New Army records system soon to become a reality

New Army records system soon to become a reality
By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, June 5, 2008

TOKYO — The Army will begin using an online program next spring to manage pay and personnel records for the entire service — active duty, guardsmen and reservists, according to Army officials.

Originally, the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System was supposed to go online for the Army this fall, with the Air Force set to launch in February 2009, followed by the Navy and Marine Corps.

But Army and Defense Department program managers decided to postpone those dates in late April, after systems integration specialists hit some snags during the initial testing phase of the program, according to Lt. Col. Keir-Kevin Curry, a spokesman for the Army’s DIMHRS program. The Air Force is now slated to go online in November 2009, with the Navy and Marine Corps joining in 2011.

"The date was delayed to ensure that the system was functional and fully operational" before transferring more than 1 million active and reserve soldiers’ pay and personnel records into it, Curry told Stripes on Tuesday.

Based on a commercial program used by companies like Toyota and Wal-Mart, the new system will allow a soldier to review pay stubs, request vacation time, apply for awards, prepare promotion packages and re-enlist.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55306