88th RSC initiates veteran hiring program

By Alun ThomasSeptember 17, 2014

88th RSC initiates veteran hiring program
Mary Lemburg, a human resource supervisor with the 88th Regional Support Command, reads emails in her office, here, from Army Reserve Soldiers responding to potential job opportunities within the 88th RSC'S 19 state region. Lemburg is helping coordin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT MCCOY, Wis. - In an ongoing effort to hire qualified veterans, the 88th Regional Support Command has initiated a program specifically designed to provide outreach to potential candidates.

The program allows the 88th RSC to hire 125 percent above their entry level quota, said Mary Lemburg, a human resource supervisor with the 88th RSC. This is made possible through the Veterans Recruitment Appointment.

The VRA is an authority which allows the 88th RSC and other organizations to hire any eligible veteran to any position without any competition up to the General Schedule eleven or equivalent level, Lemburg said.

"The new hires have to be on board by the end of September, so we decided to go the VRA route," Lemburg said. "This allows us to go to current Army Reserve Soldiers who have particular MOS's (military occupational skills), in particular mechanics, logistics specialists and human resource personnel."

Lemburg said she went into the files that comprise reserve Soldiers from the 88th RSC's 19 state region and queried by MOS to all the potential candidates.

"Emails were sent out to all the mechanics and HR Soldiers which basically said 'we're hiring veterans,'" Lemburg continued. "Over ten thousand emails were sent and the response has really started to build because the vacancies are all over our nineteen state region."

Some of the incentives include a $3,000 sign-on bonus, permanent change of duty station costs paid for and most importantly a foot in the door as technicians, she said.

"It's very exciting and we've done this huge push to try and make this a reality," Lemburg added. "By the end of May we will have all the resumes and paperwork. After that we let it go to the normal hiring process."

"The feedback has been positive, mostly through emails from the Soldiers we reached out to- they've been under our noses the whole time and we're going to give them this opportunity," she said.

Anyone with questions or needing additional information regarding the VRA authority and job opportunities should contact Mary Lemburg at mary.k.lemburg.civ@mail.mil or (608) 388-0439.