...

View the Delegation of Authority Matrix

Dec. 5, 2012 (Army News Service) - Gas guzzlers disappearing from Army's fleet
  WASHINGTON - In the past few years, the number of Army non-tactical vehicles has been declining and the number of fuel-hungry vehicles has been declining as well. Non-tactical vehicles include cars, trucks, tractors and special-use vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances not meant for combat operations. In 2009, the peak year, the Army had 82,860 non-tactical vehicles - Since that peak year, there has been a significant drop in the total number of vehicles.    Read More.

On Sun Dec 2, 2012 USAJOBS site will be offline from 12:01 am - 9:00 am EST. USAJOBS will be performing scheduled system maintenance. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. USAJobs.gov

Nov 28, 2012 - Dismissal and Closure Procedures for the 2012-2013 Winter Weather Season   OPM has issued its updated Dismissal and Closure Procedures for the 2012-2013 winter weather season. The link also includes a memo from OPM Director Barry with additional information    Read more about OPM 2013 Winter Weather Season.

Related News - OPM is changing the language announcing office closings
OPM's new terminology: "Federal offices are closed. Federal employees required to work should follow their agency's policies."    Read more about OPM's new language.

Notice: DC area Operating Status Information is available at the OPM Website.

Nov 16, 2012 - Holidays and Good Judgment
The holiday season of celebrations is fast approaching. Army leadership encourages each of you to enjoy the season with your friends, family, and coworkers. However, everyone should be aware of the rules for workplace ethics.    Read Memo (PDF).

PORTAL DOWNTIME: Fri Nov 16 through Sun Nov 18 - Monthly Maintenance Weekend (MMW)   Production systems will go down starting Friday at 9:00 pm and will become available again on Sunday at 5:00 pm. All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.    Read more.

Hatch Stage Field goes Net Zero energy   Nov 15, 2012 - Fort Rucker, Ala. - Hatch Stage Field is in the process of installing a 51-kilowatt Photovoltaic array, which are solar panels that will be used to collect energy from the sun to convert into electricity, according to Candy Vaughan, "The idea is for the field to be Net Zero, which means for us to generate more electricity than we use over the course of the year," she said.    Read more.

National Observance to honor America's veterans   Although the Federal Veterans Day Holiday falls on Mon Nov 12th this year, the annual National Veterans Day Observance is scheduled for Sun Nov. 11, at Arlington National Cemetery, to honor all veterans who served and continue to serve in the military as well as a memorial service for General of the Armies John J. Pershing.    Read more.

ACPOL/CPOL PORTAL DOWNTIME: Sun Nov 4 -   Production systems will go down between 0700 - 0900 and 2100 - 2300 hrs (Eastern DST). All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.
We thank you for your patience during this required maintenance event.

Nov 2012: Civilian and Military Personnel Participation in Political Activities    As Election Day 2012 approaches, it is important that all DoD personnel- military and civilian- be aware of the limitations that exist when participating in political activity. All personnel are encouraged to carry out the obligations of citizenship. Eligible voters are encouraged to vote. ... this page provides hyper links to more specific guidance ... Read more.

Mon Oct 29, 2012 and Tues Oct 30, 2012 FEDERAL OFFICES in the Washington, DC, area
are CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.



Non-emergency employees (including employees on pre-approved paid leave)
will be granted excused absence (administrative leave) for the number of hours they were scheduled to work unless they are:

• required to telework,
• on official travel outside of the Washington, DC, area,
• on leave without pay, or
• on an alternative work schedule (AWS) day off.

Telework-Ready Employees who are scheduled to perform telework on the day of the announcement or who are required to perform unscheduled telework on a day when Federal offices are closed to the public must telework the entire workday or request leave, or a combination of both, in accordance with their agencies' policies and procedures, subject to any applicable collective bargaining requirements.
Emergency Employees are expected to report to their worksites unless otherwise directed by their agencies. More information is available at the Office of Personnel Management Website -
Read More at OPM

Oct 26, 2012 - With the impact of Hurricane Sandy throughout the next few days and into next week, employees and leadership in the southeast region and north into New England should be preparing now for rain, strong winds, possible flooding and potential power outages. Internal phone trees and other means of maintaining contact should be up to date. Employees with situational telework agreements should be prepared to work from home if local conditions warrant direction from Commanders and Supervisors to do so.    Read More

On Sun Oct 28, 2012 USAJOBS site will be offline from 12:01 am - 9:00 am EST. USAJOBS will be performing scheduled system maintenance. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. USAJobs.gov

Oct 23, 2012 - 2012 Federal Benefits Open Season
This year's Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 12, 2012 through Monday, December 10, 2012.
Eligible employees will be able to enroll and/or make changes to their Federal Benefits Programs such as FSAFEDS, FEDVIP and FEHB. ... Read More

PORTAL DOWNTIME: Fri Oct 19 - Sun Oct 21 - Monthly Maintenance Weekend (MMW)   Production systems will go down starting Friday at 9:00 pm and will become available again on Sunday at 5:00 pm. All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.    Read more.

Oct 15, 2012 - The 2013 ACTEDS Training Catalog is now Available
Most of the catalog has been updated and is already online - other content is being updated and will be posted as available. Please check individual chapters for the most recent information. Read more.

Oct 12, 2012 - Granting Excused Absence for Voting.
As Election Day 2012 approaches, it is important all personnel are encouraged to carry out the obligations of citizenship. Eligible voters are encouraged to vote - this PERMISS Article provides specific guidance for granting excused absences for voting. Read more.

Oct 10, 2012 - Army to honor doctor for fighting deadly viruses    A retired Army doctor who helped develop vaccines to protect troops from meningitis, AIDS, hepatitis, diarrhea, and many other infectious diseases, will be among civilians saluted Thursday. During his 23 years of active Army service, he compiled achievements including establishing infectious disease clinical and research programs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Walter Reed Institute of Research in 1970. He also developed policies concerning HIV/AIDS in 1986 -- a new and unknown disease at that time... Those forward-looking policies remain in force today and have been a blueprint for civilian policies. Read More

Oct 3, 2012 - Army researchers using cutting-edge 3D printers
Fifty years ago, what goes on in this lab would have been considered science fiction, but these artisan engineers create three-dimensional objects in printers that seem like Star Trek replicators. "It's allowed us to develop items for the warfighter quicker," said Rapid Technologies Branch Chief Rick Moore, "We're able to come up with concepts and designs using our [computer-aided design] software, print them out and have them in an engineer's hand the next day." Read More

Sep. 27 2012 - Shoulder to Shoulder: We Stand Up for Life
Click the image or the link below to read more and find resources for
the Army Suicide Stand Down of Thu Sept 27, 2012

We can't afford to lose another Civilian, Soldier or Family member to suicide....

Read More

September 2012 - Army Suicide Prevention Month    The Army remains steadfast in maintaining a healthy and ready force with empowered leaders dedicated to saving lives while preserving our nation's security. We can't afford to lose another Civilian, Soldier or Family member to suicide.... Read More

Sep. 25, 2012 - Defense Department Committed to Cybersecurity,
The Defense Department remains vigilant and committed to cybersecurity, especially since its cyber operations present a target for hackers, a senior Pentagon official said here today. Defense Department officials take cybersecurity very seriously, and that creates pressure on the department's information technology personnel to stay vigilant ...
Read More

PORTAL DOWNTIME: Fri Sep 21 - Sun Sep 23 - Monthly Maintenance Weekend (MMW)
Production systems will go down starting Friday at 9:00 pm and will become available again on Sunday at 5:00 pm. All CPOL and Portal applications will be unavailable during this period.    Read more.

DCPDS PORTAL DOWNTIME On Fri Sep 14, 2012 at 10PM Eastern,
DCPDS will begin Maintenance work that includes backups and software patching. Intermittent downtimes and outage to CSU and other applications will occur during the weekend. Database upgrades will begin on Sat morning, Sep 15 and continue until upgrade actions and system application checks have completed (expected by mid-day on Sunday). By 6pm Eastern Sunday, Sep 16, DCPDS systems should be back in normal production operations.

The revised Guide to Federal Benefits, Nov 2012 edition, is now accessible on OPM's website. There are guides for: Federal Civilian Employees;   Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) & Former Spouse Enrollees;   Individuals Receiving Compensation from the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs (OWCP);   Certain Temporary Employees;  and Federal Retirees and Their Survivors. The Guides cover the Federal Benefit Programs and give details intended to inform you about the choices available to you. ... Read More

Sunday morning, 09 September 2012, USAJOBS will be performing scheduled system maintenance. The USAJOBS website site will be offline from 12:01 am through 9:00 am. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. USAJobs.gov

PORTAL DOWNTIME: 09/05/12 6:00-8:00 PM EST The CPOL Employee Portal will be taken down from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM EST on Weds, Sep 5th, for implementation of the new Event Tracker portlet. Note that the supporting ART and TIER1 databases, and the BOXI Productivity Universes will be down during this period as well.

September 2012 - Army Suicide Prevention Month    The Army remains steadfast in maintaining a healthy and ready force with empowered leaders dedicated to saving lives while preserving our nation's security. We can't afford to lose another Civilian, Soldier or Family member to suicide.... Read More

30 Aug 2012 - Mr Aronowitz signed the "Foreign Area Employment- Overseas Tours" memo.   Please use the following link to find out more about this memo...
Read memo

Aug. 27, 2012 - Hurricane season arrives, requires preparation! With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently increasing its estimate of named storms and hurricanes for 2012, military families near the Gulf Coast or the Eastern Seaboard should assess how vulnerable they are, and review their emergency plans to ensure they weather the season safely ... Read More

On Saturday 25 Aug 2012, between 0400 EDT - 0800 EDT, AKO/DKO will perform routine maintenance.   AKO SSO (Single Sign On) services may be intermittent or unavailable during this time.   CPOL users' CAC access to the CPOL Portal and other SSO authenticated tools may be affected during that period.

Aug 10, 2012 - Secretary of the Army John McHugh addressed a group of the most senior career civilians attending the Army Senior Executive Education Program at the University of Notre Dame. Acknowledging the critical role Army civilians have played, McHugh said, "This Army has not just succeeded, but it has excelled, and has done so magnificently."   Acknowledging the critical role Army civilians have played, he continued,  "All of us, as part of this team, had a very important piece in that effort." ... Read More

August 10, 2012 - Renewable Alternative Energy and Power Production for DoD Installations   – The Honorable Katherine Hammack, (ASA IE&E). " This is truly a week for the U.S. Army to take pride in the strides it's making toward managing its energy resources and developing new, clean, renewable energy. This $7 billion Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) Request for Proposal (RFP) by USACE demonstrates the Army's commitment toward installation energy security, mission readiness and resilience. This MATOC's capacity will procure reliable, locally generated, renewable and alternative energy through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for up to 30 years. " ... Read More

Sunday morning, Aug 12, 2012, USAJOBS will be performing routine system maintenance. The USAJOBS website site will be offline from 12:01 am through 9:00 am. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. USAJobs.gov

Aug 6, 2012 - DOD Approves 2 grants for BRAC Related Transportation Improvements
Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta today announced two grants from the Office of Economic Adjustment, including a $40,000,000 grant to Montgomery County, Md., for transportation access to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, and a $5,700,000 grant to the City of Lakewood, Wash., for improvements to the Freedom Bridge overpass near the Madigan Army Medical Center gate. The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission process increased personnel and traffic at both of these communities. ... Read More

July 25 2012 - The Federal Work-Life Community of Practice
Got MAX? Get Connected! We encourage you to join the collaborative network/community of practice ... Read more.

July 17, 2012 - The Defense Department is taking a leading role in a government wide effort to stop the nation's obesity problem, said Barbara Thompson, the director of DOD's Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth. DOD is one of 17 federal departments and agencies working together to identify opportunities for promoting healthy living as part of the White House's National Prevention Council strategy ... Read More

On Sunday July 15th, USAJOBS will be performing scheduled system maintenance.
The USAJOBS website site will be offline from 12:01 am through 9:00 am. Applicants will not be able to search for or apply for jobs during the scheduled downtime. ... USAJobs.gov

July 12, 2012 - Army Civilian Plans & Strategic Analysis Branch is pleased to announce the US Army Assistant G-1 (Civilian Personnel) 2011 Annual Report has now been published. ... Read More

July 12, 2012 - What happened to Resume Builder/Answer?
The Army completed its transition to the DoD Enterprise Recruitment Tool (USA Staffing) effective, 1 May 2012.  USA Staffing is the single hiring process and tool used by all DoD components.   Effective, 12 July 2012 applicants no longer have access to Resume Builder.   Applicants will be able to view the status of self-nominations from the old system via USAJOBS - My Account - Application Status.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) contained in applications retained in Army Resume Builder/Answer system will be securely retained as required by regulation for a period of 5 years. Once retention requirements are met the PII will be destroyed per federal, DoD and Army guidelines.

Summer 2012 - Children and families are in great need of donated food this summer.
To help with this, Federal employees will join together and collect food nationwide for local food banks ... Read more.

Effective: Jul 1, 2012 The Civilian Senior Leader Management Office is pleased to announce that the Secretary of the Army has approved:   Mr. Jay Aronowitz from the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Force Management, Manpower & Resources), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) to the position of Assistant G-1 for Civilian Personnel Policy, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Washington, DC. ... Read bio.

Staffing Guidance for 2012 Independence Day Holiday With the observance of Independence Day on Wednesday, 4 July 2012, HQDA will operate at reduced staffing on Monday and Tuesday, 2-3 July 2012, & Thursday and Friday, 5-6 July 2012. ... Read more.

Army Birthday Ball, a Celebration of Soldiers & History Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, our Nation's leaders established the Continental Army, beginning a rich heritage of successfully defending this great country and her citizens.    On June 16, 2012, Army senior leaders, wounded warriors, Soldiers, family members and veterans gathered for the Army's 237th Birthday Ball in Washington, D.C. ...
Read more.

June 14, 2012 - Happy Birthday U.S. Army! Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, our Nation's leaders established the Continental Army, beginning a rich heritage of successfully defending this great country and her citizens. Today, we celebrate the continued honor, loyalty and bravery ... Read more.

June 6, 2012 - The William H. Kushnick, John W. Macy, Jr. and Nick Hoge Award Ceremony and Awards Banquet was held May 31, 2012.
Pictures of the Award Winners have now been posted ... Read more.

May 31, 2012 - What happened to Resume Builder/Answer?    Please use your Resume Builder logon to manually extract your resume BEFORE 12 JULY 2012 if you wish to save and keep a copy of your resume!     USA Staffing will be the single hiring process and tool used by all DoD components.   The Army completed its transition to the DoD Enterprise Recruitment Tool (USA Staffing) effective, 1 May 2012. Effective, 31 May 2012, the Army Resume Builder is no longer available. Resumes cannot be electronically transferred to USAJOBS/Application Manager. Applicants are encouraged to upload their resume into USAJOBS to apply for Army positions. Applicants will be able to view the status of self-nominations from the old system via USAJOBS - My Account - Application Status.   

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