FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Jan. 22, 2015) -- Beginning in March, out-processing procedures will become a little less complicated for Soldiers.
In December, the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) released a policy memorandum requiring the use of Installation Support Modules wherever possible in out-processing procedures. The goal is to prevent personnel from having to travel to each office, allowing them instead to "pre clear" certain areas electronically.
"When I saw the letter in December, I was pleased," said Lonnie Stinson, Adjutant General (AG)/Military Personnel Division chief with the directorate of human resources. Many of the offices involved with out-processing on Fort Jackson are already in compliance with the memorandum, he said, and have been for several years.
"Fort Jackson has been at the forefront of a lot of things," Stinson said. "We've had to leverage technology in a lot of areas."
Fort Jackson conducted a study in 2008 to see how technology could be used to streamline out-processing.
"As a result of that study, we were able to do some of the things IMCOM is now (requiring)," Stinson said. "Some of the IMCOM leadership realized that all of the installations across the Army were not using the Installation Support Module, which has a feature called OUTPROC."
OUTPROC allows the agencies involved in out-processing to "pre clear" Soldiers, he said. While there are offices whose missions require a certain level of physical interaction, there are many that do not.
"We started out in 2008 with 28 areas that Soldiers had to go to," Stinson said. "They had to go to the credit union, the bank, the cable company, the commissary. … Why are we having Soldiers go to all these places in this day and age of automation?"
Many of these requirements were attached to "legacy policies," he said. For example, Soldiers were still required to visit their banks during out-processing, even though people routinely manage their finances online these days.
"No matter where you are, your bank can touch you," he said. "There's no reason to have you go there to clear like you did back in the 1970s."
Not every office that will be required to use ISM in March already has the system in place, though. Stinson said there will be a learning curve for offices implementing the program in coming weeks.
"Those that don't have the Installation Support Module will be starting from scratch," he said. "They're going to have to train people in their agencies how to use it."
Still, there are a handful of offices on post that require direct interaction with Soldiers out of necessity, he said. Central Issue Facility, for example, cannot issue uniforms and other equipment without the Soldier present to receive them.
"You can't electronically clear Central Issue Facility, because they want you to bring their stuff back," he said. "And you have to physically go there."
Since the 2008 study, Fort Jackson has been able to leverage available technology to reduce the number of in-person visits for Soldiers from 28 to 11.
Stinson said the installation is in the process of contacting agencies to learn if their internal processes have changed since 2008 in a way that would allow them to integrate ISM into their procedures.
"It's a continuous process," he said.
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