National Guardsmen have been helping the Army beta test its forthcoming online personnel system, and starting this month, they can access it on-the-go.
The Integrated Pay and Personnel System-Army app went live in February, according to a Tuesday release from the Army, and it is now available to Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Guard members during this initial roll-out.
“Soldiers expect to be part of a 21st century organization with technology comparable to what they see in their app stores every day,” Col. Gregory Johnson, IPPS-A’s functional division chief, said in the release. “This app allows them to accomplish routine tasks that previously required an in-person trip to a G1/S1 shop.”
Soldiers can access their information through the app without a common access card, with the ability to request record updates and monitor personnel actions.
Commanders and human resources personnel can view records for their soldiers using a CAC-enabled authentication option, allowing them to review or approve requests while away from their government computers.
“By providing one comprehensive record, mobile capabilities, minimized paperwork and reducing in-person appointments, IPPS-A will maximize the potential of the Army’s greatest asset ― the soldier ― to enhance Army readiness,” Johnson said.
The rest of the National Guard should have access to the app later this year, the release said.
Eventually, officials have said, the Army hopes to also use IPPS-A as a job marketplace, where unit openings are posted online and soldiers can seek out billets that fit their qualifications, experience and preferences.
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Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Guard soldiers are in the middle of a limited user test of the desktop IPPS-A, taking place in six cities, according to a Wednesday release from the Army.
As part of that pilot, a unit used IPPS-A to complete Soldier Readiness Processing for 600 soldiers preparing for an upcoming deployment, the release said, a six-day process.
Their feedback will inform the version that eventually goes Army-wide, the release said.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
