tour of duty employment

• Cover Letters
• Jobs I've Applied To
• Saved Searches
• Subscriptions
• Marine Corps
• Coast Guard
• Space Force
• Military Podcasts
• Benefits Home
• Military Pay and Money
• Veteran Health Care
• VA eBenefits
• Veteran Job Search
• Military Skills Translator
• Upload Your Resume
• Veteran Employment Project
• Vet Friendly Employers
• Career Advice
• Military Life Home
• Military Trivia Game
• Veterans Day
• Spouse & Family
• Military History
• Discounts Home
• Featured Discounts
• Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
• Electronics
• Join the Military Home
• Contact a Recruiter
• Military Fitness

Guard and Reserve Members Will Be Able to Access Job Board from Personal Devices

There's not a lot members of Congress can agree on these days, but one issue that brought Democrats and Republicans together was allowing military members in the National Guard and Reserve to find active-duty gigs more easily.

Both sides of the aisle came together to put a provision into the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, allowing those troops to access the Tour of Duty online job board from their smartphones and other personal devices. Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, joined Reps. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, in pushing for the addition.

The Tour of Duty online job board is a database of active-duty orders and deployments, and usually features some 2,000 job listings. The Army has more than 500,000 Guard and Reserve members who can search the site and apply, but only through the use of a government computer. The provision passed in the 2022 NDAA will soon allow them to access the site using a "personal internet-enabled device."

The NDAA also extends the amount of time these troops can spend on temporary active duty for operational support orders (ADOS) from three out of every four years to five out of every six.

Without the new provision, users who want to search the database would have to make their way to their duty station to use a government device if they didn't have one at home. The new law also says the Army is responsible for the security of the website, which informs users about the Army's staffing shortages.

Tour of Duty is open to all Reserve Component soldiers to browse and volunteer. Any Army command with positions or missions available can post those jobs on the site. Soldiers must find jobs that not only match their skills, but also match their pay grade.

Soldiers can even post their availability and interest for active-duty tours. Commands looking for Reserve Component soldiers to fill vacancies can see soldiers' names, grades and military occupational specialty (MOS) in a pool of volunteers. If a soldier is selected from Tour of Duty, they can choose to accept or decline.

Once accepted, the soldier signs a voluntary request for active duty, but must still be approved by the soldier's chain of command. The application is then sent to be transferred into official orders. The process usually takes 30-60 days.

A pilot program is expected to be released in the coming weeks, outlining procedures for soldiers to bring personal devices into their workspaces.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at [email protected] . He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook .

Want to Know More About Veteran Jobs?

Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Blake Stilwell

You May Also Like

When a deadly virus breaks out or a mysterious illness starts to spread, governments and the World Health Organization call...

PreVeteran's Transition 2.0 is based on cognitive neuroscience principles whose methodology is being validated by a...

Carvana is expanding at a breakneck pace, but needs good people to grow -- it wants military veterans.

Veterans are highly trained and skilled, but many underemphasis their soft skills on their resumes and during interviews...

Top Industries for Veterans

• Security Clearance
• Law Enforcement
• Maintenance
• Healthcare & Nursing
• Teaching & Education
• Transportation
• Computers & Technology

Select Service

My membership.

• National Guard

Featured Veteran Employer

Veteran jobs.

• Veteran Jobs Home
• Transition Center
• Security Clearance Jobs
• Upcoming Job Fairs
• For Employers

The Veteran Employment Manual

Veteran Jobs Newsletter

Get special job alerts, offers and insider tips on making the most of your military experience in the civilian workforce.

Find Veteran-Friendly Jobs

Search the largest free Veteran Job board to find jobs with veteran-friendly companies.

Hot Career Advice

• Stop! How Applying Before the Deadline Is Killing Your Job Application
• How to Survive the First Year of Entrepreneurship
• Is Veteran Employment a Rigged Game?
• 10 Things to Say if You Want to Completely Blow Your Job Interview
• What Is Authenticity and How Authentic Should You Be in a Job Interview?

• Subscribe Now (Opens in new window)
• Air Force Times (Opens in new window)
• Marine Corps Times (Opens in new window)
• Navy Times (Opens in new window)
• Pentagon & Congress
• Defense News (Opens in new window)
• Flashpoints
• Benefits Guide (Opens in new window)
• Military Pay Center
• Military Retirement
• Military Benefits
• Discount Depot
• Gear Scout (Opens in new window)
• Military Culture
• Military Fitness
• Military Movies & Video Games
• Military Sports
• Transition Guide (Opens in new window)
• Pay It Forward (Opens in new window)
• Black Military History (Opens in new window)
• Congressional Veterans Caucus (Opens in new window)
• Military Appreciation Month (Opens in new window)
• Military History
• Vietnam Vets & Rolling Thunder (Opens in new window)
• Honor the Fallen (Opens in new window)
• Hall of Valor (Opens in new window)
• Service Members of the Year (Opens in new window)
• Create an Obituary (Opens in new window)
• Medals & Misfires
• Installation Guide (Opens in new window)
• Task Force Violent
• Battle Bracket
• CFC Givers Guide
• Photo Galleries
• Early Bird Brief
• Newsletters (Opens in new window)
• Long-Term Care Partners
• Navy Federal
• Digital Edition (Opens in new window)

Congress orders Army to open Tour of Duty portal to Reserve, Guard troops

Since late 2017, the Army’s more than 500,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers haven’t been able to browse short-term Army vacancies except on a government network. Thanks to a new provision in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act , however, the service will now make those listings available on soldiers’ personal devices.

The Army advertises individual vacancies for deployments or short active duty tours on Tour of Duty, an online job board tailored for the service’s part-time soldiers to volunteer for such roles. But the required trip to an armory to get on a government network was a barrier for many troops that don’t have access except while on base.

“The Army will comply with the [legislation],” spokesperson Bruce Anderson told Army Times. “We are considering evaluating the Tour of Duty portal access as part of the Bring Your Own Device pilot program planned for this year.”

The service will have a year to implement the change.

Another new policy added that Guard and Reserve troops can now spend five years out of every six on temporary active duty for operational support orders (ADOS). Previously, such volunteers were limited to three years on ADOS out of every four calendar years.

Leaders of organizations representing Guard and Reserve troops praised the measure.

“Providing ease of access for Citizen Soldiers to find their next opportunity to serve is vital to their growth as soldiers and the readiness of the reserve force,” said the Reserve Organization of America’s Executive Director, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips, in a press release .

A spokesperson for the National Guard Association of the U.S. was cautiously supportive of the change, noting that ADOS roles were a “bandaid” for issues with permanent full-time manning.

“[This] has the potential to impact a lot of people,” NGAUS spokesperson John Goheen said, describing the provisions as a “win-win” that will give soldiers increased opportunities and create better application pools for critical short-term vacancies.

The bipartisan Tour of Duty legislative provision was spearheaded in Congress by Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

The author of this article is a member of NGAUS .

This article was updated at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2021, to clarify that Tour of Duty was accessible from non-government devices until late 2017 .

Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.

In Other News

MacArthur still endures as a larger-than-life figure — for good or ill

Few subjects in military history are more loaded than public perception of douglas macarthur..

January 6 convict asks for light sentence in order to remain in Navy

An active-duty service member convicted in the jan. 6, 2021, attack urged a judge for a light sentence in order to remain in the navy..

Agreement helps military spouses keep federal jobs in overseas moves

Here's how an agreement between the pentagon and state department will help federally employed military spouses move their jobs overseas in a pcs..

Biden says uncle’s remains never found during WWII due to cannibals

While the claim contradicts the dpaa report about his uncle's fate, biden's comments on cannibalism in the region during wwii are not far off..

Will the Supreme Court’s GI Bill ruling mean more money for vets?

A major veterans education benefits ruling by the supreme court this week could have far-reaching effects for millions of students..

Army opening access to temporary jobs postings for reservists

By Jackson Barnett

January 3, 2022

The Army , propelled by a new requirement from Congress, is putting its temporary jobs board on an open network that members of the National Guard and Army Reserve will be able to access from their personal devices.

The job board for temporary voluntary assignments, called “Tour of Duty,” can currently only be accessed on government devices on the Army’s network, a barrier for most reservists and guardsmen who do not have government devices. The change was mandated by the Fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by the president on Dec. 27.

The Army has a year to transition the job board into an available format for soldiers.

“The Army will comply with the NDAA. We are considering evaluating the Tour of Duty portal access as part of the Bring Your Own Device pilot program planned for this year,” Bruce Anderson, an Army spokesperson, said in a statement.

The Army has been piloting allowing guardsmen and reservists to use their personal devices to access Army networks as a part of the service’s transition to a new email platform from Microsoft. The BYOD policy pilot has so far yielded positive results, Army IT leaders said in December media roundtable.

The portal could impact temporary jobs in the IT world that the Army posts, since attracting and retaining talent has been a perennial problem for cyber units and IT components of the Army.

“One person maybe needs a cyber unit … those are all potential position available,” John Goheen, a spokesperson for the National Guard Association told FedScoop in an interview.

The jobs posted to Tour of Duty are all temporary and voluntary openings and not a part of normal drill cycles. Goheen added that many reservists and guardsmen work many part-time jobs, and the opportunity to self-elect to go on active duty could provide new opportunities for soldiers.

“We are in this period of the great resignation … people may have the opportunity to do a tour,” he said.

Other parts of the military have tried to solve similar challenges, including the Defense Innovation Unit’s “ Gig Eagle, ” which matches reservists with tech skills to technical assignments. The Gig Eagle platform aims to function across the military, not just for the Army and it’s unclear if there is any relation between the Army’s new requirement and the DIU platform.

In a statement to FedScoop, DIU Project Manager for Gig Eagle Scott Summer, explained that Gig Eagle will focus on staffing short-term project needs that range from four hours to several months in duration, initially looking at civilian experience and qualifications.

“The objective of Gig Eagle is to enable real-time, location-agnostic talent identification, allowing DOD hiring managers to engage and match military personnel reservists with DOD missions where their talents will have the most impact,” said Summer.

More Like This

Mpes gain momentum for sharing information with allied partners, state department officials say they’re trying to set the tone globally on ai usage, as lawmakers question if it’s enough, gerald caron leaves hhs to become cio at international trade administration, top stories, state department encouraging workers to use chatgpt, federal cio calls on congress to fund technology modernization fund, gsa administrator: generative ai tools will be ‘a giant help’ for government services, congressional panel outlines five guardrails for ai use in house , with 2023 tax season in the rearview, irs commissioner eyes expansion of ai capabilities, cms’s financial office is using llm pilot to combat loss of institutional knowledge, top public sector takeaways from google cloud next 2024, commerce requests information about ai, open data assets, data dissemination, more scoops.

DIU taps AI to match ‘undiscoverable’ military talent with relevant gig work

How the Army is coding its own solution for the Tour of Duty jobs website

Army CIO says everyone who needs email will have it in transition to Office 365

Diu is making an uber-like app for talent management in dod, dod takes automation a step further with machine learning, diu awards army contract to advance rpa using machine learning, diu cloud management pilot will accelerate pentagon’s adoption of zero-trust security, latest podcasts.

AI Week 2024 has Come and Gone

Darryl Peek on Elastic’s role in enhancing public sector search and data analytics with AI and Google collaboration

Danny werfel on how automation has enhanced his agency’s operations..

• ICE pursuing privacy approvals related to controversial phone location data
• House Modernization panel advances bill to improve CRS’s data access in first-ever markup
• Login.gov pilot to include option for biometric verification
• Cost estimates for IRS’s Direct File program were incomplete, GAO says
• How 5G and mobile computing-at-the-edge are revolutionizing DOD’s future
• The power of the cloud to aid service members in their transition to civilian life
• Why ICAM at the edge is critical to enabling mission success
• Federal judge declines to grant DOJ interim injunction in Booz Allen antitrust case
• DOJ ‘not aware of any’ identity theft, fraud following consultant’s data breach
• CISA emergency directive tells agencies to fix credentials after Microsoft breach
• New TMF investments support NASA, DOL modernization and cybersecurity efforts
• State Department is launching an internal chatbot

Acquisition

• Salesforce launches ‘Einstein 1’ generative AI tool for government
• Congress presses VA on modernization overhaul, supply chain system upgrade
• Some federal agencies want to make IT security contracting rules simpler to find
• New FedRAMP roadmap details imminent plans for modernization

• Online Services
• Agency Listing

Mississippi National Guard

To view more details about a vacancy, please select the announcement # to open the attached pdf file.

Application must be submitted using one of these options:

APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE 4:00 P.M. ON THE CLOSING DATE.

NOTE: Faxed applications are not accepted.

  Forms/Information Packets

State Employment Application Packet (Rev 05.2022)

  Announcements

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Office of Human Resources Management

• Practitioners
• Leave Policies

Was this page helpful?

Hours of duty and work schedules.

A basic workweek is the officially prescribed days and hours during which a full-time employee is entitled to basic pay. The basic work week for all full-time employees in the Department is 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, including a daily non-compensable lunch period of 30 minutes. Variations from the basic workweek may be authorized by the head of an operating unit or an official to whom personnel management authority is delegated in DAO 202-250. A basic workweek may not extend over more than six of any seven consecutive days.

A regularly scheduled administrative workweek is the period an employee is regularly scheduled to work within an administrative workweek (i.e., a period of seven consecutive 24-hour periods designated in advance). For a full-time employee, it consists of the 40-hour basic workweek plus any periods of regularly scheduled overtime work. For a part-time employee, it means the officially prescribed days and hours during which the employee is regularly scheduled to work. 

A tour of duty is the hours of a day (a daily tour of duty) and the days of an administrative workweek (a weekly tour of duty) that constitute an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek. 

An employee’s tour of duty is to be scheduled so it corresponds with the employee’s actual work requirements and ensures that functions are adequately staffed during office or bureau operating hours. The appointment SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, will reflect the employee's initial tour of duty.

Scheduling Considerations . A regularly scheduled administrative workweek must be established for every full-time employee unless the employee works a first 40-hour tour of duty, is paid annual premium pay for standby duty, works a flexible or compressed work schedule, or is intermittent. 

When an assignment to a new tour of duty is necessary, an employee must be given as much advance notice as possible. Unless there is a bargaining unit agreement that states otherwise, it is standard practice that schedules be established by 6 p.m. Friday of the week prior to the one in which the time will be worked. A schedule may need to be established earlier depending on the hour a majority of the employees depart the workplace. Absent a bargaining unit agreement, published policy, posted schedule or notification that says otherwise, an employee's schedule is deemed set for the following week at that time.

Special Tours of Duty 

Part-time Employment . Part-time schedules may be established when the workload will not support full-time employment or when an employee asks to work part-time and the request can be accommodated. A permanent part-time employee may not work less than 16 hours or more than 32 hours in a week. Temporary part-time employees are not held to these limitations. 

Part-time employment may be scheduled in quarter hour increments, e.g., Monday 9:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in organizations which charge leave in quarter hour increments, however, the end result may not be a biweekly tour with fractions (e.g., 17 ½ hours, etc.). Otherwise, part-time schedules must be established in whole hours.

When a part-time employee's schedule changes to full-time for more than two consecutive pay periods, the change must be documented by a personnel action to ensure the employee’s leave, service credit and benefits are appropriately applied. 

Intermittent Employment . Intermittent work schedules may be established when the work of a less than full-time position is so sporadic and unpredictable that a tour of duty cannot be scheduled in advance. The hours when the employee’s services are required constitute the hours of duty.

When the work of an intermittent employee becomes regularly scheduled in nature, i.e., for more than two consecutive pay periods, the employee's schedule must be changed by personnel action for the same reasons outlined above under part-time employment.

Mixed Tours . Because of changing workloads, employees may be scheduled to a mixed tour which includes periods of full-time, part-time, and intermittent or furlough employment. Employees who are hired to work a mixed tour as a condition of employment are exempt from the 16 to 32 hour per week part-time employment restriction.

First 40 Hours Tour. When the work situation is such that it is impossible to schedule the hours or days of a regularly scheduled administrative work-week, but employees will perform at least 40 hours of work in an administrative work-week, the employee may be assigned to a tour of duty which consists of the first 40 hours of work performed over not more than 6 days of the administrative workweek. This situation is not limited to - but is not uncommon in - scientific and engineering environments. 

Changing a Tour of Duty 

Assignments to tours of duty must be scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek over periods of not less than one week. A regularly scheduled administrative workweek must be rescheduled whenever it is known in advance that based on work requirements the specific days and hours of a day actually required of an employee will differ from those required in the current administrative workweek. The employee shall be informed of the change and the change must be recorded on the employee’s time and attendance report.

An employee's tour may not be changed solely to avoid paying premium pay to which the employee would otherwise be entitled or to avoid the costs incurred because of a holiday, absence for military or court leave, absence resulting from an on-the-job injury, or absence in connection with funerals of immediate relatives in the armed forces.

Rescheduling could be required for such purposes as to permit an employee’s attendance in a training class (as described below) or conference, when an employee under an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) is in travel status at a location not under an AWS, or to substitute for an absent employee’s tour of duty. See section titled Alternative Work Schedules.

Rescheduling for Educational Purposes . A special tour of duty may be authorized to permit an employee to take one or more courses at college, university, or other educational institution. In this situation, the courses cannot be training under the Government Employees’ Training Act; the rescheduling will not prevent the employee from accomplishing required work; additional costs for personal services will not be incurred; and completion of the courses will equip the employee for more effective work in the agency.

Varied work hours under this heading must be requested by the employee in writing.

Scheduling Travel

Employee travel should be scheduled to take place during regular working hours to the extent possible. However, an employee may be required to travel on personal time, e.g., after normal working hours, on weekends or a holiday. A supervisor who requires an employee to perform travel on personal time, when such travel is not compensable by premium pay (see Part II, Pay Handbook, Premium Pay), must, if the employee requests it, provide reasons in writing for ordering the employee to travel during those hours. A copy of the statement must be retained with the employee's time and attendance report.

Scheduling Lunch Periods

The law and regulation do not specifically address "lunch periods". 5 U.S.C. 6101(a)(3)(F) includes a prohibition against breaks in employee working hours of more than one hour (the Office of Personnel Management cites this law as the authority for allowing employees a non-compensable lunch break). It is practice throughout government that any workday of five hours or more include a 30-minute non-compensable lunch period. This may be extended to one hour if the workday is correspondingly extended.

An employee may not work through the lunch period in order to extend paid time or to otherwise modify his or her established schedule. 

Scheduling Breaks

Compensable rest periods during the workday may be authorized for health and safety or efficiency reasons. Rest periods must not exceed 15 minutes during each four hour period of work. They must not be scheduled immediately before or after lunch periods or at the start or end of a workday. Employees are generally not authorized to leave the work place during rest periods because they are in pay status (Comp. Gen. B-1190011, dated December 30, 1977). 

Scheduling Preparation and Clean Up Time

A reasonable amount of the scheduled workday may be set aside for preparation and clean up activities. If this kind of activity cannot be included in an employee's scheduled work-day, up to 30 minutes overtime may be authorized. 

Daylight Savings Time

An employee working on a shift when daylight savings time goes into effect will be credited with the actual number of hours worked on that shift. If an employee is not permitted to work an additional hour, the hour lost in the change to daylight savings time will be charged to annual leave, accrued compensatory time, accrued credit hours, if on a flexible alternative work schedule, or leave without pay (LWOP) as appropriate. An employee working on shift upon return to standard time is credited for the actual number of hours worked on that shift.

Official Time and Resources by Members of the National Guard and Armed Forces Reserves

Supervisors may approve limited use of official time and agency resources for National Guard or Armed Forces Reserves members for Guard or Reserve activities during the employee’s regular working hours if the use involves minimal expense to the Government and does not interfere with official business. An example is when the employee/Reserve member is required to verbally contact other Reserve unit members and report back to the Reserve center by voice or fax of the unit members’ availability. 

The use of such time and resources should be limited to situations where the employee is called upon to complete some incidental Guard or Reserve function that the employee cannot reasonably schedule for non-working hours or for which he or she cannot make reasonable arrangements to carry out elsewhere. The Guard or Reserve activity must not interfere with the agency’s mission and the employee’s responsibility to the agency. Employees are to obtain supervisory approval prior to performing incidental Guard or Reserve activities during working hours. (See GAO Opinion B-277678, January 4, 1999)

Updated October 2000.

Share this page

What does “tour of duty” employment mean for HR?

There’s been a lot published over the last week on “tour of duty” employment. The noise is coming from the publication of a new book by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh called The Alliance .

So, what does a tour of duty means in the context of the employment relationship?

The crux of the idea is that the employment relationship today is broken. Companies demand employee loyalty without guaranteeing job security. At the same time, employees promise loyalty but are quick to move if offered a better role or pay-rise. Everyone says the right things. But nobody is making promises they intend to keep.

A tour of duty moves the relationship from a transactional relationship to a mutually beneficial alliance. As Hoffman puts it: “Employment should be an alliance. [That means] a mutually beneficial deal, with explicit terms, between independent players”

What’s important here is the acceptance that the employee and employer don’t have the same agenda. Neither party is pretending to make a lifetime commitment. Instead, both set out about what they expect the other party to deliver over the next 2, 3 or 4 years. There’s plenty of examples of how Reid has successfully used the approach at LinkedIn. See this Wall Street Journal interview and in the original idea-piece in HBR .

So without further ado, let’s talk about what tour of duty employment might mean for HR.

Expect a two-way focus on performance management

Performance management becomes a two-way conversation with serious consequences for both parties.

The employee has always been responsible for hitting KPIs. But now the company is also responsible for delivering promised development. Examples include mentoring, a leadership course, or an offshore posting with increased responsibility.

In a tour of duty world, performance management has to hold both the employee and the employer accountable. It’s no longer just a one-way conversation.

Now, a failure to deliver great performance management is a breech of contract by the employer. You’re assessing the employee on their performance. But they’re also assessing whether you’re advancing their career as promised. It’s no longer a one-way conversation. Stop for a second and let that sink in.

Clear objectives are (still) critical

Both employee and employer are signing on with a specific outcome or mission in mind. So it’s critical to make sure this mission is clear.

Nothing will doom a tour of duty employment relationship faster than a mission that’s subject to misinterpretation. And that runs both ways. Both the employee and the employer need to be able to state what the other party is getting out of the relationship.

Again, SMART goals and objectives are performance management 101. But in this environment the consequences are significant. Misalignment or plain old laziness will all lead to quick turnover.

You have the ability to increase retention of specialist employees

One of the common misconceptions in that a tour of duty approach will reduce the tenure of employment. With one caveat below, I don’t think that’s the case.

There’s a good analogy in an emotional relationship. Through having hard conversations, we can fix issues at an earlier stage. We continue to recommit if it’s working. And we don’t hold onto the illusion of staying together if the relationship is broken and we’re not BOTH achieving what we set out to.

For knowledge workers in specialist positions, there’s always the opportunity to ‘cheat’ on their employer. Recruiters call regularly. Employees know the options and opportunities.

Tours of duty make clear that you’re just as invested in their growth as they are. And that’s a really meaningful differentiator.

But poor execution creates turnover risk

If you do this badly, you’re going to significantly increase your workforce turnover. It’s the equivalent of reminding employees just how little they’re getting out of their job. Picture this conversation:

“Hi Bob, remember how we promised you all these things about how great this opportunity would be for your development and career? Well we actually didn’t deliver on any of our promises… Now how did you go with your KPIs?”

So here’s my recommendations to you

If you’re already best practice in performance management then this is something you need to be thinking about. Talent supply and generational trends mean you won’t have a choice. Your competitors will start making these kind of commitments. And they will be a real differentiator for employer brand. Gen Y loves the authenticity of “you don’t have a job for life but we’ll make sure you get as much out of this as we do”.

If your company does tours-of-duty well, the approach will help you retain your best employees for longer. It will help you do this at a lower cost. And it will make clear which managers are delivering great employee development.

Finally, a word of warning! If you’re just starting on your performance management journey then you need to get your house in order first (as Josh Bersin shows nicely here ). Start with the basics. That means clear expectations and regular, documented conversations.

To extend the military analogy – you can’t go to war until you’ve trained the troops.

Photo credit: MONUSCO (Used under Creative Commons SA 2.0 licence)

You might also like

Receive our occasional newsletter

Products | Pricing | Resources | Blog | About | Contact

© 2023 Cognology

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Tours of Duty: The New Employer-Employee Compact

• Reid Hoffman,
• Ben Casnocha,

For most of the 20th century, the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. Jobs at big corporations were secure: As long as the company did OK financially and the employee did his or her job, that job wouldn’t go away. And in the white-collar world, careers progressed along […]

Reprint: R1306B

For most of the 20th century, the relationship between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability and lifetime loyalty. That has recently changed, giving way to a transactional, laissez-faire approach that serves neither party well.

A new arrangement is needed, the authors argue—one built on alliance (usually temporary) and reciprocity. The high-tech start-up community of Silicon Valley is pointing the way—and companies that wish to be similarly agile and entrepreneurial can learn valuable lessons from its example.

Under the new compact, both employer and employee seek to add value to each other. Employees invest in the company’s adaptability; the company invests in employees’ employability. Hoffman (a cofounder of LinkedIn), Casnocha (a technology entrepreneur), and Yeh (an entrepreneur and angel investor) outline three simple, straightforward ways in which companies can make the new compact tangible and workable. These are (1) hiring employees for explicit “tours of duty,” (2) encouraging, even subsidizing, employees’ efforts to build networks outside the organization, and (3) establishing active alumni networks that will enable career-long relationships with employees after they’ve moved on.

In the war for talent, such a compact can be a secret weapon that helps you fill your ranks with the creative, adaptive superstars who fuel entrepreneurial success.

For most of the 20th century, the compact between employers and employees in the developed world was all about stability. Jobs at big corporations were secure: As long as the company did OK financially and the employee did his or her job, that job wouldn’t go away. And in the white-collar world, careers progressed along an escalator of sorts, offering predictable advancement to employees who followed the rules. Corporations, for their part, enjoyed employee loyalty and low turnover.

• Reid Hoffman is a cofounder of LinkedIn and a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners. He is a coauthor of Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies (Currency, 2018). (Disclosure: His podcast, Masters of Scale , is produced by WaitWhat, which is currently developing projects with HBR’s parent company, Harvard Business Publishing.)
• Ben Casnocha is a founder and partner at Village Global, a venture capital fund. He is also an award-winning entrepreneur and bestselling coauthor, with Reid Hoffman, of The Start-up of You (Currency, 2012). He is a frequent speaker on talent management, and is a coauthor of The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age .
• Chris Yeh is an entrepreneur, a writer, and a speaker. He is a coauthor of Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies (Currency, 2018) and The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age .

Partner Center

If you are viewing this version of CT.gov, you are using an unsupported browser or you are in Internet Explorer 9 using compatibility mode. This means that the design and layout of the site is not fully supported, however the content of the site is still fully accessible and functional. For the full website experience, please update your browser to one of the following: Google Chrome , Firefox , Safari , Internet Explorer 10 or higher.

It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled.

Settings Menu

• High Contrast High Contrast Mode On or Off switch On Off
• Font Size regular font size large font size

State of Connecticut Connecticut Military Department

Select here to learn about 100% Free College Tuition

Full-Time Employment with the Connecticut Military Department and the Connecticut National Guard

As a dual-status agency with a federal and a state mission, the Connecticut Military Department offers full-time employment opportunities with both the State Government and the Federal Government.

State employment opportunities are managed by the State of Connecticut – Department of Administrative Services.  Please click here to view current Military Department opportunitities .

There are several types of Federal employment opportunities.

National Guard technician jobs (Title 32) are jobs within the federal government and found within USAJobs, but have the additional requirement that the employee be a member of the Connecticut National Guard.  Click here to see current opportunities.

Civilian technician jobs (Title 5) are also jobs within the federal government and found within USAJobs, but they do NOT have the requirement to be a uniformed member of the Connecticut National Guard.  Click here to see current opportunities.

Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) positions are full-time, uniformed positions available to current members of the Armed Forces of the United States that provide the same pay and benefits as active duty Soldiers and Airmen.  Soldiers and Airmen selected into these positions must become members of the Connecticut National Guard if they are not already a member.  Click here to see current opportunities.

Members of the Connecticut National Guard also have the opportunity to apply for Active Duty mobilization opportunities (Title 10) through the Tour of Duty website.  Click here to access the Tour of Duty website (CAC required).

...Additional employment websites...

USAJobs - Employment opportunities with the Federal Government

Connecticut Department of Labor - Veterans Services

CTHires - Employment search engine for individuals and employers in Connecticut

California Military Department Career Opportunities

Welcome to the California Military Department’s careers page! Every role here represents more than just a job — it’s an opportunity to be part of a mission-driven team that’s shaping the future.  As you explore our openings, know that we value diversity, innovation, and the unique perspectives each individual brings.  Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just beginning your journey, there’s a place for your in the California Military Department.  

To find out more and see a wide variety of career opportunities in the military, federal, and state employment, click on the tabs below.  

• Army Active Guard Reserve
• Army Active Duty Operational Support

Army M-Day Unit Vacancies

• Air Active Guard Reserve

Air DSG Unit Vacancies

Counterdrug task force, counterdrug task force (esad).

• Federal Employment (Title 5 and Title 32)

State Active Duty

• State Civil Service
• Task Force Rattlesnake
• Work For Warriors

Active Guard Reserve – Army

Application information:.

Effective February 7, 2022, CAARNG AGR accessions process transitions to FTSMCS Jobs. All VA’s prior to this date will be processed the same way, and applications will be submitted through SAFE. Any VA’s posted on or after this date will be posted both this CMD website, and FTSMCS. However, any VA’s posted on or after this date will no longer require applications to be submitted through SAFE but will require applications to be submitted on FTSMCS Jobs. CAC authentication is required for access into FTSMCS. For instructions on how to apply, please click the following link: FTSMCS AGR Jobs Module Instructions (.pdf)

Points of Contact (POC):

SSG Kasandra Terrell (916) 854-3826 [email protected]

Support Links

• AGR Support Forms

Active Duty Operational Support

Active guard reserve – air force, point of contact (poc):.

MSgt Michelle Davis (916) 854-4259 [email protected]

SSgt Nile Winn (916) 854-4259 [email protected]

• Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf)

Points of Contact:

CPT Roudebush, Brianne M.  CDTF HR OIC [email protected]

MSG Nelson, Danielle CDTF HR NCOIC [email protected]

Applications can also be emailed directly to the CDTF mailbox at: [email protected] prior to announcement closing date.

• CDTF – Counterdrug Tours Application Instructions

The California Military Department federal employment program provides two unique excepted service career opportunities: Title 5 USC (employee) and Title 32 USC* (dual-status technician).  These opportunities range in all career fields and offer many benefits and incentives for both General Schedule (GS) and Federal Wage Schedule (FWS) positions.  

To view our current job openings, please click: USA Jobs (custom search link “California National Guard”) 

*NOTE: Employment under Title 32 – Dual Status Technician requires military membership in the California National Guard.

TIP: To subscribe to the list you are viewing, click “Save this Search” on top of the job openings list. Saving the search will notify you by e-mail whenever anything filtered becomes available. 

For more information on federal employment with the California National Guard, please visit our site at: Human Resources Office | Cal Guard

For assistance with the application, resume or questions please email us at HRO Staffing – Recruitment

MSG (CA) Jorge Garcia [email protected]

Ms. Tericia Andresen (916) 854-4209 [email protected]

Please submit your SAD applications, as one file, to: [email protected]

Click the links below for following documents:

• State Active Duty Appointment Application (.pdf)
• California State Guard AHA Form (.pdf)

State Civil Service (SCS) Employment Information:

If you are interested in applying for a State Civil Service position at the CA Military Department, please go to this link:   State Civil Service Positions

• State Employment Information

How to Volunteer for Joint Task Force – Rattlesnake  

Work for Warriors