Individual Mobilization Augmentee positions at the Pentagon will be filled through the Army’s normal assignment system, rather than the individualized nominative process previously stipulated in Army rRegulations.
The new procedures, ordered July 23 by Army Secretary John McHugh, apply to IMA positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Secretary of the Army, the Army Staff and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Until now, IMA postings in those headquarters agencies were managed individually between personnel managers and the receiving agency, as required in Army Regulation 140-28 (IMA Program).
Under the new system, the Human Resources Command will screen and assign qualified soldiers to IMA positions, just as it does for members of the Regular Army and Individual Ready Reserve.
Any deviation from these procedures must be formally requested as an exception to policy through the Army G1 (chief of human resources) to the vice chief of staff of the Army, according to McHugh's directive.
The Individual Mobilization Augmentee program is a component of the Ready Reserve, similar to the Troop Program Unit and Individual Ready Reserve programs.
The IMA program provides trained and experienced Army Reserve officers in the ranks of captain through colonel and NCOs in the ranks of sergeant through sergeant major to 73 active-component agencies worldwide, including the headquarters agencies described above.
IMA positions are budgeted for 48 four-hour periods of individual duty for training annually, and 12 annual training days.
While the Army hasas about 4,000 IMA authorizations, about 1,000 of those positions have gone unfilled for the past year, according to information provided by the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve.
For information about the IMA program, as well as assignment opportunities, see the IMA Position Handbook from Human Resources Command.
