Overview of FY97

The Intelligence Personnel Management Office (IPMO) completed its resubordination back to the DCS, G-2 from INSCOM and moved from Ft Belvoir to the Pentagon during FY97. The justification for the move was based on the determination that the Office's predominating policy functions more appropriately belonged at HQDA. The Office became directly subordinated to the civilian Assistant DCS, G-2. The Office's major project areas for the fiscal year became Intelligence Reform and Centralization of operating personnel servicing.
Bullet Logo Narrative
 
  1. Intelligence Community Civilian Personnel Management Reform. The DOD Civilian Intelligence Personnel Policy Act of 1996, directed the establishment of an excepted service, civilian personnel management system for all of DOD that would replace the various excepted and competitive service systems that existed. Ultimately, this legislation, when implemented through DOD directive, will replace the triservice Civilian Intelligence Personnel Management System (CIPMS) with a DOD-wide Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). Interagency work groups that began in FY96 to define and implement this new system, and were heavily supported with IPMO membership, continued part way into FY97 and produced a draft DOD DCIPS Directive. They also produced a draft directive establishing a Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service (DISES) and a Defense Intelligence Senior Level (DISL) program and draft policy for Adjustment-in-Force (an alternative to Reduction in Force) and Term Limited Appointments (TLA). These efforts, however, remained unfinished at the end of the fiscal year due to inability to resolve issues within OSD about roles and responsibilities for DCIPS management.
  2. Concurrent, non-legislative based initiatives, jointly sponsored by the Intelligence Community Management Staff (CMS) and OSD, began to take up more and more of the IPMO staff's time during the fiscal year. Some of these administrative initiatives, like a Skills Base Management System (a civilian personnel system based on skills required for a job instead of the classification of the job) and Performance Management Reforms, shifted to become more Intelligence Agency rather than Service initiatives during the year. Others, such as the Intelligence Community Officer Designation (ICO), the Intelligence Community Assignment Program (ICAP), and the Intelligence Community Regional Specialist Program (ICRSP) required significant staff time to develop and, in the case of ICAP, implement.
  3. The effort required to implement the ICAP grew rapidly during the year to take up much of the attention of the Office. The ICAP is a rotational development program that offers 2 to 3 year details in other Intelligence Community (IC) Agencies and Services to intelligence professionals, GS-13 and above. Weekly IC working group meetings (participated heavily in by the IPMO staff) and several ICAP Board of Governors (BOG) meetings (attended by the Assistant DCS, G-2) during the year, completed development of the ICAP sufficiently to produce an approved Memorandum of Agreement between the Director of the CMS and the DEPSECDEF. This high level of effort also permitted the launching of the first vacancy announcement period to obtain applications from IC careerists. This announcement period was limited, however, to personnel within the greater Washington, DC community area due to lack of centrally managed funding for relocation expenses. Concurrently, discussions with ASA (M&RA) representatives resulted in approval of a management plan that included the IPMO's continuing operational control of the program. The management plan also included the agreement to fund both relocation and training associated with the ICAP from the Army Civilian Training, Education and Development System (ACTEDS) program starting in FY98.
  4. The IPMO staff embarked on a significant marketing program that included e-mail and websites (the first significant use of these tools by the Office), official messages, and extensive use of the postal service as well as over 20 briefings to managers and employees within the greater Washington DC geographic area. The IPMO provided an information paper to the Army's Career Program Planning Committee (CPPC). The IPMO also prepared, administered, reviewed and drafted a report summarizing the findings of a survey questionnaire sent to Army's 1150 member group of ICAP eligible employees. The survey provided feedback on the willingness of our employees to accept long term details in other Agencies and Services and often in other geographical area. The IPMO also participated in an IC effort to design and offer a week long ICAP Orientation Course to the first ICAP class. Difficulties in reaching agreement on several policies and practices at the IC level, the inability to pay PCS costs in FY97, and just the "newness" of the program resulted, however, in the Army filling only 3 .of 7 billets for Army careerists going to other Agencies and filling only 1 of 7 Army billets with IC careerists coming into the Army. To improve capability, an existing vacant position within the office was filled and the individual directed to work full-time on the program. This consolidation of effort led to many improvements in administration and set the groundwork for the first round of FY98 vacancy announcements advertised in Fourth Quarter FY97.
  5. The major IC Reform initiatives that the Office worked on were the ICO Designation, the ICRSP and the revitalization of the Training Director's Consortium (TDC). The ICO Designation is a professionalization initiative that requires completion of a rotational assignment outside a careerist's Service/Agency (ICAP or equivalent Agency/Service training/professionalization requirements. The Office participated in first ICAP working group meetings, and then newly reinvigorated IC Training Director’s Consortium (TDC) meetings, that developed basic criteria. Inability to resolve several issues, such as determining equivalency, and the significant time and attention required by the ICAP pushed finalization of the ICO Designation into the next fiscal year. Tentative agreement was reached, however, within the IC that the ICO Designation should be imposed as a requirement for serious consideration for positions above GS-15 starting in FY2002. Formal approval to impose this requirement was deferred into FY98.
  6. The Office participated in additional IC working group meetings hosted by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to develop the policy and procedures for the ICRSP. The ICRSP is a four-part program designed to provide foreign area experts. The ICRSP can include full time, basic foreign language training in an institution, advanced graduate level area studies in a university, cultural area emersion in the targeted area or country, and a utilization assignment. Disagreements among the Agencies and Services, however, forestalled the completion of a detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) that would have defined the program. Nevertheless, the Services and Agencies were asked to implement an unofficial concept within their own training and development programs. Assistance from the ASA (M&RA)'s office was sought late in the fiscal year to include ICRSP within Career Program 35's centrally funded competitive development program, possibly starting in FY99.
  7. Midyear, the TDC obtained its first full-time and permanent Chair as well as the charter from the CMS to give direction and oversight to the IC's training and development efforts. The IPMO worked with the TDC and its Chair to draft a Strategic Management Plan (SMP) as well as to develop various approaches for the IC training component of the ICO Designation mentioned above. The SMP sought to inventory and focus, if not consolidate, training efforts throughout the IC, reduce redundancy, establish standards for course development and evaluation, and promote the interchange of ideas. Several subordinate working groups were formed to support these goals. The Office was successful in winning recognition of differences between Services and Agencies. The TDC SMP: recognizes the Service's dependence on the resources of other Intelligence Agencies for critical civilian training; recognizes the critical importance in the future of distance learning for Army's dispersed workforce; and offers Army full participation in the IC's many training initiatives.
  8. The IPMO responded to a number of actions relating to Intelligence Reform. Extensive effort was made to assist OSD and the IC to resolve an impasse when DIA, the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) decided to purchase an alternative automated personnel management system different from the one under development by OSD. Agreement was reached that a cross-walking module would be developed that would permit both systems to interact and exchange data. This agreement permitted the Services to continue plans to utilize the DOD Modern system and still be able to eventually interact equally with the Agencies under DCIPS. Issues also arose with the Laboratory Demonstration Projects and the USAREUR Demonstration Project on whether CIPMS employees in affected labs and commands could participate. Accommodation was found with the USAREUR project by exempting CIPMS positions/employees from participation and accommodation was found with the Lab Projects through exemption from a few conflicting features. Similarly, members of the Office participated in Rightsizing/Intel Force Assessment Studies related to the Intelligence Program Review Group (IPRG) process. Greater precision in identifying intelligence resources in Army was achieved along with greater ability to analyze demographics.
Bullet Logo CIPMS Centralization
 
  1. The next greatest work area for the office was in CIPMS Centralization. Just prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, approval was obtained for an agreement with the Office of the ASA (M&RA) for the provision of CIPMS operating civilian personnel servicing from one Civilian Personnel Operations Center (CPOC), the Army National Capital Region CPOC, and one Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC), the Personnel & Employment Services -Washington (P&ES-W) CPAC. The ASA (M&RA) approval stipulated, however, that MACOM participation must remain voluntary. ASA (M&RA) directed that written affirmation be obtained from all MACOMs since the original plan staffed with them was over a year old. Some shifting of support was noted, most notably USAREUR changed its mind and chose not to participate, but approximately 2,500 employees, from over 20 organizations agreed to be covered under the program. The written agreement with ASA (M&RA) also specified a conversion schedule that would have initially converted all participating MACOMs within about 18 months of its approval. It soon became apparent, however, that the conversion schedule was too ambitious. Several In-Process Reviews (IPRs) were held for the Assistant DCS, G-2 resulting in a number of revisions significantly lengthening the time period for conversion to ensure better quality service. The IPRs also brought to light many new issues for resolution as well as planning shortfalls for correction. Specifically, it was determined that assumption of servicing of OCONUS units would be delayed to allow for resolution of communications connectivity and OCONUS entitlement servicing issues.

    The Office worked closely with the INSCOM CIPMS Advisor as well as with P&ES-W CPAC, ANCR CPOC and ASA (M&RA) personnel, participating actively in what would become ASA(M&RA) led working groups, to manage the implementation process. FY97 saw the consolidation of servicing of CIPMS positions located within the national capital region. It also saw the expansion to participating MACOMs, most notably FORSCOM units/employees, in the Southeastern region of the U.S.

  2. The Office worked on a number of projects that supported Centralization. A project to develop a Handbook for Supervisors and employees was begun. The Handbook would attempt to consolidate emerging processing guidance from the servicing CPAC and CPOC, with general CIPMS information, and instruction on how to use the various Functional Process Improvements being fielded for civilian personnel by ASA(M&RA) and OSD. Concurrently, the office developed model Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) between the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, who supervises the CPAC, and the MACOMs that owned the installations where the serviced CIPMS organizations were located. The MOAs would clarify the continuing support required of MACOMs and installation commanders even after servicing was centralized in the Washington Capital Region. When completed, the MOA models were then turned over to the P&ES-W CPAC for implementation. Furthermore, Office personnel assisted the P&ES-W CPAC by assisting in training of managers in Functional Process Improvements (FPIs) that would begin the process of converting to a paperless personnel administrative process. Finally, the office gave a number of briefings and seminars on CIPMS to P&ES-W CPAC and ANCR CPOC personnel in position management and classification, staffing and management-employee relations.
Bullet Logo Continuing Progams
 
  1. The IPMO also had to maintain its support of a number of existing programs/initiatives during the year and responded to the normal range of unexpected initiatives. The Office continued a relatively high level of staffing of senior positions, filling one Senior Intelligence Executive Service (SIES) and 6 Senior Intelligence Professional (SIP) positions. The Office also hosted a Seniors Seminar for our SIP and SIES members that discussed the similarities and differences of the two programs and resulted in clarification of pay setting policies for the SIP. With input from the MACOMs and the Senior's Seminar, the Office responded to an OSD tasker to validate existing requirements and propose additional senior positions. All existing requirements were validated and one additional SIES and five SIP were requested.
  2. The Office continued to support the Functional Chief Representative (FCR) in managing Career Program 35, Intelligence. Fourteen careerists were sent to the Army Management Staff College resident program and one additional completed the nonresident course. Three careerists were selected to attend the National War College during a special cycle inaugurating the Defense Leadership and Management Program (DLAMP). Sixteen individuals were approved to attend Office of Personnel Management (OPM) executive seminars, two to attend university training and one to attend the Federal Executive Institute under the FCR's competitive development program. Twelve interns were hired or remained on board during the year with 5 graduations. The Functional Chief, the DCS, G-2, transmitted revised policy from the ASA(M&RA) on Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action. General Officers and Senior Intelligence Executive Service members were held personally accountable for actions to be taken to search for and hire to fill vacant GS-15 positions. Senior Intelligence Officers (SIOs) were similarly charged with the oversight of hiring into GS-14 positions within the CP-35 because of the greater likelihood of non-competitive promotions from GS-14 to GS-15 because of CIPMS' grade band promotion provisions. The effectiveness of these new requirements were left undetermined at the end of the fiscal year because pervasive hiring restrictions permitted few positions to be filled competitively at these grade levels. The Office also participated in an ASA (M&RA) effort to revise the Career Program’s Army Civilian Training, Education and Development System (ACTEDS) plan. The Office began work with a contractor to reformat and update the plan, finalization of which was scheduled for FY98.
  3. The Office worked with both OSD and ASA (M&RA) to determine how CIPMS might integrate within the DLAMP. The DLAMP is a DOD-wide professionalization program with emphasis on acquiring advanced management skills through professional military education, graduate level training, a broadening assignment and completion of agency/service requirements. OSD determined that CIPMS would be initially exempt from identification of DLAMP positions but its careerists could apply and participate in its developmental programs.
  4. A number of additional actions were accomplished. As a recurring action, the Office participated with OSD and the other two Services in discussions with OPM, leading to the further extension for one year of the Interchange Agreement between CIPMS and the title 5, Competitive Service. Official action was also taken to have the DCS, G-2 delegate to the IPMO Director the authority to decide all CIPMS classification appeals elevated for final HQDA decision. Extensive comments were made on ASA (M&RA) proposals to revise the Army's position classification program to permit more frequent classification of positions by line managers. Approximately 17 cases were reviewed leading to the granting or denial of 180 day waivers for hiring retiring military. The Office's Weekly Significant Activities Report began to be provided to Career Program 35 MACOM Career Program Managers as well as to selected HQDA, CPAC and CPOC contacts associated with either CIPMS, Centralization or the IPMO.