YN2 Michael Boswell, a yeoman with the Eighth Coast Guard District Servicing Personnel Office, processes reserve orders, Oct. 31, 2011. Boswell is responsible for processing more than 80 reserve members at the district, which includes pay, orders, leave, annual verifications and much, much more.
Coast Guard moves to digitize military record keeping
The future of your military personnel records is about to get easier, due in part, to the Coast Guard’s improved document imaging system. By employing the right technology, our people will be better connected to the information they need to make good decisions and work more productively.
Just as we are pursuing new modern, technically advanced operational platforms and systems such as the National Security Cutter, HC-144A aircraft, and the Rescue 21 system, we are also researching improvement options for the way we manage your personnel record through the new Human Capital Management System. One key element of the HCMS is the Electronic Imaging – Personnel Data Records, the first step in a totally electronic personnel record system. Paramount to the success of the HCMS is to permanently record and file a member’s source documents, which are used to enact an action that may affect your pay. Per COMDTINST M1080.10I, birth certificates, social security cards, marriage licenses, and supporting documents used to change this information are all classified as source documents.
Why are we scanning your records?
One of the key catalysts for this effort is the ongoing Chief Financial Officer audit. By having a member’s source documents scanned, indexed and readily available, we are able to verify the accuracy of employment data timely and efficiently, which increases the Coast Guard’s ability to be a good steward of the public’s trust as well as brings the service one step closer to audit compliance with the Office of Management and Budget.
Coast Guard students are shown administrative management during Yeoman "A" school at Training Center Petaluma, Calif., June 23, 2005.
How does this help me as a member?
What this means for you is an improved accessibility of the source documents that affect your career. For example, quick access to your records allows you the opportunity to review them at any time and ensure promotion boards and panels are using accurate information when making decisions. In addition, electronic records can be routed anywhere instantaneously, eliminating delays caused by mailing or e-mailing paper forms and documents.
The Human Resources Directorate (CG-1), the Personnel Service Center, the Pay & Personnel Center, and field units in the Boston area have already begun piloting the document imaging process and providing recommendations for implementation. Replacing paper forms and worksheets with electronic forms, or “E-Forms,” which allow for direct data entry into the imaging system, presents a possible enhancement to the proposed system. With the exception of source documents, such as a marriage license or birth certificate, the use of E-Forms will eliminate the need to scan the paper forms and worksheets used today. By directly entering E-Forms into your electronic record, your documents will be available for immediate viewing. This is an improvement over the current process in which, after filing your paper document, it is mailed to PSC and then scanned and electronically filed in your EI–PDR. Delays caused by this process often trigger substantial rework and research when a member inquires about the status of their record.
As we move to a more austere business climate, ongoing upgrades to the HCMS will help reduce data collection costs and paper usage, improve compliance and maintaining accurate records, and streamline business processes. These are just the beginning steps in working towards our new, modernized HCMS, so stay tuned for more updates!
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