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NCOs Can Now Rank Their Assignment Preferences Under a New Army System

For the first time, the U.S. Army will allow noncommissioned officers to rank where they would like to be assigned.

Similar to its Assignment Interactive Module for officers, in use since 2016, the service announced earlier this month that it will roll out the virtual "Assignment Satisfaction Key -- Enlisted Marketplace" (ASK-EM) for the 2021 manning cycle.

Those eligible include active-duty soldiers in the ranks of E-6 through E-8, according to a release. They can give their top five choices for assignment location.

Read Next: Fort Bragg Now Admits its Twitter Account Wasn't Hacked

"Soldier preference is important because we believe a Soldier performs at a higher level when they're in an assignment that interests them," Col. Michael McGregor, director of the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, said in the release. "Soldiers have some input into their assignments now, but that will increase significantly as we field ASK-EM."

The goal is to more accurately pair noncommissioned officers with their duty station based on their "knowledge, skills, behaviors and preferences," the release states.

"These initiatives optimize the Army's ability to get the right Soldier with the right talents to the right assignment at the right time. It will also allow commanders to maximize the talent provided them," McGregor said.

The new program is set to go live Nov. 11, according to a separate announcement .

Leaders will get more information about when a soldier is best available for a permanent change-of-station move or temporary duty assignment to match gaps the service needs to fill.

"Heightened awareness about Soldier talent, along with knowing when he or she is available to move, will help us make informed decisions when assigning the most qualified Soldiers to meet Army requirements," McGregor explained.

ASK-EM follows two pilot programs that involved 1,700 NCOs, according to Army Human Resources Command.

According to Col. Bryan Harris, Armor Enlisted Branch chief at the command, 55% of those participating received one of their top five choices.

The automated marketplace will someday serve an average of 35,000 NCOs per year, and will be tied to "five enlisted manning cycles per year, compared to two cycles for officers," the command said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.

Related: Air Force to Let Fighter Pilots, Crew Stay at Preferred Bases

Oriana Pawlyk

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New enlisted marketplace, promotion board changes arriving

Some big changes for enlisted soldiers are being implemented this coming year, including an “assignment marketplace” for staff sergeants through master sergeants and promotion boards dialing in on how much non-commissioned officers know about their subordinates, according to Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston .

Also on the horizon, a phone application for squad leaders to help with administrative tasks and a prototype for what is expected to become a Sergeants Major Assessment Program , Grinston told Army Times during an Oct. 1 interview.

Many of the changes fall under Grinston’s signature push during his tenure as the ranking enlisted soldier within the Army, known as “ This is My Squad ." The initiative aims to build more internal cohesion at some of the smallest unit levels within the service. For many troops, that’s the squad.

Promotion boards

A Sept. 5 memo codified some of the initiative’s changes for soldiers going before promotion boards in the future.

“We want to reinforce team and squad leader understanding of how our Army cares for its soldiers,” Grinston said during the telephone interview. “So promotion to sergeant and staff sergeant will include situational questions.”

Rather than just being asked about regulations or telling a board about their own assignments and accomplishments, soldiers will be asked about those for whom they’re responsible.

“So now we want them to come in, and maybe not tell them about themselves,” Grinston added. “Talk about their squad. How many people do you have? What’s [this] private’s first name? How many kids does he have? Where did he grow up?”

Grinston said he’s also assembling a panel of 24 staff sergeants from a variety of jobs and commands across the globe to assist with This is My Squad . That panel is expected to meet for the first time in November.

“They’re going to stay on that panel for a while to give me feedback on how can we get this culture going and what tangible things I can do to really replicate this throughout the Army,” he said.

Staff Sgt. Jake Reyes, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, teaches proper methods to clear, assemble, disassemble and perform functions checks on a M240B for his unit’s battalion squad lethality competition, prior to COVID-19.

The sergeant major of the Army has also been working with the service’s Futures Command to develop a phone app for squad leaders that will assist them with tracking training, sponsorship and counseling documents.

“We’ve gone to the combined arms center, through TRADOC, trying to develop a new counseling form,” Grinston said. “I actually want to digitize this counseling form. So … it gets uploaded and … helps the squad leader with some of those administrative tasks that they have to do on a daily or monthly basis.”

ASK-EM going live

The new Assignment Satisfaction Key-Enlisted Module, or ASK-EM, goes live Nov. 11.

It will allow E-6s, E-7s and E-8s to use an assignment process similar to the one rolled out last year for officers. One key difference is that a human resource manager selects enlisted for their next assignment, whereas the officer marketplace allows units to do so.

“That’s going to be available for all enlisted soldiers, staff sergeants to master sergeants, you’ll see those locations that are available [and] you can preference those," Grinston said. “And then the manager looks at those and puts you on assignments based on your preferences. … That’s something coming out that we’re really excited about.”

Enlisted job marketplace launches this summer for select soldiers

Armor, intelligence and some quartermaster troops will test a new assignment market system that launches this summer and is scheduled to go service-wide beginning in january 2021..

The pilot program could provide those enlisted troops more choices in their careers than the old assignment system, which forced troops to choose six basing options — three in the United States and three overseas, Sgt. Maj. Wardell Jefferson, the Army G-1′s senior enlisted soldier, explained in March.

A pilot program for ASK-EM took place in June and was open to 700 NCOs in armor, military intelligence and quartermaster specialties. Of the soldiers who participated in the program, 55 percent received one of their top five choices, according to an Army Human Resources Command release.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army, Michael Grinston began his two-day visit to U.S. Army Fort Campbell, on Aug 3. One of his many stops was The Sabalauski Air Assault School, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). TSAAS trainers showed him how they facilitate training in a COVID-19 environment while making health a priority as training standards are not compromised. Grinston went through The Sabalauski Air Assault School as a young Soldier and had fond memories of the installation. (Photos by Spc. John Simpson, The 40th Public Affairs Detachment)

ASK-EM is intended to give NCOs more input into where they want their career to go next by letting them provide other details about their backgrounds and skills that can be used by HR managers during assignment slating.

Soldiers also will be able to see how popular an assignment is, giving them insight into how other soldiers are ranking positions.

Eventually, an average of 35,000 NCOs per year are expected to view and preference assignments through the new system, according to the HRC release.

Prototype assessment program

The Army is preparing to introduce a senior enlisted assessment course, similar to the one that kicked off earlier this year for officers hoping to become battalion commanders.

“We’re going to have 32 sergeants major, in November, go through the battalion commander assessment program ," Grinston said. “That will help us shape what we’re going to do for the sergeants major assessment program.”

The battalion commander assessment program takes place at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and involves sit-downs with Army psychologists, a leader reaction course and argumentative essays.

The battalion commander candidates also went before “blind boards," which required an individual’s background paperwork to be scrubbed of personally identifying information. A sheet was used to separate the panel and the interviewee.

When the battalion commander assessment program started in January, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville called it a “transformational change” in how the service chooses battalion commanders.

This past spring, Grinston received feedback from some of senior sergeants major who spent the winter sitting in on blind boards , providing input to the panels.

Any potential program wouldn’t be borne out of the prototype until 2022 at the earliest, Grinston previously told Army Times. But whatever does come of those prototypes likely won’t deviate significantly from what the officers were doing, he added at the time.

Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.

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HRC to employ new enlisted talent management initiative in November

Photo By Fonda Bock | The Assignment Satisfaction Key - Enlisted Module for Army NCOs is scheduled to go... ... read more read more

Photo By Fonda Bock | The Assignment Satisfaction Key - Enlisted Module for Army NCOs is scheduled to go Army-wide beginning Nov. 11, for the 21-01 enlisted manning cycle.   see less | View Image Page

FORT KNOX, KY, UNITED STATES

Story by fonda bock  , u.s. army human resources command.

FORT KNOX, KY -- Following the successful completion of two small scale pilot programs launched this summer to test the Assignment Satisfaction Key - Enlisted Module, Army Human Resources Command’s talent managers will employ the market for NCOs Army-wide beginning Nov. 11, for the 21-01 enlisted manning cycle. ASK-EM applies primarily to active component NCOs eligible to fill staff sergeant–master sergeant requirements and is a temporary bridge to the Integrated Pay and Personnel System – Army (IPPS-A) expected to go live in December 2021. Modeled after the Army's Assignment Interactive Module for officers, ASK-EM supports enhanced interaction between NCOs and HRC’s talent managers allowing NCOs more input into where they would like to be assigned based on their knowledge, skills, behaviors and preferences. Through ASK-EM, eligible NCOs are able to see all available requirements that match their MOS and grade, and can preference them in an automated marketplace-type interface. “The Assignment Satisfaction Key - Enlisted Module modernizes how we’re selecting enlisted Soldiers for assignments and enhancing their professional development,” said HRC’s senior enlisted Soldier, Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Lynice Thorpe-Noel. The first pilot, which occurred during the month of June for the 20-08 manning cycle, was open to 700 NCOs in armor, military intelligence and unit supply specialist military occupational specialists who were being considered for reassignment from February–May 2021. Col. Bryan Harris, Armor Enlisted Branch Chief, U.S. Army Human Resources Command said the pilot was a success. “Seventy one percent of the NCOs participated in the process and 55 percent received one of their top five choices,” Harris said. “NCOs visited the website 5362 times, and the system performed as designed with no latency or functionality issues.” A second pilot launched this summer, which wrapped up Sept. 29, was open to approximately 1000 NCOs from the same target audience. Results for those NCOs seeking reassignments for the 20-10 manning cycle will be available in October. Harris said the pilots proved the ASK-EM system performed as it was designed and is ready to move forward. He stated there were no latency issues and the functionality of web-based interface worked as designed. “The system presented the data, NCOs were able to input their preferences and that data was received. The system is effective,” Harris said. The pilots did reveal more internal and external training is necessary, which Harris said they are in the process of conducting. “We do training every Thursday across the directorate to educate them on how the system works and are starting to reach out to do virtual training with units to get them ready to use ASK-EM,” Harris said. “We have to get the whole active component of the Army ready for this initiative.” ASK-EM will be tied to five enlisted manning cycles per year, compared to two cycles for officers. This provides the Army more flexibility to respond to emerging readiness requirements, and also acknowledges scope and scale. For the first time, all Soldiers and NCOs will have a year/month available date established, which will increase transparency for Soldiers, NCOs, their families, and units by providing the date HRC considers them available to move and NCOs to be in the market. "We want to operate a disciplined market by maximizing predictability and preference while optimizing readiness and professional development," said Sgt. Maj. Roger Rendon, Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate Sergeant Major, HRC. The pilots proved that roughly 30 percent of NCOs are not participating. Harris said the directorate is working to find out why, but he strongly encourages all NCOs to participate. “This will be the new way of selecting NCOs for their new assignments so they need to take advantage of the opportunity to influence their next assignment,” Harris said. “It doesn’t take NCOs that long to go into the system and submit their preferences. If they don’t speak up, their assignment manager will reassign them in accordance with priorities and the needs of the Army. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to influence your future.” Over time, an average of 35,000 NCOs per year will eventually view and preference requirements in ASK-EM.

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Assignment Satisfaction Key

Passing information with the click of a mouse

Personal Contact Information : Current home address, phone number (home and duty), and email address (either home or military).

Assignment Preferences : Soldiers must select 6 choices (3 CONUS and 3 OCONUS) from lists provided. Two CONUS installations will be divisional installations.  

Special Duty Interest Preferences : Drill Sergeant, Recruiting and/or Airborne. Soldiers are not volunteering for these duties.

Assignment Volunteers - Soldiers may volunteer for up to 3 CONUS and/or 3 OCONUS locations from lists provided.  

Special Duty Interest Volunteers : Soldiers may volunteer for Drill Sergeants, Recruiting and/or Airborne.  

Access is available thru the U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC)   web site at https://www.hrc.army.mil/indexflash.asp . Once you access the U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) web site, you will click on the "Assignment Satisfaction Key" displayed above. Soldiers will need a Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account password to gain access to their information.  

 More Information on ASK

Assignment Satisfaction Key https://www.ask.army.mil/ask

Web access to enlisted assignment information is the key to electronically influencing your career

You can update assignment preferences and related information through a newly developed web application.  The "Assignment Satisfaction Key" or "ASK" Internet tool provides the capability to post assignment preference information directly to the Total Army Personnel Database.  U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate (EPMD) assignment managers will use this information when considering you for assignments.

Under the old "Dream Sheet" days, you could choose from 230 CONUS locations and 280 OCONUS locations, but had little chance of being assigned to any of the locations.  "ASK" requires you to select two CONUS locations from a Divisional Installation Listing and one CONUS location form a more expanded listing.  You may select three of four OCONUS locations.

By providing you with realistic location options, our goal is to match Army readiness requirements with your preferences.  You are contributing to the overall decision process and your vote counts.  While U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) must still fill unique assignments, the majority of assignment locations will be available for you to select.  Those who decline to submit preferences will be assigned according to the needs of the Army.

This application is available through U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) 's web site at: https://www.hrc.army.mil/indexflash.asp   Use your Army Knowledge Online (AKO) account password to gain access to this information.  Use of AKO will ensure necessary security requirements are met.  You may view and update the following information:

Personal Contact Information - You will be able to provide your current home address, phone number (home and duty) (commercial and Digital Service Network (DSN), and email address (either home or military).

Assignment Preference - Assignment preferences will be used when you are being considered for assignment.  You must select 6 locations (3 CONUS and 3 OCONUS).  Two CONUS preferences msut be selected from Assignment Location List (asg Loc List) A and one from Asg Loc List B.  Three OCONUS preferences must be selected from Asg Loc List C.

Special Duty Interest Preference/Volunteer - You may indicate a desire to be considered for or volunteer for Drill Sergeant, Recruiting, and/or Airborne.

Assignment Volunteer - You may now "volunteer" for assignment locations.  Provided you are otherwise qualified.  U.S Army Human Resources Command (HRC) assignment managers will consider assignment volunteers over non-volunteers.  Volunteer choices may be selected from Asg Loc List A, B and C.

Assignment Location Listing

The following Assignment Location Listings provide you with the choices you need to select from your Assignment Preferences and Assignment Volunteer locations.

List A - Divisional Installations

List B - Divisional Installations and Other CONUS Installations

List C - OCONUS Locations

How to Contact the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorates

Soldier Assignment Module (SAM)

For soldiers who have used ASK, SAM provides virtually instant capability for your assignment manager and professional development soldiers to identify all open requirements you may be eligible for, provides the capabilities to hone in on the most eligible soldiers and also (on the same screen) identifies all volunteers for a specific assignment location.

ASK  The key to influencing your career

Point of contact is Mrs. Hodge at 325-2738, [email protected] , Plans, Procedures and Operations Branch.

Update started on 01/11/07   (in revision)