Teammates,
Greetings from Team IPPS-A! We can’t thank you enough for continuing to navigate the system and quickly bringing issues to our attention for resolution. We could not do this without you!
I’d like to provide you with some updates and guidance as we continue to focus on system stability and accountability:
Assignment History Updates
We recently provided a demo on how to reconstruct a record for a Soldier. This training was not limited to Assignment History updates but should be used if you are attempting to update assignment history. We have posted this video to S1Net at https://www.milsuite.mil/book/thread/278465 and have attached the corresponding job aid.
A couple key items: Assignments pre-Go-Live can be updated via managed converted assignments. Any assignments after Go-Live have limited ability to be updated and are accessed via manage assignments. It is extremely important that new assignments are correct. Assignments after Go-Live, specifically adjusting dates, involve not just the Soldier you are attempting to update, but the dates associated with other Soldiers that held the position. For instance, if you are attempting to adjust the start date of a position when the position was encumbered by another user, you will get an error. Again – this only applies to post Go-Live assignments and not the converted assignments.
As a final reminder – always use caution when updating anything in Job Data. We strongly discourage updates in Job unless you know what you are doing and how it will/could affect a Soldier’s pay and benefits.
Executing Temporary Orders
It is very important that Temporary Orders are executed correctly for ARNG and USAR Soldiers. You must follow the acceptable approaches outlined in the MOBCOP Integration User Guide. Please reference the MOBCOP Integration User Guide and SFARS Integration User Guide when making edits. Soldier pay and benefits are tied to their position and if done incorrectly, can and has inadvertently stopped TRICARE for Soldiers. Manuals are available in IPPS-A under Help: https://hr.ippsa.army.mil/upk/onl_help/Publishing%20Content/PlayerPackage/pst8/hemi/pst8_gateway.html?ContextID=PT_LANDINGPAGE&LangCD=ENG
- Login to IPPS-A at https://hr.ippsa.army.mil.
- Click NavBar in the upper right corner and select “Help.”
- Uncheck the “Applicable” box to access “IPPS-A Additional Help and Documentation.”
- Find and click the appropriate resource
Married Army Couples Program (MACP) Auto-Enrollment/Disenrollment
Some users have noted that they are not/have not been auto-enrolled in MACP even though their spouse is displaying as their dependent. We were able to determine that if the spouse’s military service in DEERS is blank, IPPS-A will not auto-enroll the members. We did a one-time data fix for those individuals that had IPPS-A Soldier records which resolved a majority of the cases, but did not correct the issue with new enrollments. We are considering options to remove the requirement for this field to be populated, and do not intend to have Soldiers go back to DEERS to update this information. We will attempt to ensure that we get word out through the DEERS offices to ensure this field is filled. HR Professionals who have the Restrictions Subcat can add/remove this restriction from Soldier’s records. Have the Soldier submit a CRM case indicating the auto-enrollment issue.
Soldiers should request disenrollment from the MACP using an admin correction PAR. This action does not have to be done via DEERS. DEERS is simply the mechanism to auto-enroll Soldiers using available data.
Provider Group Admin (PGA) Quick Guide
The attached guide covers Provider Group Administration tasks (i.e., adding POCs and email addresses, Parent Hierarchy, and Members to the PG to work cases within your PG, and updating PG Prefixes).
**Note that Provider Group Administrators (PGAs) are responsible for managing the PGs; the PGA can create, update, activate and inactivate Members to the PG. PGAs are at the Brigade level and above for the Active Army, Joint Forces Headquarter (JFHQ) for the Army National Guard (ARNG), and Regional Support Command (RSC) for the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Component.**
Updated User Manual V6.1
The latest version of the IPPS-A User Manual (Version 6.1) has been released. You may find it at https://hr.ippsa.army.mil/upk/r3/resources/userman.pdf. One key item added to this update was clarification on PCS absence dates and report dates.
Access Requests in “Approved” Status
We’ve noted an issue where access requests submitted by users were getting stuck in “Approved” status. This can be caused by missing or multiple primary email addresses in the User Profile (PSOPRDEFN / PSUSEREMAIL); the root cause of this has been resolved and should not occur anymore.
However, there are instances where roles that are no longer active still exist on the submitted access requests. As the program continues to remove or update roles to bundle relationships while users are submitting access request at the same time, this issue will continue to occur. Our team is continuing to work on a resolution.
Absences
We have received several RFIs and comments noting that users are unable to submit an absence request after having a previously cancelled request for the same dates. Rather than create a new absence, Soldiers should edit the cancelled request with the new information and submit for approval. As a reminder – cancellations of absence requests still need to route to an approver to be completed.
Known Issues
For updates on IPPS-A issues pertaining to promotions, benefits, assignments, onboarding, and more, please reference https://ipps-a.army.mil/ipps-a-known-issues. This resource includes updates on items we know matter to you, and offers answers to common questions we get from the field.
Resources
We have a lot of great IPPS-A products created by units located on S1Net. On the left-hand side of the IPPS-A landing page, find the SUB-TOPICS column, and click “IPPS-A SOPs/Tools” underneath that. Please feel free to “donate” any IPPS-A SOPs and products that have worked for you team!
For additional information and resources, be sure to follow us on social media. You may also visit our website at https://ipps-a.army.mil/.
Thank you.
VR,
COL Eggers
Rebecca L. Eggers
COL, AG
IPPS-A FMD