An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Dec. 3, 2019

GAARNG warrant officer recognized for IPPS-A migration

By Justin Creech IPPS-A STRATCOM

MARIETTA, Ga. – For helping the Georgia Army National Guard migrate from the Standard Installation and Division Personnel Reporting System to the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army (IPPS-A), Warrant Officer Brian Sexton is an IPPS-A Best of the Best Soldier.

Sexton, Georgia Army National Guard systems integration branch (SIB) chief, said he and his team began their migration by using lessons learned from other states.

"We started with permanent assignments, making sure all of our Soldiers got permanent assignments," said Sexton. "We would make sure all the data elements lined up, ran the scripts and if it didn't work, we would start back over and do it again. We basically tested and proved theories until all our Soldiers were correct."

Sexton said the biggest challenge he and his team faced was the re-slots assignment – the temporary assignments within IPPS-A. A difference in the use of language is what made the re-slots challenging, said Sexton.

"The explanations of certain processes prior to cutover can be difficult to understand for someone using the system for the first time," he said. "So, when we reviewed several rosters prior to cutover, understanding all of them was a challenge."

Despite the challenges, the team completed the migration and went live with IPPS-A.

"All the hard work gives you a certain expectation," said Sexton. "So, when you complete the first transaction in IPPS-A, you feel like you know what you're doing. This is day one and everyone is ready. That makes me proud."

Now that Georgia is live in the system, Sexton says Soldiers have some control over how quickly their Human Resources actions are completed.

"I joined the military as an infantry Soldier," he said. "Nothing frustrates me more than when a 42A looks at you like you're crazy when you fill out a document wrong, or I wanted to update my records. I am excited Soldiers will now have some sort of control over their HR stuff."

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...