Congress Orders Army To Open Tour Of Duty Portal To Reserve Guard Troops
Since late 2017, the Armys more than 500,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers havent been able to browse short-term Army vacancies except on a government network. Thanks to a new provision in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, however, the service will now make those listings available on soldiers personal devices.
The Army advertises individual vacancies for deployments or short active duty tours on Tour of Duty, an online job board tailored for the services part-time soldiers to volunteer for such roles. But the required trip to an armory to get on a government network was a barrier for many troops that dont have access except while on base.
The Army will comply with the , spokesperson Bruce Anderson told Army Times. We are considering evaluating the Tour of Duty portal access as part of the Bring Your Own Device pilot program planned for this year.
The service will have a year to implement the change.
Another new policy added that Guard and Reserve troops can now spend five years out of every six on temporary active duty for operational support orders . Previously, such volunteers were limited to three years on ADOS out of every four calendar years.
Leaders of organizations representing Guard and Reserve troops praised the measure.
A spokesperson for the National Guard Association of the U.S. was cautiously supportive of the change, noting that ADOS roles were a bandaid for issues with permanent full-time manning.
Is There A Dollar Limit On Aer Assistance
Every request is unique and considered on an individual basis. There is no upper limit for AER support, however, the most common assistance we provide is $1,500 for a 15-month loan.
Some categories of assistance have dollar limits and other categories have requirements related to grants versus loans.
What Is A Tour Of Duty In The Us Army
- https://starspangledflags.com/tour-duty-us-army/
- Normally, however, active-duty Army soldiers can expect to serve 12 to 15 months in a tour of duty. Twelve months has typically been the de-facto standard for Army soldiers in the 21st century. In 2007, though, the Secretary of Defense announced plans to extend this length by three months.
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Things You Should Know About My Active Guard And Reserve Family
About 5 years ago, this month, we were packing up for our first PCS in the Army Active Guard and Reserve program. My husband had been in the Reserves for several years at that point and was itching to go active duty. Well, the problem was going active duty from the reserves was easier said than done, so we decided AGR would be a good way to get his foot in the active duty door.
Being an AGR family means your soldier is a reserve or National Guard soldier who is active duty. Now, being active duty as a reserve soldier doesnt automatically mean an overseas deployment. While most reserve soldiers have civilian jobs to pay the bills, AGR soldiers work full-time for the Army on top of drilling with the rest of the soldiers at that particular unit. AGR soldiers, along with civilian and Department of Defense employees are the people that keep things functioning on a day-to-day basis at reserve units throughout the country.
Though, we are still fairly new to the AGR lifestyleonly having PCSed 3 timesI have learned a few things along the way I wish active duty families knew about us:
We will more than likely NEVER be stationed at amazing overseas locations, like Germany or Japan. As much as we want it and as amazing as it would be, Germany will likely never happen for us. There are a few AGR positions overseas, but not many.
Is your family part of the Active Guard and Reserves? What would you add to the list?
Guard And Reserve Members Will Be Able To Access Job Board From Personal Devices

There’s not a lot members of Congress can agree on these days, but one issue that brought Democrats and Republicans together was allowing military members in the National Guard and Reserve to find active-duty gigs more easily.
Both sides of the aisle came together to put a provision into the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, allowing those troops to access the Tour of Duty online job board from their smartphones and other personal devices. Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, joined Reps. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, in pushing for the addition.
The Tour of Duty online job board is a database of active-duty orders and deployments, and usually features some 2,000 job listings. The Army has more than 500,000 Guard and Reserve members who can search the site and apply, but only through the use of a government computer. The provision passed in the 2022 NDAA will soon allow them to access the site using a “personal internet-enabled device.”
The NDAA also extends the amount of time these troops can spend on temporary active duty for operational support orders from three out of every four years to five out of every six.
Without the new provision, users who want to search the database would have to make their way to their duty station to use a government device if they didn’t have one at home. The new law also says the Army is responsible for the security of the website, which informs users about the Army’s staffing shortages.
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Guard Reserve Soldiers Can Now Browse Active Duty Jobs On Their Phones
Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers looking to secure their next stint on active duty orders are now able to do so from their own couches and on their own mobile devices thanks to Carrera, a new app developed by the Army Software Factory in Austin, Texas.
The app was developed to satisfy an order from Congress in the fiscal 2022 defense bill that required the Army to make mobilization opportunities for reserve component troops available for browsing on personal devices. Previously, the opportunities were only accessible through the NIPR network-only Tour of Duty portal.
At any given moment, the Army is trying to fill hundreds, if not thousands, of temporary active duty tours with reservists.
But in late 2017, the portal for searching those vacancies moved onto the government network, meaning that Guard and Reserve troops without take-home government computers could only browse and apply for those vacancies from an armory. That put a burden on some who live hours away from where they serve.
The new app goes beyond the order, though, and delivers an unprecedented level of access: soldiers will now be able to browse listings from their mobile devices or other devices without Common Access Card readers after they initially set up a username and password through the services identity management portal.
Mack added that Carrera will also allow the service to harness data insights that the Army can use to inform job planning and outreach.
About The Personnel Force Innovation Program
The Personnel Force Innovation Program is an Under Secretary of Defense initiative to obtain and place National Guard and Reserve Service Members on active duty tours with Department of Defense agencies for one to three years.
PFI fills critical manpower needs in DoD working capital fund activities by providing highly-skilled National Guard or Reserve Service Members on a reimbursable and fee-for-service basis. When active duty personnel are not available to perform Department of Defense agency duties, National Guard or Reserve Service Members are more cost-effective than civilian employees or contractor support personnel.
All Service Members on PFI active duty tours are volunteers who may use either civilian or military skills in their active duty tour assignments. PFI recruits the service members from a pool of almost 1.5 million volunteers from all service components. Participating National Guard or Reserve Service Members voluntarily apply for positions to serve on fee-for-service tours.
DoD agency customers determine the major aspects of active duty tours, such as job location, desired rank, duties of the National Guard or Reserve Service Member, duration of tour, and duty hours. DoD agency customers decide which PFI applicants they want to interview for selection, but also have the option of declining all PFI applicants or submitting by-name requests for certain individuals.
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Can My Spouse Obtain Aer Assistance If Im Deployed Or Tdy
Yes, a spouse or other eligible dependent may seek AER assistance without their sponsor being present when the Soldier is unavailable.
Unavailable is defined as:
Options for requesting assistance when the Soldier is unavailable:
- Special Power of Attorney
- Spouses or other authorized dependent must have a valid SPOA from their sponsor granting them authority to act as the sponsors attorney-in-fact to establish, change, or stop allotments as required by Financial Management Regulation DoD 7000.14-R, para 400803.
- Note: A general power of attorney is not acceptable to establish, change or stop and allotment.
Army Tour Of Duty System Home Access Included In Ndaa
Posted By Jonathan Sih, Director of Legislation,Saturday, January 1, 2022 Updated: Friday, December 31, 2021
ROA was one of the first associations to partner with Rep. Chris Jacobs on allowing the Army Reserves Tour of Duty system to be accessed on personal computers. Currently, Citizen Soldiers must be on base in order to see what active duty opportunities are available to them. For those who do not live close to a base, the lack of convenient access can hinder a soldiers contribution to the fight, and stunt their professional growth as they cannot access these opportunities readily.
Providing ease of access for Citizen Soldiers to find their next opportunity to serve is vital to their growth as soldiers and the readiness of the reserve force, said ROAs Executive Director, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips. ROA is proud to have been an initial partner with Congressman Jacobs in allowing the Tour of Duty system to be accessed at home, removing any barriers to soldiers looking to be twice the citizen and schedule the next time they can serve their country in uniform.
Providing a 21st century talent management program has been a part of ROA and other military service organizations shared legislative goals. Other shared priorities between ROA and the Association of the United States Army , the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States , and National Guard Association of the United States can be read here.
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Who Is Eligible For Aer Assistance
Any Soldier, regardless of rank, and their eligible military identification card-holding dependents in the categories listed above can seek assistance from AER.
What Do The Army Reserves Do
The Army Reserve has two clearly defined roles. Firstly, it provides highly trained soldiers who can work alongside the Regulars on missions in the UK and overseas. Secondly, it gives people who have specialist skills, like medics and engineers, a range of exciting opportunities to use them in new ways.
Over the next few years the role of the Army Reserve will be expanded and they will work even more closely with the rest of the Army. This means that there will be more opportunities for people who want to enjoy the challenges that come with being a Reservist.
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Why Join The Army Reserve
- Travel – Opportunity to train in places like Kenya or California
- Skills – Earn military and civilian qualifications
- Pay – Get paid for all of the training and Reserve duties you complete
- Benefits – Joiners financial incentives and the opportunity to earn a tax free bonus every year
- Fitness – Be trained by the best and become “Army Fit” in no time
Tour Of Duty Army National Guard

11/15/2021.
DAMPS Active Duty History Query MEDPROS Individual Medical Readiness .
Virtual and in-person participants ran in memory of the 43 fallen Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers that died fighting in the Global war on Terrorism. Maj. Angel Pastrana is serving as a bilateral affairs officer for U.S. Southern Command at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. National Guard Jobs. 782-4301. Chaplain: Information, motivation and support.
Reserve Affairs. application for active duty for training, active duty for special work, temporary tour of active duty, annual training, and full-time national guard duty for special work for soldiers of the army national guard for use of this form, see ngr 37-111 the proponent agency is ngb-arh-s data required by the privacy act of 1974 Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve Soldier’s individual MOB orders under 10 USC Sections 12302, 12304, 12304 and 12304 activations are issued by OCOIND.
This mission has remained unchanged since the Chaplain Corps was founded in 1775. The year 2009 marked the 40th Anniversary of the return to the Bluegrass from Vietnam following a 12-month tour of duty for the men of the 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery, Kentucky Army National Guard.
Simple and effective procedures that are known, understood and practiced by all personnel are vital to the execution of guard duty.
Deputy Commanding General – Army National Guard, Maneuver Center of Excellence Site Links.
Army Guard. 6.
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About The Army Reserve
The Army Reserve is the largest of the Reserve Forces. The Army Reserve provides support to the Regular Army at home and overseas, and throughout its history almost every major operation has seen reservists operate alongside their Regular counterparts.
Army Reserve Soldiers come from all walks of life and work part-time as soldiers for the British Army alongside full-time Regular soldiers.
Regular Reservists are soldiers who have left the Regular army but are recalled in times of need to come back and join operations alongside Regular soldiers.
Guard & Reserve Active Duty Tours Personnel Force Innovation
- https://www.avuedigitalservices.com/casting/aiportal/control/mainmenu?agency=PFI
- Helping the Army Corps of Engineers Click on the video image to see how the Personnel Force Innovation Program assisted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fort Bliss, and how we can help you, too. Check Out the Variety of Tours Available
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How You’re Rewarded
As a Reservist you get paid for the time you spend training, and a bonus payment for completing a certain amount of training days each year. The pay scale that youll be on is based on what a Regular soldier with the same job and rank would get. This increases as you get promoted and gain experience.
Depending on the unit you join, your minimum training commitment could be 19 or 27 days a year – rewarded with a tax-free lump sum called a bounty. This increases after each year of service. As well as the bounty, there are also subsidies that will pay for food while you’re on duty and travel to the unit.
In addition, all volunteer reserves, their partners and their children are now eligible for the HM Forces Railcard. This costs £15 and offers a 34 per cent discount on rail travel throughout Great Britain for a whole year, helping to make off-duty travel more affordable.
Who Can Join
To join the Army Reserve you need to be 18. You can apply to join when you are 17 years and 9 months old, so that you’re ready to join on your 18th birthday.
Maximum ages for joining as a Reservists:
To join as a soldier, the upper age limit for enlistment is the day before the candidate’s 43rd birthday.
To join as an officer, you must apply by the time you are 48 years and 9 months. You must start your training by your 50th birthday
Rejoiners can still join as a soldier until their 52nd birthday, and as an officer until their 57th birthday.
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