Programme CASTLE

[Stonker]

LBD and stillettos?

If you turn up at my gaff in that rig one more time, I'm calling the Old Bill, and having you sectioned.

 

[Auld-Yin]

If you turn up at my gaff in that rig one more time, I'm calling the Old Bill, and having you sectioned.

You're just jealous!

 

[Stonker]

You're just jealous!

Clearly the word 'jealous' has a different meaning in English than in Jockanese . . .

 

[Auld-Yin]

Clearly the word 'jealous' has a different meaning in English than in Jockanese . . .

Or maybe not.....

 

[Allan74]

There are no “rules” on appointments: fundamentally it’s up to the CM to decide where you go.

Personally I’d prefer every job was interviewed for, regardless of type. No CM involved at all.

Could not every job be advertised internally in a std format...the sort of thing the Civil Service and major firms do all the time?

 

[CAARPS]

Looks like someone in APC is about to be placed on the naughty step

 

[Kroneit44]

Looks like someone in APC is about to be placed on the naughty step

View attachment 631882

Truth hurts?

 

[twentyfirstoffoot]

Looks like someone in APC is about to be placed on the naughty step

View attachment 631882

Is this the one to introduce new whizzy cutting edge ideas or the one being run by an institutionalised ex Col?

 

[Sarastro]

So best I can make out from that Twitter thread, from the horse's mouth (Dr he/him):

• They've taken five years to build an app.
• The app does what JPA is already meant to do.
• It will be easier to do a lot of niche requirements like transfer arm or show your family your report (really?).
• There seems to be basically no reform of reporting, Arm/Corps/Regt stranglehold over jobs and appointments, or RO / chain of command single points of failure input into careers.

i.e. a whole load of things nobody much wants to do will be made slightly easier, while the manifest problems that affect everyone every day will be given a shiny new interface but leave the systemic problems largely unchanged. I particularly like the bit where the Col says he isn't aware of any instances of people not getting recommendations for jobs due to personal CoC conflicts, and about five established soldier Twitter accounts telling him it happens all the time. What the **** was his five years of research and requirements gathering for?

So far the one concrete good point I can see is they have a single database to list skills / qualifications, assuming the database works as required, which from previous experience is far from a given, considering this was exactly what was briefed about JPA too.

I remain in awe of the Army's world leading ability to spend vast amounts of time, effort and resource on spectacularly missing the point.

 

[greenbaggyskin]

So best I can make out from that Twitter thread, from the horse's mouth (Dr he/him):

• They've taken five years to build an app.
• The app does what JPA is already meant to do.
• It will be easier to do a lot of niche requirements like transfer arm or show your family your report (really?).
• There seems to be basically no reform of reporting, Arm/Corps/Regt stranglehold over jobs and appointments, or RO / chain of command single points of failure input into careers.

i.e. a whole load of things nobody much wants to do will be made slightly easier, while the manifest problems that affect everyone every day will be given a shiny new interface but leave the systemic problems largely unchanged. I particularly like the bit where the Col says he isn't aware of any instances of people not getting recommendations for jobs due to personal CoC conflicts, and about five established soldier Twitter accounts telling him it happens all the time. What the **** was his five years of research and requirements gathering for?

So far the one concrete good point I can see is they have a single database to list skills / qualifications, assuming the database works as required, which from previous experience is far from a given, considering this was exactly what was briefed about JPA too.

I remain in awe of the Army's world leading ability to spend vast amounts of time, effort and resource on spectacularly missing the point.

When I was commissioned, all my quals were blank in JPA. The nice WO in the admin office logged in, sat me down and said, "Just select what you have and fill out your record for us would you?" I'm quite honest and only selected quals I had, but I could have picked anything and he would have got the blame if it was detected as incorrect.

Army databases have always been rubbish and I could tell quite a few more stories about inventions, errors and omissions in records.

 

[Kroneit44]

So best I can make out from that Twitter thread, from the horse's mouth (Dr he/him):

• They've taken five years to build an app.
• The app does what JPA is already meant to do.
• It will be easier to do a lot of niche requirements like transfer arm or show your family your report (really?).
• There seems to be basically no reform of reporting, Arm/Corps/Regt stranglehold over jobs and appointments, or RO / chain of command single points of failure input into careers.

i.e. a whole load of things nobody much wants to do will be made slightly easier, while the manifest problems that affect everyone every day will be given a shiny new interface but leave the systemic problems largely unchanged. I particularly like the bit where the Col says he isn't aware of any instances of people not getting recommendations for jobs due to personal CoC conflicts, and about five established soldier Twitter accounts telling him it happens all the time. What the **** was his five years of research and requirements gathering for?

So far the one concrete good point I can see is they have a single database to list skills / qualifications, assuming the database works as required, which from previous experience is far from a given, considering this was exactly what was briefed about JPA too.

I remain in awe of the Army's world leading ability to spend vast amounts of time, effort and resource on spectacularly missing the point.

Project CADUCEUS was trying to allow APC to sift people for jobs based on SQEP ie all the people with "5 years as L3 Falcon Maintainer". Quiet rightly the more senior MOD CS were very reluctant primarily because the isn't time in the calendar to transition the change. Basically the wheels must keep turning without anyone suffering a career impact so their very antiquated way of doing things is what they're stuck with. It doesn't help that MOD CS pay peanuts and less than the average wage in Glasgow (or something like that).

 

[alfred_the_great]

If the Army app is like the MyNavy app, then for those with perma-access to MoDNet, no, it’s not useful. For those who don’t - who I’d say are the OR1-4 community - it’s hugely useful. It does replicate JPA functionality, plus some other stuff, but it does it on your phone rather than having to find the one working (and free) MoDNet terminal.

As for the other points, I have little sympathy for our “professional” HR processes.

The two problems that it falls down are: investment in actually understanding what each job in Defence does; the fear that a “marketplace jobs market” that that might engender.

Attaching SQEP requirements etc to each role is not difficult: it’s hard and time consuming, and thus no one wants to do it. There’s also an interesting discussion around taxonomy, and how “unique” each job is. The requirements should be broad enough - say - to capture the widest range of people available, but not so wide as to be worthless. It will take a very long time, and I suspect that it’ll never be done.

As for the marketplace, the problem is that it means areas/jobs may not be filled. This could potentially make senior Officers (and WOs) sad as people vote with their feet and impinge on people’s egos. There are some interesting ways around this - suitable monetary and non-monetary inducements as a starter for 10 - but no one wants to have the conversation. Again, I imagine this will die too.

 

[Alamo]

So far the one concrete good point I can see is they have a single database to list skills / qualifications, assuming the database works as required, which from previous experience is far from a given, considering this was exactly what was briefed about JPA too.

I remain in awe of the Army's world leading ability to spend vast amounts of time, effort and resource on spectacularly missing the point.

To be fair, JPA can do a lot of useful stuff if you have someone who takes the time to learn how to use it. For example, my old unit did a lot of specialised exercises which, if you did a couple of them, were more useful than a theoretical course. Our Trg SNCO created them as competencies, so if we needed augmentees I could ask for, say, a list of ‘everyone who’s done two of these in the plans shop’ and head off to Manning accordingly.

 

[Kitmarlowe]

When I was commissioned, all my quals were blank in JPA. The nice WO in the admin office logged in, sat me down and said, "Just select what you have and fill out your record for us would you?" I'm quite honest and only selected quals I had, but I could have picked anything and he would have got the blame if it was detected as incorrect.

Army databases have always been rubbish and I could tell quite a few more stories about inventions, errors and omissions in records.

My 108 Service Cerificate misses out 2 Op Tours as the swap to JPA decided I hadn't gone whilst correctly recording the issue of the medals.....

 

[Stonker]

the wheels must keep turning without anyone suffering a career impact

. . . . . as if negative career impacts never arise from the way that the antiquated wheels keep turning. . . . .

Hardly an inspiring thought.

 

[greenbaggyskin]

Project CADUCEUS was trying to allow APC to sift people for jobs based on SQEP ie all the people with "5 years as L3 Falcon Maintainer". Quiet rightly the more senior MOD CS were very reluctant primarily because the isn't time in the calendar to transition the change. Basically the wheels must keep turning without anyone suffering a career impact so their very antiquated way of doing things is what they're stuck with. It doesn't help that MOD CS pay peanuts and less than the average wage in Glasgow (or something like that).

You mean like when 8 Sigs training establishment moved to Blandford and there were no courses for 14 months?

 

[Kitmarlowe]

You mean like when 8 Sigs training establishment moved to Blandford and there were no courses for 14 months?

Do that in a Civi company and quite a few people would have been sacked PDQ

 

[Kroneit44]

You mean like when 8 Sigs training establishment moved to Blandford and there were no courses for 14 months?

Do you think we'd get away with that now?

 

[irlsgt]

Wasn’t part of Project Castle to give personnel more stability and less moving around?

And Future Soldier appears to be talking about forward basing?

 

[Kroneit44]

. . . . . as if negative career impacts never arise from the way that the antiquated wheels keep turning. . . . .

Hardly an inspiring thought.

The only way to change APC is to send a "Mike Stone" in and just do it. I remember a fairly recent YofS assignment plot being pushed out when Tommy was unwell. Pretty much every single AO was withdrawn. The so what is that the understand piece is vast and very heavily reliant upon key individuals making subjective decisions. Not achievable with your standard "Mott Mcdonaldesque" two week paper consultancy cuff.