Photo By Robert Hill | The Army Expeditionary Civilian Workforce (AECW) Program offers unique opportunities...... read more read more
WASHINGTON – The Army’s Expeditionary Civilian Workforce (AECW) Program has provided and continues to provide civilian augmentation to critical missions across the globe that benefit the participant, their home organization and the unit they are detailed to support.
Adrienne Miller offers an example. Home-stationed at Redstone Arsenal with the U.S. Army Materiel Command’s Logistics Data Analysis Center, she deployed as a human resources specialist on an AECW Directorate assignment to Kaiserslautern, Germany, to support the 405th Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) as it stood up a logistics readiness center in Poland. She subsequently supported Army Field Support Battalion (AFSBn)-Mannheim as it transitioned to AFSBn-Poland.
About her experience, Miller said, “The Army’s Expeditionary Civilian Program has given me so many opportunities to grow and develop personally and professionally.” She added, “…the program gives people the opportunity to add so many different things to their tool bags, whatever their chosen field might be.”
Broadening and diversifying one’s experience not only benefits expeditionary civilian participants but their home organizations, as well. As another expeditionary civilian deployer’s—Ken Gregoire— experience reveals, civilian deployers return home with new, expanded and honed skills, as well as lessons learned, that can benefit their home organization’s mission.
Of course, the program also benefits the augmented organization and mission by providing critical skills that would otherwise go un-resourced. The number and diversity of these assignments testify to the ongoing demand the DoD has for its civilian personnel to support national security missions, particularly abroad.
Currently, there are nearly 200 deployment opportunities to support missions in the USEUCOM, USCENTCOM and USSOUTHCOM areas of responsibility, on a rolling basis; in locations that include Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Jordan and Honduras, among others; needing specialists in such diverse career fields as safety, emergency management, human resources, protocol, operations, logistics management, budget, public affairs, quality assurance, IT and communications, and more; primarily in grades GS-9 through 15. There are also about two dozen AECW Directorate headquarters staff opportunities that are filled on a term, not-to-exceed (NTE) basis through USAJOBS.
Expeditionary civilian assignments are available to permanent Army civilians and term (if the appointment term extends beyond the end date of the deployment). Individuals on overseas assignments must have at least 18 months remaining prior to their date estimated return from overseas or DEROS. Army civilians who are in the Army Reserve must be in a Retired Reserve or Standby Reserve status. They cannot be in the Ready Reserve, as this would be a dual obligation for deployment. Army civilians must have or be able to obtain a security clearance at the interim secret level, at a minimum. Some positions may require higher clearances.
AECW Directorate sponsored deployments are considered details to a set of duties. They are completed in a temporary duty status for six, nine or 11 months, depending on the specific needs of each vacancy. The employee’s permanent position of record is unaffected, and they continue to receive basic pay and benefits through their home organizations. The AECW Directorate, however, covers certain additional costs such as travel, approved overtime and post differential or hazardous pay, when authorized.
The grade listed for each vacancy is suggested and filled by civilians at that grade or one grade below or above. Deployers’ permanent grade remains unaffected during their deployment.
Deployments are under field conditions. Therefore, deployers should expect to be billeted in tents, barracks or containerized rooms, with shared showers and restrooms, and meals in the DFAC. All deployments are also unaccompanied.
All deployers must go through pre-deployment training and preparation, both at home station and at Camp Atterbury, IN. This process includes medical and dental screenings, and possibly the need to secure or elevate one’s security clearance and obtain an official passport.
Army civilians interested in applying to deploy as an expeditionary civilian must submit a resume, recent SF-50, DD Form 214 (if former military) and a signed request for deployment form found at the link below. These documents need to be submitted through their supervisory chain and deployment coordinator.
For more information, begin by reading the Military Review article on AECW’s history and strategic impact (link below), then contact your organization’s or higher headquarters’ deployment specialist or coordinator, who should also have a list of the most current and upcoming deployment opportunities. You can also reach out to the AECW Directorate program office by email.
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Link to Request for Deployment form: https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/sites/default/files/2.%20Request%20for%20Deployment%20%28RFD%29%2020%20Sept%202018.pdf
To learn more about Ms. Miller's experience: https://www.army.mil/article/272298/redstone_arsenal_employee_helps_stand_up_new_lrc_and_battalion_as_aecw_deployer
To learn more about Mr. Gregoire's experience: https://www.army.mil/article/269111/us_based_hr_specialists_use_aecw_program_in_europe_to_help_broaden_their_careers
To read the Military Review article about AECW: https://www.armyupress.army.mil/journals/military-review/online-exclusive/2024-ole/close-the-skills-gap-with-expeditionary-civilians/
Note: Thanks to Mr. Cameron Porter, 405th AFSB PAO, for assistance with this article.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2024 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 480809 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON DC, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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