ARMY EXPEDITIONARY CIVILIAN WORKFORCE DIRECTORATE (AECW) MISSION:
The AECW Directorate, DCS, G-1 manages the Army’s Expeditionary Civilian Program. The AECW Directorate is responsible for the readiness, training, mobilization, and reintegration of expeditionary civilians who deploy in support of military forces conducting Joint or U.S. Army-centric operations.
THE ARMY EXPEDITIONARY CIVILIAN WORKFORCE, CRITICAL SKILLS AT THE RIGHT TIME
The AECW Program trains, deploys, redeploys and reintegrates Army and Department of Defense expeditionary civilians. The program helps Combatant commanders remain mission ready, the program delivers skillsets that are often not readily available or fully resourced in their current organizations.
The AECW civilians are a force multiplier that mitigates resourcing gaps, facilitates the quick mobilization and then execution of mission requirements. The AECW leverages just-in-time, as well as ongoing, expertise and specialization to support Combatant Commands.
These civilians bring critical skills, a broad range of experiences and support the Army where the Army and the Department of Defense needs them most.
AECW HISTORY
Officially established on 01 Oct 2020 under the HQDA G-1 Personnel Operations Group, AECW is focused on the readiness, training, mobilization and reintegration of Army civilians in support contingency operations, response to national emergency and Global Force Management mandated mission.
AECW exercises delegated authority from OSD P&R for the training, mobilization and reintegration of DoD civilians, including all Service Components and Fourth Estate entities.
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Director, AECWYanir M. Hill -
Deputy Director, AECWWilliam L. Shadd
QUESTIONS? NEED ANSWERS?
Q1: Who can participate in the AECW program?
A1: The program covers expeditionary civilian volunteers who temporarily deploy to fill mission-critical positions in the various combatant commands (USEUCOM, USCENTCOM, USAFRICOM, USSOUTHCOM, etc.). It also ensures that internal unit deployers and emergency-essential personnel are fully ready to fulfill the obligations involved with their designated status.
Those who volunteer to deploy as expeditionary civilians must meet the following criteria:
- Be a permanent or term Army civilian. If term, their appointment must extend beyond the end date of the deployment.
- Secure the approval of their supervisory chain; disapprovals are rare as AECW is considered an Army priority mission.
- Be at least the vacancy’s target grade (which are suggested) or one grade lower or higher.
- If on an overseas assignment, must have at least 18 months remaining prior to their date eligible for return from overseas or DEROS.
- If in the Army Reserve, must be in a retired or standby status. Cannot be in the Ready Reserve, as this would be a dual obligation for deployment.
- Must be able to obtain a security clearance at the interim secret level, at a minimum. Some positions may require higher clearances.
Q2: What types of expeditionary civilian opportunities are available?
A2: Army civilians may choose to deploy and gain valuable career enhancing experiences. Currently, there are about 200 deployment opportunities across a wide range of civilian specialties.
Some of the available career fields include: safety, emergency management, human resources, training, protocol, operations, logistics management, budget, public affairs, quality assurance, IT, communications, and more.
Additionally, there are also about two dozen AECW Directorate headquarters staff opportunities that are filled on a term, not-to-exceed (NTE) basis through USAJOBS.
Q3: How are expeditionary volunteers selected?
A3: Once a volunteer’s command approves their packet, it’s submitted to the AECW Directorate, where a team of specialists review and endorse the packet. Once approved, the volunteer is matched to a deployment requirement.
However, while some volunteers identify a specific requirement they’d like to fill, they may be asked to serve in another, similar requirement that matches their credentials.
Q4: Where are volunteer opportunities located?
A4: Deployment locations vary over time but currently can be found in such places as Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Honduras, among others.
Q5: How long are volunteer deployments?
A5: 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.
Q6: How does an AECW deployment affect the volunteer’s home-station job?
A6: The volunteer’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.
Q7: What are living conditions like for deployed civilians?
A7: 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 dining facility or DFAC. All deployments are also unaccompanied.
Q8: What sort of preparation and training is involved?
A8: 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, online and classroom training, the drawing of theater-specific organizational clothing and individual equipment and other preparatory activities, such as securing or elevating one’s security clearance and/or obtaining an official passport.
Q9: How do I volunteer for an expeditionary opportunity?
A9: Army civilians interested in applying for the AECW Program must submit a resume, recent SF-50, DD Form 214 (if former military) and a signed request for deployment form found here. These documents need to be submitted through their supervisory chain and deployment coordinator.
Q10: Where is additional information available?
A10: For a good overview of the role, history and impact of the AECW Program, read the Military Review article here. Next, contact your organization’s or higher headquarters’ deployment specialist or coordinator, who should have a list of the most current and upcoming deployment opportunities and can assist your efforts to prepare for a deployment, if selected.
If there are still unanswered questions, contact the AECW Directorate program office by email at: usarmy.in.hqda.mbx.aecw-deployments@army.mil.
A member of the AECW Directorate program office is happy to assist you. Please send your questions by email to usarmy.in.hqda.mbx.aecw-deployments@army.mil.
Expeditionary civilians enhance the readiness, capability, capacity, and lethality of our deployed forces and perform support functions that permit uniformed personnel to focus on their war-fighting functions. They deploy in support of combat operations, contingency operations, emergency operations, humanitarian missions, disaster relief, restoration of order, drug interdiction, and stability operations of the Department of Defense.
“DoD Civilian Employees perform essential combat support functions for U.S. Forces and provide critical subject matter expertise. DoD Civilian Employees are a force multiplier, enhancing our warfighters’ capability and capacity, and increasing our combatant commander’s range of options.”
Patrick M. Shanahan
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense
Expeditionary civilian deployments originate from commands requesting expeditionary civilian support to augment their formations during a deployment or due to a new or expanded mission requirement, as units assigned in Europe experienced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, for example. Expeditionary Civilians deploy to cover identified skill capability gaps resulting from available personnel either not having a required skill set or the skill set is fully consumed by other requirements. Deployment opportunities frequently change based on the evolving needs of supported commands.
If you deploy to support an AECW Directorate sponsored mission, you retain your permanent duty station, assigned position and associated position description, grade, salary, and any other benefits associated with your assigned position. You deploy in a temporary duty status under field conditions, typically for 6 to 11 months, away from your permanent duty station to support the supported organization at the deployed location. When deployed under field conditions, you will have government-provided lodging and meals. Housing will often consist of tents, barracks, hastily constructed buildings, or containerized housing units. Food will be prepackaged rations or meals served in a military dining facility. You are entitled to use exchange, commissary, and morale and welfare facilities while deployed.
When deployed in a temporary duty status, you are not authorized shipment of household goods, or any other entitlements associated with a permanent change of station move; a deployment is a long-term unaccompanied temporary duty assignment.
During the deployment, you may perform “duties” associated with a lower or higher-graded position than your permanently assigned position (plus or minus one grade), but your grade does not change nor are you detailed to a different position while deployed; instead, you are temporarily assigned to perform a set of duties. For example, if you are currently a GS-12, you can deploy to perform the duties of GS-13 position, but you retain your grade as a GS-12, with all the pay and entitlements associated with your GS-12 position. The same applies if you deploy to perform the duties of a GS-11 position; you retain your GS-12 grade during the deployment.
While deployed, the supported organization supervisor will provide you daily onsite supervision and logistics support, but your supervisor of record (your supervisor prior to the deployment) does not change. Your permanent duty station supervisor will continue to certify your time and attendance throughout the deployed timeframe and retains responsibility for your performance rating, with input from the supported organization supervisor.
During the deployment, you are entitled to pay and allowances as authorized by the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of the Army, or legislative provisions for the specific location or supported mission. Overtime pay, danger pay, post hardship differential, night pay, holiday premium pay, and Sunday premium pay are examples of potential additional pays when deployed. Pay and entitlements are dependent on the location of the deployment and the associated work schedule. Except for your travel pay, the pay you earn during a deployment is taxable.
Routine use of annual leave is typically not authorized while you are deployed, but you can take leave in country at the conclusion of your deployment and schedule your return flight to accommodate your leave.
The following provides information regarding eligibility to deploy as an Army Expeditionary Civilian Capability-Based Volunteer:
APPOINTMENT TYPE: Civilians must be on a permanent or term appointment, with term employees having at least 1 year remaining on their appointment, to be eligible for deployment. U.S. Army Interns and civilians serving in the Department of the Army Fellows Program are not eligible to volunteer to serve on a deployment while participating in these programs.
POSITION FUNDING SOURCE: Both appropriated and nonappropriated funds employees are eligible to deploy. Due to funding restrictions, nonappropriated funds employees must serve in a morale, welfare, and recreation program position during the deployment.
PROBATIONARY STATUS: Probationary employees are not eligible to serve on a deployment during their probationary period. While serving in their probationary period, probationary employees can apply to deploy for a timeframe that is after they complete their probationary period.
EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED OVERSEAS: To deploy, Civilians serving on an overseas assignment must have at least 18 months remaining from their date estimated return from overseas and cannot be enrolled in the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.
SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT: Civilians must be able to obtain a security clearance at the interim secret level, at a minimum. Some positions may require a higher-level clearance.
RESERVISTS: Civilians serving in the Ready Reserves are not eligible to apply for deployment; they must transfer to the Retired Reserve or Standby Reserve to be eligible for deployment. Civilians in the Ready Reserves are ineligible due to the potential for a dual obligation for deployment. The Ready Reserves includes the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, and the Inactive National Guard.
The following link provides information about available deployment opportunities. If you have any questions about deployment positions, please reach out to Mr. Chris Carr, our AECW Directorate Talent Acquisition Program Manager, at Christian.j.carr.civ@army.mil.
The following provides the process for applying for a deployment opportunity:
- Submit the following documents to apply for a deployment to Mr. Chris Carr, AECW Directorate Talent Acquisition Program Manager, at Christian.j.carr.civ@army.mil and to the AECW Directorate group email box at usarmy.in.hqda.mbx.aecw-deployments@army.mil.
- Current resume. A Workforce Planning Section Human Resources (HR) Specialist will review your resume to perform a qualification’s determination to discern your qualifications to perform the duties of available deployment positions. If you deploy, you will deploy to perform a “set of duties,” and you will retain your grade and assignment to your current position. The HR Specialist will take into consideration your experience and qualifications, to include your experience serving in the military, if applicable.
- Recent Standard Form 50 (Notification of Personnel Action). The HR Specialist will review your SF-50 to obtain information about your current position and to acquire necessary employee data.
- DD Form 214, Member 4 copy (Certificate of Uniformed Service), if you served in the uniformed services. The HR Specialist will review your DD Form 214 to determine its applicability for deployment qualification.
- A completed and signed Army Expeditionary Civilian Workforce (AECW) Request for Deployment (RFD) Form (insert link to the form). The AECW Directorate RFD Form contains four sections – Section 1: Employee Information, Section 2: Supervisor Endorsement, Section 3: Command Approval (06 or equivalent), and Section 4: Deployment Coordinator Endorsement. In the event your assigned organization recommends your request for deployment be denied, your organization must provide written documentation, routed through the chief of staff or an equivalent level official (minimum rank of colonel or grade of GS-15), to the AECW Directorate. The request for denial must detail the mission-critical reasons that preclude approval of your request to deploy. After review, the Director, AECW Directorate will forward the proposed denial to the DCS, G-1 for final decision.
- Proof of release from Ready Reserves. Civilians serving in the Ready Reserves must provide documentation specifying their transfer to the Standby or Retired Reserves. A sample transfer document is at (insert link to the sample document).
- Submit these documents through your supervisory chain to your command’s deployment coordinator. The contact information for the current command deployment coordinators is at (insert link containing the contact information for the current command deployment coordinators).
- The command deployment coordinator will review your deployment application package for accuracy and completeness and will send the package to the AECW Directorate.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Chris Carr, AECW Directorate Talent Acquisition Program Manager, at Christian.j.carr.civ@army.mil
The following provides the sequence of events following the AECW Directorate’s receipt of your deployment application package:
Step 1. The HR Specialist will review the deployment application package for completeness, electronically sign the AECW Directorate RFD Form, and send you via email a copy of the completed RFD Form acknowledging receipt of your application package. If there is a specific deployed position(s) you are interested in, reply to the email and provide the HR Specialist your interests and highlight your qualifications to serve in your desired position(s).
Step 2. The HR Specialist will review your application package to determine your qualifications for a deployment position you may have expressed interest in or for other available deployment opportunities. If you do not qualify for an open deployment position, the HR Specialist will research future openings to see if there is a match with your qualifications.
Step 3. Once a deployment position match is found, the HR specialist will send you a “Tentative Selection for Deployment Email” providing you information about the deployment position.
Step 4. After receiving your response, and assuming you are interested in the deployment opportunity provided, the HR Specialist will prepare a Notification of Selection Letter that includes details related to the deployed position. Upon completion of the Notification of Selection Letter, the HR Specialist will send you a formal “Selection Notification Email” that will include the following documents:
a. Notification of Selection Letter
b. Combatant Command Medical Standards Document
c. Data Card-Expeditionary Civilian Selectee Information Sheet
d. Statement of Understanding (SOU)-AECW Deployment
e. Security Clearance Verification Form (AECW Form 200)
f. Deployment theater information with accompanying photos, if available
The following provides information about the documents attached to the Selection Notification Email:
a. Notification of Selection Letter. The letter serves as your official deployment notification. The letter provides information such as the deployment position title, the deployment location, the length of the deployment, a tentative AECW Pre-Mobilization Course date, etc.
b. Combatant Command Medical Standards Document. The medical standards document details the theater entry medical standards, the deployment limiting medical conditions, and the medical waiver process and authorities. The HR Specialist provides this document at the beginning of the deployment process to provide you with the opportunity to review the medical standards and deployment limiting medical conditions and ask questions concerning medical conditions and/or prescriptions that could potentially disqualify you from deploying. This saves you time and needless effort if you have a medical condition that makes you non-deployable.
c. Data Card-Expeditionary Civilian Selectee Information Sheet. The data card contains your administrative information and information about the deployment position that facilitates pre-deployment processing and validation.
d. Statement of Understanding (SOU)-AECW Deployment. The SOU documents your acceptance of the conditions of the deployment.
e. Security Clearance Verification Form (AECW Form 200). The purpose of this form is to provide your home station security office personnel with the security clearance level required for the deployed position, to accurately identify your current security clearance level, and to provide contact information for the AECW Directorate Security Manager and your home station security office.
f. Deployment theater information with accompanying photos. When available, the HR Specialist will provide you specific information about the deployment location, to include photos of living accommodations, the workplace, etc.
Step 5. Upon acceptance of the deployment offer, you must send the HR Specialist an email acknowledging acceptance of the deployment offer. The email should include the completed/signed SOU, Data Card, Security Clearance Verification Form, and a copy of your passport data page (the page that contains your name, photo, etc.) for current passports in your possession (i.e., your official and tourist passports). When applicable, you must also sign and return the theater information sheet to demonstrate acknowledgement and acceptance of the deployment conditions at the respective deployment location.
Step 6. An employee from the AECW Directorate Program Support Section will send you a “Welcome Package Email.” The email contains detailed information about the deployment such as the deployment position, the deployment organization and location, your AECW Pre-Mobilization class date, the security clearance requirement, and the anticipated departure date to the deployment theater. As attachments, the email includes required administrative forms; the online pre-deployment training requirements; a deployment checklist; and a document that includes arrival instructions, general information, and AECW Directorate staff contact information.
a. Required administrative forms. The Program Support Section Welcome Package Email contains three forms you must complete: the DD Form 2365 (DoD Expeditionary Civilian Agreement: Emergency-Essential Positions and Non-Combat Essential Positions), the DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data), and the AECW Directorate CIF Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) Order Form. The email also contains the DD Form 2760 (Qualification to Possess Firearms or Ammunition) if your deployment requires you to be armed.
- DD Form 2365. The DD Form 2365 documents your agreement with the requirements associated with serving as an emergency-essential employee during your deployment as part of the Department of Defense Expeditionary Civilian Workforce. (insert a link to the form on the DD forms website)
- DD Form 93. The DD Form 93 documents your emergency contact information and designated beneficiaries. (insert a link to the form on the DD forms website)
- AECW Directorate CIF OCIE Order Form. The purpose of the form is to capture your sizing information and OCIE order.
- DD Form 2760 (only applies to deployment positions requiring you to be armed during the deployment). The DD Form 2760 requires you to attest to whether you have ever been convicted of a crime of domestic violence to determine your eligibility to possess a firearm during deployment. (insert a link to the form on the DD forms website)
b. Online Theater-Specific Individual Readiness Training (TSIRT). The Welcome Package Email contains a TSIRT document that provides links to the pre-deployment online training classes required for the location of your deployment.
c. Pre-deployment Checklist. The pre-deployment checklist serves as a resource for you to track the completion of the forms and training required for attendance at the AECW Pre-Mobilization Course.
d. Deployer Expectations Document. The deployer expectations document provides airport arrival and pickup information, meals and lodging information, and general information about Camp Atterbury, the home of the DoD Expeditionary Civilian Mobilization and Training Platform.
Step 7. After completing all the pre-deployment requirements and being medically validated, an employee from the Program Support Section will notify you that you are validated for attendance at the AECW Pre-Mobilization Course.
Step 8. After completing the AECW Pre-Mobilization Course, you will deploy to the supported theater and begin making a positive impact to your supported organization.
LTG Brian Eifler, HQDA DCS G-1, encourages Army leaders to support emergency essential and expeditionary civilian deployments
AECW