Do you have any tips or advice on how to communicate properly with HRC or a Branch Manager via email or telephone?
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8 Myths About HRC Assignment Officers
S ome officers serve half their career before speaking with their Assignment Officer at Human Resources Command. Commonly heard beliefs include: “If you get on Branch’s radar, they’ll send you to Korea” ; “Just lay low and let your commanders speak on your behalf” ; and “I plan to stay with troops as long as I can, so I don’t need HRC’s help.”
I’ve worked as an Assignment Officer for almost a year and I recommend against holding on to such beliefs. Further, I think most people hesitate to engage with their Assignment Officer because they really don’t know who is on the other end of the phone. Hopefully this post provides you some clarity about who is helping you navigate your career.
“My Assignment Officer isn’t even in my Branch.”
This misconception occurs mostly in the junior officer years but rest assured, your Assignment Officer is an experienced and very successful member of your Branch. And the civilians who work in the Branch offices have years of experience, sometimes decades, and were often active duty themselves, so they know the deal.
Lieutenants and Captains are all managed by post-company command Captains. The Major and Lieutenant Colonel populations are managed by senior Majors and promotable LTCs who will likely go on to command battalions following their HRC assignment. Finally, the Branch Chiefs are successful post-command LTCs, most of whom have prior HRC experience.
“You guys sit on the promotion boards.”
Not true. Assignment Officers have no role in promotion boards or selection panels for fellowships and such. We do receive professional development instruction on the board process and participate in mock boards, which gives us insight into how to better prepare the population’s files for consideration. (Example: we recently found out in a class that promotion board members cannot see whether a considered officer has verified his/her file in the MyBoard system. Of course it’s wise of you to look at your file before a board, but if you don’t verify it officially, the board won’t know.)
“My assignment officer is a buddy and can tell me if I made the promotion list.”
Not legally, he can’t. We only get access to the promotion lists a short time before they’re made public and sign confidentiality agreements not to release the information outside the building. In fact, asking your Assignment Officer to reveal protected information puts him in a bad ethical position, please don’t.
“Branch can really send you to any job in the Army, they just save the cool jobs for the people they know.”
Unfortunately, the Branches have control over very few of the jobs they receive for each rank. Just because there’s a job to serve as Executive Officer for the language school in Monterey, CA, nobody’s going there unless big Army validates it as a required position…and in today’s shrinking Army, that’s happening less and less. Check out the Army Career Tracker if you want to research assignment types and locations.
“As long as I get a By Name Request, my Assignment Officer will send me just about anywhere.”
BNRs have lost favor in recent years because that they wreak havoc on the ability to predict the number of available jobs for each Distribution Cycle. No longer can a Brigade Commander Colonel (or even a Brigadier General) sign a BNR memo and expect Branch to automatically fulfill it – we don’t have the authority to do so. Only if the BNR is received well in advance of the Distribution Cycle, the gaining unit is authorized the billet, and the assignment makes sense for the officer, will Branch have a case in honoring the request.
“If you work at Branch, you get a sweet assignment after you leave.”
Without knowledge on every follow-on assignment that Branch officers have taken, this statement is tough to believe. But further, consider this fact: folks who work at Branch are very competitive for promotion and command, which means they’re also competitive for the cool jobs like fellowships in Garmisch, Germany and aide jobs for General Officers in Spain. It’s a fallacy to think that a duty position at HRC automatically equals a good assignment afterwards. I can tell you that Branch Chiefs take particular care to ensure the follow-on assignment process is fair and equitable.
“If one Assignment Officer doesn’t give you the answer you’re looking for, you can just call another one.”
I didn’t know this before coming to HRC, but each Branch’s Assignment Officers work in the same office. We share cubicle walls and talk to each other constantly. The experienced Assignment Officers share vignettes with the newer guys to teach them about the job. And when an officer calls someone other than his particular Assignment Officer trying to get what he wants, we all know about it. Not a good technique.
“My Assignment Officer could have cut my RFO weeks ago, but he’s just lazy.”
As with every other system in the Army, the Request for Orders process expands well beyond one person’s desk. Each RFO requires anywhere from 5 to 20 administrative actions and must be staffed through 3-12 other sections before releasing it. This process helps ensure that each assignment complies with federal law and Army personnel policies. Believe me, your Assignment Officer wants to release it as much as you want to get it.
Questions (leave comments below)
- What other questions do you have about life at HRC?
- What has been your experience with your Assignment Officer?
- What is your approach with HRC? “Head in the sand” or “Transparent engagement”? What does your engagement method communicate to your Assignment Officer?
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U.S. United States Army Human Resources Command "Soldiers First!" Site Map | Login. Close. Article Menu. The security accreditation level of this site is UNCLASSIFIED and below. Do not process, store, or transmit any Personally Identifiable Information (PII), UNCLASSIFIED/CUI or CLASSIFIED information on this system. ...
U.S. Army Human Resources Command "Soldiers First!" United States Army Human Resources Command "Soldiers First!" Site Map. Login. Logout. The security accreditation level of this site is UNCLASSIFIED and below. Do not process, store, or transmit any Personally Identifiable Information (PII), UNCLASSIFIED/CUI or CLASSIFIED information on this ...
We promise to be as transparent in the assignment process as possible and are always available to answer questions, so please don't hesitate to call or write us. For units desiring a Military Police Enlisted Career Branch visit at their location, contact via email at: [email protected] or by phone at: (502) 613-5762.
U.S. United States Army Human Resources Command "Soldiers First!" Site Map | Login. Close. The security accreditation level of this site is UNCLASSIFIED and below. Do not process, store, or transmit any Personally Identifiable Information (PII), UNCLASSIFIED/CUI or CLASSIFIED information on this system. ...
4 Tips to Talk with Your Branch Manager About Your Military Assignment June 17, 2023by AHRN Team Looking forward to 2024, military personnel are considering their career timelines and making adjustments to their future plans.
They have access to a program that lists vacancies by MOS (through Strength Management) throughout the army. They then use this information to "lock in" an assignment for a reenlistment contract. Branch Managers use the same system when considering reassignment requests or to fill TO&E manpower requests sent up by the unit.
If a nomination matches the Army's requirement, the manager can contact the Soldier with the good news. If a manager wants to reject an ASK assignment, the rejection must be approved by a branch ...
U.S. Army Human Resources Command has functionally integrated three separate branches into a single division to manage assignments and career development for some 5,000 sergeants major and command ...
Modeled after the Army's Assignment Interactive Module for officers, ASK-EM supports enhanced interaction between NCOs and HRC's talent managers allowing NCOs more input into where they would like to be assigned based on their knowledge, skills, behaviors, and preferences. Through ASK-EM, eligible NCOs are able to see all available ...
ACT is the Army's Enterprise IT solution for Leader Development and the Total Army Sponsorship Program (TASP). ACT significantly changes the way Training, Education, Self -Development and Experiential Learning support is provided to the Army, while providing the Sponsorship solution for the transition of Soldiers and Families to their new duty assignment.
Do you have any tips or advice on how to communicate properly with HRC or a Branch Manager via email or telephone?: Having both email and phone numbers available on the Army HRC website is helpful if a soldier has a question or personal requests but at the same time it feels like a trap. The number one priority is for HRC to fill the needs of the Army.
My Record Portal is HRC's self-service portal for Active, Guard, Reserve, Retiree and Veteran Soldiers. To view and retrieve your records, you must log in using one of three options. Login using your enterprise name (AMID login) and password. If you have a Common Access Card (CAC), you can use it to log into the Portal.
assistance and guidance to supervisors and managers on a variety of human resources functions to include position management, planning and implementing reorganizations, realignments and reductions in force. Managers are encouraged to take advantage of this resource to assist in their performing position management responsibilities. 1-3.
If Soldiers have corrections needed to their DD Form 214 after separation may contact the Army Service Center (#ASC) 24-hour line at 1-844-474-7772. Orders Process. New Assignments: (Post BOCO and beyond) - Assignments are conducted in IPPS-A. Once HRC sends an assignment (Soldier linked to a job opening) into the IPPS-A Talent Management ...
Manages Quartermaster Enlisted programs and policies in coordination with Army Personnel Proponent activities at Headquarters Department of the Army G-1, Army Human Resources Command,...
The Quartermaster Center and School (QMC&S) is a subordinate command of the United States Armys Combined Arms Support Command. QMC&S trains soldiers, civilians, and members of other Services and Nations in QM skills and functions. In addition to training, the QMC&S has command of the 23d Quartermaster Brigade, administrative control of the 49th QM Group, and serves as a proponent on all QM ...
requirements of each of the Army's basic branches. In creating final branch assignments, USACC will combine Cadet talent data with Basic branch metrics to support the Army's move toward career cycle talent management focused on building a more ready and lethal force. TBB closely resembles the AIM 2.0 process currently in
The assignment manager for 10 level 68Ws is one of the busiest people at HRC. There are 17,000ish medics in the Army and 75% of them are SPC and below. Call them. You will likely be trying to reach them for a while, because everyone else is trying to do the same thing - the phone lines for almost every assignment manager are busy constantly.
Managing Your Career Development. By Maj. Gen. Mark T. Simerly and Lt. Col. John Mitchel February 24, 2022. You are always your best career manager. This simple and timeless adage continues to ...
8 Myths About HRC Assignment Officers. Some officers serve half their career before speaking with their Assignment Officer at Human Resources Command. Commonly heard beliefs include: "If you get on Branch's radar, they'll send you to Korea"; "Just lay low and let your commanders speak on your behalf"; and "I plan to stay with ...
Active Component and U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Career and Assignments Management. Acquisition FA 51 officers are centrally managed by the Acquisition Management Branch (AMB) within the Force Sustainment Division, Officer Personnel Management Directorate, Human Resources Command (HRC). AMB provides U.S. Army Reserve career and assignments management.
contribute to the branch by serving in critical KD assignments, including any assignment identified on the Centralized Selection List - Key Billet (CSL-KB): (a) Corps/Army Service Component Command /Army Command or higher G2/J2 (b) Brigade Commander (c) Army Capabilities Manager (ACM) (d) Chief of Staff (3) Broadening assignments.
Our highly experienced Assignment Managers and PDNCOs strive to provide outstanding customer service to all Soldiers in the Ordnance Corps.