A message from Brigadier General Patrick D. Frank,
commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk:
JRTC and Fort Polk Spouses – you have provided us with outstanding feedback on challenges with spousal employment, with the Priority Placement Program (PPP), and with areas that we can internally improve our own Fort Polk Employment Readiness Program. We recognize Spousal Employment as one of our six aspects of Army Quality of Life: Education, Housing, Child Care, Health Care, Spousal Employment, and Recreation. Your comments in our Community Information Forum, Town Hall Meetings, and ICE Comments have been provided to Army senior leaders – you will recognize the recent changes in the PPP as being linked to many of the constructive comments that you have provided – the Army is listening in this critical area of Army life!
The DoD Career Transition Program Office has provided official notification regarding the program changes that are being implemented to streamline the PPP and the way military spouses will exercise their priority placement eligibility.
Military Spouses will continue to receive priority placement based on their military spouse preference (MSP) eligibility, but will do so under simplified procedures. They will no longer be required to report to a Human Resources Office (HRO)/Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC) upon relocation to the commuting area of their military sponsor’s new duty station to register in the PPP or be restricted to five occupations due to system limitations imposed by the Automated Stopper and Referral System (ASARS). They will simply exercise their priority placement status as an MSP eligible by applying for position vacancies of their choice. Ultimately, this change standardizes MSP procedures, simplifies the employment process, and empowers military spouses to exercise MSP selectively.
In order to exercise MSP eligibility under the streamlined process, military spouses will simply complete and include the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist, along with all other required documentation, when applying to vacancy announcements via USA Jobs for which interested and available.
Keep in mind that while the transition from ASARS to the application process affords greater flexibilities for military spouses, the overarching MSP policy as codified in Title 10, United States Code 1784 has not changed. MSP entitlement is limited to the offer of only one permanent Federal position (including NAF and AAFES), regardless of whether preference was applied.
Spouses transition to the application process will be effective 1 April 2019. As of this date, all Program S registrations in ASARS will be deactivated. Spouses will continue to receive priority placement and MSP for positions for which they were referred as a Program S match via ASARS prior to this date throughout the recruitment process for such positions. Beginning 1 April 2019, spouses are encouraged to exercise their MSP eligibility solely through the application-based process. For additional information, spouses may visit the Office of the Military Community & Family Policy (MC& FP) public website at http://www.militaryonesource.mil/ and the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service (DCPAS) public website at https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/EC/Advise. These websites contain Military Spouse PPP FAQs, as well as a Military Spouse PPP Fact Sheet, and a copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist.
After visiting these websites and reviewing the attached information, if spouses should still have questions, please contact Mr. Ronald Camp, Fort Polk CPAC HR Representative at (337) 531-4020 or email him at ronald.g.camp.civ@army.mil.