Los Angeles District facilitates expansion of key Orange County recruiting center
David A. Salazar MISSION VIEJO, Calif. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers participated in the grand opening of the U.S. Army’s newest career center in Mission Viejo, Calif., during a ceremony in conjunction with the U.S. Army’s 238th birthday, June 14. The Los Angeles District manages more than 250 recruiting station leases throughout Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, as part of the Department of Defense Recruiting Facilities Program. The leases are valued at more than $30 million and cover nearly 650,000 square feet of space, roughly threefourths the size of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Army’s recruiting office accounts for half of the total area of the still-under-construction 6,350-squarefoot joint service recruiting center in Mission Viejo, Calif. The other half of the facility will be occupied by Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force recruiters. The center required months of coordination between the Southern California Recruiting Battalion and the Los Angeles District, which facilitated the real estate contracting and build out of the new office. “It took many months of planning and coordination in order to bring this facility to fruition. The result is this beautiful state-of-the-art center,” said Army Maj. Emily Norton, commander of the Newport Beach Recruiting Company, which oversees recruiting operations in south Orange County. The new facility also saved more than $600,000 in lease and construction costs to the government over the course of the five-year lease, said Thomas Gulihur, a supervisory realty specialist in the district’s Asset Management Division. “The current rental rate was reduced significantly and major tenant improvement construction was performed at great savings,” Gulihur said. The new office consolidates three different recruiting centers’ worth of
Liza Rosa
OPM issues memo on DOMA ruling, benefits
HUMAN RESOURCES
Army Maj. Emily Norton (center) addresses a crowd of Army supporters, future soldiers, and members of the community, during the grand opening of the Army Career Center in Mission Viejo, Calif., June 14. (Photo by David A. Salazar) recruiting personnel under the Army’s team recruiting concept, which calls for soldiers to support a unit recruiting mission instead of individual recruiting quotas and cuts costs. “The significance of this new concept is that it reduces the number of offices recruiters need to meet daily business and allows our soldiers to conduct more efficient and effective recruiting operations,” Norton said. “This transformation aligns with the Department of Defense’s plan to reduce government spending and cut costs. When the transition is complete, the number of recruiting stations in southern Orange County will decrease from six to two and as the process continues, the number of total stations across the battalion will decrease from 45 to 22.” Although the U.S. Army Recruiting Command and the Southern California Recruiting Battalion have been operating under the concept since 2012, the new facility allows recruiters to more effectively pursue their goals under the tenets of small unit recruiting. In the previous office, soldiers had to share work stations, making the accomplishments of day-to-day tasks more challenging than usual. “The new center gives everyone a work station that they could work out of, because before in the other station, we were doubling up on desks,” said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Weems, the commander of the Army’s Mission Viejo Recruiting Center. “As far as command and control, I’m able to see everything that’s going on in the station, and when people walk in the door, it will look professional, the soldiers will be professional, and potential recruits will want to become part of this organization.”
In response to the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the attached memo dated June 28 regarding the extension of benefits to legally married gay and lesbian federal employees and their families. The memorandum is as follows: The recent Supreme Court ruling declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional means that legally married same-sex spouses of federal employees and their families are now considered eligible family members under various benefits programs as described below. Employees who were legally married prior to June 26 will have until August 26, 2013 to enroll their newly eligible family members. Employees who are legally married on or after June 26, will have 60 days from the date of marriage to make the changes. Employees who do not make their enrollment during the 60-day election window will be eligible to enroll during the annual open enrollment period. Health Insurance (FEHB)-Legally married same-sex spouses will now be eligible family members for self and family FEHB enrollment. In addition, children of the samesex marriages will be treated just as those of opposite-sex marriages to include eligibility for the children of the samesex spouse as stepchildren of the employee. Enrollment effective dates are as follows: FEHB election and changes: first day of the pay period following the election; FEHB cancellations: end of the pay period in which election is made. Life Insurance (FEGLI)-Legally married same-sex spouses and children of legal same-sex marriages are now eligible family members under the FEGLI program for coverage under OPTION C. Enrollment effective dates for FEGLI OPTION C election: first day in pay status following the date of election. Automated systems are being updated to allow for inputting same-sex spouse information directly into the Employee Benefits Information System (EBIS). Until these updates have been completed, eligible employees who wish to make a change to their FEHB and/or FEGLI must call the Army Benefits Center-Civilian (ABC-C) at 877-276-9287 and speak to a counselor who will process the transaction for the employee. Employees already enrolled in family coverage and who wish to add additional, newly eligible family members should call their FEHB carrier (at the number on their ID card) to add the additional family members to their existing family policy.
Dental and Vision Insurance (FEDVIP)-Legally married same-sex spouses will now be eligible family members for Self and Family or Self Plus One dental and/or vision enrollment. More information on FEDVIP can be found on the BENEFEDS website: https://www.benefeds.com or by calling 877-8883337. Long-Term Care Insurance (FLTCIP)-Legally married same-sex spouses have until August 26 to apply for FLTCIP coverage with abbreviated underwriting. More information on FLTCIP can be found on the LTC Partners website: http:// www.ltcfeds.com or by calling 800-582-3337. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)-Employees who are in legal same-sex marriages will now be able to submit claims for medical expenses for their same-sex spouse and any newly qualifying children. More information on FSAFEDS can be found at https://www.fsafeds.com or by calling 877-372-3337. Retirement-Guidance is still pending on election of survivor annuity for retiring employees in a legal same-sex marriage who wish to elect a survivor annuity for a same-sex spouse. However, these same-sex spouses will be eligible for survivor annuities. Additional guidance continues to be issued and will be posted on the ABC-C website at https://www.abc.army.mil as it becomes available.
10 NewsCastle
March 2013
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