Getting paid and more

BELL, CA, UNITED STATES

10.06.2013

Story by Sgt. Scott Akanewich 

201st TPASE

BELL, Calif. - Soldiers like to get paid, and they like to get their money on time. This is where the fine folks at the Reserve Personnel Action Center come into play.

"If a soldier doesn't get paid for 90 days, there's definitely an issue," said Maryanne Southwick, supervisor of military personnel and administrative specialist for the 63rd Regional Support Command and head of the RPAC at Patton Reserve Center in Bell, Calif.

One of the reasons soldiers sometimes don't get paid in a timely manner is because units don't always submit the proper paperwork as quickly as they should, said Southwick.

"If I don't get it, I can't process it," she said.

Proper communication and flow of information up and down the chain of command and through the proper channels is the primary roadblock creating this problem, said Southwick.

"It's all about communication," she said.

Another service the RPAC provides for commands is the ability to track soldier readiness.

"We cover down on personnel issues and we support unit readiness," said Southwick. "Leaders are looking for certain standards to be met and they need numbers to determine this. We provide these numbers."

One way this is accomplished is through accurate and timely compilation of statistics.

"One of the biggest challenges the RPAC faces is non-participants," said Southwick. "Because when soldiers don't show up, they don't get proper training."

Keeping track of this requires units to maintain accurate numbers of soldiers who are not showing up to battle assembly, and why, she said.

"Not all units know how to handle this situation," said Southwick. "The easy way out is to just mark a soldier down as an unsatisfactory or nonparticipant. We want to educate them on how to properly reach out to them and find out the reasons these soldiers are missing so situational awareness for the unit is maintained."

Sometimes, it's just a matter of the right person being made aware, said Southwick.

"When this happens, we can have soldiers just sitting out there as victims because of the system," she said. "We want to give units the opportunity to master the system rather than the other way around."

RPAC also tracks the complicated retirement point system, about which there are common misconceptions, said Southwick.

"For example, some people don't realize everyone gets 15 automatic points per year and their retirement years are based not on the fiscal year, but the month each year their contract is set to run out," she said. "Sometimes, people worry about not getting a 'good year' when in fact, they're in no danger of doing so."

The bottom line is the RPAC is all about customer service, said Southwick.

"Definitely, we're here to support the soldiers and commands," she said. "All people have to remember is there is a personnel action that can be used to clear up almost any problem - which is why we're here."

• Date Taken: 10.06.2013
• Date Posted: 10.06.2013 22:22
• Story ID: 114827
• Location: BELL, CA, US