Teammates,
Thank you for continuing to navigate the system and quickly bring issues to our attention for resolution. The engagement and enthusiasm for IPPS-A I’m seeing from the field is greatly appreciated.
I’d like to provide you with some updates and guidance as we continue to build upon IPPS-A together:
Orders Framework Updates
Soldiers asked and we listened. Orders generated by IPPS-A now include the official Army seal!
Prior to this update, Soldiers were often experiencing complications while executing travel, and establishing housing due to questions of legitimacy. Orders now show code descriptions, a Soldier’s home of record address (Hire/Accession Orders), and a Digital Garrison QR code. We’ve also removed the unclassified information (CUI) markings, which previously caused issues for Soldiers who wanted to use them for renting houses or apartments.
This is a big win for the field, as it will remove unnecessary administrative burdens for Soldiers. You can learn more about the updated orders framework
here.
Inbound Dependent Data from Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS)
We were tracking an issue in which DEERS was not able to send all required changes to dependent information to IPPS-A. For example, this included scenarios of separation in dual-military marriages or removing adult children from benefits.
DEERS recently adjusted its logic to improve capturing and sending of dependent changes to IPPS-A. Now, when such updates occur, the data captured in IPPS-A is more accurate and timelier.
The first file with improved logic occurred 10 May 2024, with about 50,000 dependent updates. Please ensure your Soldiers are aware of this update and that they check their data for accuracy.
Attachments in IPPS-A
To moderate redundancies in the system, units should only attach documents that
are required for IPPS-A transactions. Attaching unnecessary documents can clutter the system and extensively drain the available volume.
Attaching a Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), DA Form 31, or Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) documentation to an Absence request, or a DA Form 4187 to a Personnel Action Request (PAR), for example, is not required.
I encourage units to try to streamline workflows and enhance overall efficiency. Per the
SECARMY Memo, personnel should exclusively use IPPS-A for human resource and applicable pay actions.
New Validator Subcategory
The NG/AR Validator Subcategory was recently released to production to address the differences of National Provider level between Regular Army and National Guard/Reserve components. This Validator subcategory will contain roles that primarily reside in the Principal Validator subcategory.
This subcategory is designed for National Guard State Level G-1s (2–3 Users per state) and Army Reserve Readiness Divisions (2–3 users per RD) or USARC (2–3 users at USARC) and should not be used by the Active Army component.
To submit an access request for this subcategory, you will need one of the following subcategories: KEEB VALIDATOR, PRINCIPAL VALIDATOR, or NG/AR VALIDATOR.
Consecutive Overseas Tour (COT) and/or In-Place COT (IPCOT) Leave in IPPS-A
COT and/or IPCOT absences processed in IPPS-A between 20 December 2022 and present
may not have been processed as chargeable leave. As a result, your accrued leave balance may be incorrect. IAW
AR 600-8-10, COT/IPCOT absences are chargeable absence types.
Actions are being taken to verify impacted accounts and correct errors that may have occurred; therefore, you may see a reduction in your accrued leave balance. Please review your end of month June Leave and Earning Statement (LES) for corrections. General questions and concerns may be addressed to your Army Military Pay Office (AMPO) / Finance Office.
Roadmap
IPPS-A has a roadmap to guide stakeholders through FY26. This outlines the major post-release aspects of IPPS-A development, and provides clarity on project goals, milestones, tasks, timelines, and dependencies.
Though based on rough projections, listing out development efforts and business objectives in a singular flowing timeline ensures we can promote awareness and education while regularly delivering system enhancements.
This roadmap is effectively helping to
Drive the Change we need in Army modernization efforts, and I encourage you to review the IPPS-A Roadmap to gain a better idea of where we are headed. You may find it here:
https://ipps-a.army.mil/Future-Capabilities.
In its latest iteration, we have removed TDY Tour Credit functionality to give the team more time to gather requirements and research the best way to develop this feature. A new addition to the roadmap is the In-Transit Grid (ITG) enhancements, which will better streamline the departure and arrival process for the field and enable users to add multiple types of PCS leave in one transaction.
Resources
HR Pros should join the
Drive the Change channel on MS Teams to get the latest updates as well as New Release Training every Friday following a release. During these events, the IPPS-A team will walk through items released into production the night before and explain where the updated training packages reside. You may access the channel here:
https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/channel/19%3adod%3a1fc38b9ba1714261a5e2e78bddbb92d3%40thread.tacv2/1.%2520Drive%2520the%2520Change?groupId=a0f79218-9101-4c6c-863b-84c8c14309e9&tenantId=fae6d70f-954b-4811-92b6-0530d6f84c43. If you missed a release update, please visit the
Drive the Change page for links to recordings and slides.
The IPPS-A Team is still conducting
virtual Over the Shoulder Support (OTSS) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For more information, including dates and times, please visit:
https://ipps-a.army.mil/Drive-the-Change/.
Listen in to the IPPS-A Podcast to hear from our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and learn what’s going on with the program. In our
latest episode, I chat with MAJ Linda Platt, Chief of Training and Deployment for the U.S. Army Reserve, and CW2 Von Blas, Human Resources Technician, about the IPPS-A Marketplace platform, lessons learned from the April Marketplace launch for Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Strength Managers, and upcoming Marketplace priorities over the next few months. You may find the IPPS-A Podcast on
YouTube,
Apple, Spotify, and Castbox.
For additional information and resources, you may also visit our website at
https://ipps-a.army.mil/.
Keep driving the change we need in our Army!
v/r,
Becky
Rebekah S. Lust
COL, AG
IPPS-A FMD Director
IPPS-A website:
https://ipps-a.army.mil/
IPPS-A Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/armyippsa/
IPPS-A YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/IPPSA
IPPS-A Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/usarmy_ippsa/
IPPS-A S1Net:
https://www.milsuite.mil/book/community/spaces/apf/s1net/ipps-a