ARLINGTON, Va. - When his building inspection business slowed, Tech. Sgt. David Marcelli of the District of Columbia Air National Guard needed to find work.
He found it by using Personnel Force Innovation (PFI), a program that matches up organizations that need military workers with Guard and reserve members looking for active duty tours.
"For me, it was easy: I simply called, uploaded my resume, and got orders cut," Marcelli said. "From the day I inquired to the day I started working, it was about three weeks."
He contacted PFI in 2006 and got a job in law enforcement at the Letterkenny Army Depot near Chambersburg, Penn. It was a good fit since he's a security forces member and NCO-in-charge of Combat Arms for the 113th Security Forces Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base.
Like any Guard or reserve member doing a PFI tour, Marcelli needed a release form from his state adjutant general. He also made arrangements with his unit to attend training assemblies and inspections while away.
Matching reservists up with agencies that need them
PFI operates under a charter from the DoD comptroller to use reserve component personnel to support DoD Working Capital Activities when regular active duty personnel are not available and PFI reservists are more cost effective than civilian employees or contractor support.
Sgt. 1st Class Craig Pickett, PFI's senior enlisted advisor, said his main clients or customer agencies are the Army Corps of Engineers and Army depots like Letterkenny.
The corps has "a ton of building projects going on around the world," he said, and Army depots need Soldiers to handle the surge of equipment coming from the theater that needs refurbishing.
PFI is strictly "fee for service." Customer agencies fund the active-duty costs of tours by reimbursing the Guard or reserve member's military service.
"We are the only avenue for agencies and Soldiers to come together in that way," Pickett said adding that agencies also fund all TDY costs, including moving expenses.
How to find a tour with PFI
Interested Guard and reserve members can go to the PFI Web site (http://pfi.dod.mil) and scroll through the list of tours, making sure that their skills and rank match what is required. If they like what they see, they apply online. If the agency likes what they see, they will call the servicemember directly for an interview.
Pickett said that from the time an agency accepts a Guard or reserve member for a tour, it can take anywhere from 30-45 days to get orders and start work.
PFI lists over 100 tours in places like Kabul, San Francisco and Pennsylvania and in career fields from food service to database programming. They can be stateside or overseas; as short as a few weeks or as long as three years.
Here were some of the about 140 tours available on PFI (as of mid-November):
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Wiesbaden, Germany, is advertising for an Army chief warrant officer or captain/major with financial management and contracting skills for 36 months.
- The corps is also looking for a public affairs representative in Kabul, Afghanistan, and a property book officer in Seoul, Korea.
- The Business Transformation Agency in Arlington, Va., wants a data analyst in the grade of E-4 to E-7 for a yearlong tour.
- The Air Force Material Command in Tucson, Ariz., needs an aircraft ordnance system mechanic for a 12-month gig.
Like other online job search services, PFI requires a user account and password, a completed online application, a resume and a biography.
"We like to see a civilian resume anda military bio, because the agency can hire on either skill-set," said Pickett.
This highlights one of the benefits of PFI: Guard and reserve members can use civilian or military skills when selecting tours.
For example, an Army armor sergeant, who works on vehicles in his civilian job, could be selected for a tour at a Marine depot repairing Humvees.
On tour
Marcelli spent his first year at Letterkenny doing law enforcement, but now works in the munitions section. He wears his Air Force uniform, which he says stands out in a sea of civilians.
Many of the civilians he works with are former traditional Guard and Reserve members, he added.
He doesn't mind the 50-mile, one-way commute from his home in Westminister, Md., to Letterkenny, which takes him through historic Gettysburg.
It's far away from the congestion of Baltimore and D.C. "I (drive through) six lights, three of them are blinking," Marcelli said.
He's still able to run his home-based business on the side, which uses specially trained dogs to sniff out mold in homes and commercial structures.
Traditional Guardmembers like Marcelli also appreciate active-duty tours because they help boast his retirement check.
"Another nice thing about PFI is that these tours are often a stepping stone to full-time civilian employment," said the 25-year Guard veteran. "A half-dozen guys have been picked up (as permanent workers)."
Marcelli has done what few Airmen have - his inter-service work has also earned him an Army Achievement Medal.
Maj. Jonathan Balmer was tired of fighting the traffic to get to his job here at the Army Guard Readiness Center. He also found a tour at Letterkenny, which just 15 minutes from his home.
He supervises the maintenance on scoop loaders, mobile kitchen trailers, cranes and the M-997 Humvee ambulance. This former ordnance officer with the Indiana National Guard is also involved with rebuilding and maintaining HIMARS and MLRS (rockets), and Patriot and Hawk missiles.
Though his job is mostly administrative, he does "get out on the line and check on National Guard equipment."
His advice for anyone using PFI is to "stay on top of the paperwork, especially because you're moved into a new pay system."
Some other things to keep in mind:
- Reservists cannot curtail their assignments without the consent of the customer and PFI director.
- The Guard or reserve member's military service can prematurely curtail tours because of military priorities, such as contingency operations.
- Retirees and servicemembers with 17 years active federal service are ineligible.
Pickett said Guard and reserve members using PFI range from those desperately looking for work to officers with established careers wanting a change of pace.
About 300 reservists on tour right now, including about 100 Guardmembers. Most positions require mid- to advanced-level skills, experience and rank, but he said an armory looking for security workers will accept junior ranks.
Pickett said he finds Guard and reserve members like active duty work because the benefits are better than what they find in the private sector.
PFI is based in Indianapolis and has a staff of eight. According to Pickett, it plans to expand into a "truly joint agency" by adding more Air Force, Marie Corps and Navy facilities and agencies as clients. The program has already grown 200 percent since last year.