European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 19, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday August 19.1986 letters family member hiring policy is explained i read with interest your article on army upgrading family member Job  actually upgrading has nothing to do with it. As usual All the emphasis in this program is being placed on the basks . Job information and How to com plete applications. The army does not need another program to accomplish Tuhcic basics what is co for besides Many military spouses out there Don t really want directions to he nearest plastic factory or information on How to apply at Burger King. Military spouses have been working in Federal serv  career jobs for Many years now and the Aid they Are in need of is a program that real by gives them priority in Federal service jobs Al military installations. Why is in that few. If any of the upward mobility jobs the internships or the mid manage mint level jobs Are Ever tilled by military spouses overseas it is Competition with the local nationals since most of the higher positions Are automatically in and stateside in is Competition with the local locals. In theory Many stateside Post pos arc supposed to have a dependent priority placement program bul the program is really a Slipshod attempt and military dependents usually end up filling Low Grade clerical positions and often have to take Down grades just to get a Job. It simply in t True that there is a Lack of qualified applicants among military family members. The Ruth is they Are better educated and have More work experience than Ever before. Then there is the theory that certain work Environ ments need stability and would suffer from High turn Over should a family member be hired. This is not necessarily True either. Turnover prevents stagnation and How Many local civilians Don t leave to have babies get a belter Job. Etc.? besides whatever experience a military spouse gains at one Post is applied Al the nest. Military family members cannot rely on the whom do you know. How Long have you been Here system which May not be Legal or fair but really does still exist. So he army and other military branches should work closely with Polo ensure that family members get some real priority in obtaining keeping and Prog Ressing within the Federal system especially since this system is often the Only option available for military spouses. Military spouses should be considered As a valuable Mobile and essential resource not a cheap labor Pool. If a referral list is sent out wild names of Quali fied applicants military family members on that list should receive priority is this supposed to be happen ing already Well let me Tell you it is not. Also 1 recently observed at a stateside Post cases in which a local summer hire was moved into an intern ship position in which this individual would go from gs-5 to gs-9 in three years. I also observed another local summer hire go from gs-3 to gs-6 in three years. A the same time Many career status military spouses arriving from overseas were constantly taking Down grades Jusi 10 get a Job and being told they simply weren t qualified or did t have enough specialized experience. I wonder where those Young summer hires got All  experience the Point is can you blame the career minded military spouse who cd takes not to go on a Perma nent change of station name withheld Stuttgart editor s note Donald Dixon civilian personnel division. Deputy chief of staff. Personnel 111 , replica the employment preference you Art seeking for Mil itary spouses who have been working in Federal serv  Carter jobs has already been approved by con Gress. The 1986 Dod authorisation act Public Law 99 145, Section 806, requires the Secretary of defense in prescribe regulations to provide Best qualified military spouse hiring preference in Dod jobs above the Grade of cs-7 or the equivalent. This will be a one time preference n conjunction with a geographic move and will be Only up to the highest Grade last held. When the draft regulation was staffed Liq usar eur recommended similar preference be extended to spouses of civilian employees who Are relocating. When final regulations Are published preference will begin. You ask Why few of any of the upward mobility jobs the internships or he mid management level jobs Are Ever filled by military spouses. You also state that military spouses often end up in lower graded clerical jobs. Military spouses can apply and be considered for any Federal Job it any Grade level or in any occupational category. Lists of the Best qualified applicants Ore provided id the selecting official who ultimately decides whom o select. Selecting officials have a general tendency id select current employees for higher graded jobs since this provides employees who have demonstrated successful Job performance an Opportunity for Advance ment. The lower guided entry let jobs that these employees vacate arc then normally filled by external applicants. Since the military spouse has relocated with the sponsor the spouse is among those persons setting employment at the new duly station. The army and the Federal government recognize the spouse s career often suffers when the sponsor relocates and Lane nude Many changes in Federal employment policies Over the Post several Yean to Lessen the Impact on the spouse. The preference discussed above is one such change. You state that most higher level jobs  automatically local National. This is not lint. Management in conjunction with resource management officers decides whether a Job will be local National or . Even if the Job is designated As a local National position family members will be considered if a currently employed local National is not available. Since 1971, Usa eur has been providing family members preference for gs-8 and below and non supervisory wage Grade positions Over external local National applicants. You also state the turnover is not necessarily bid since in prevents stagnation. We agree. In jobs where training time is Short turnover May have Little or no Impact on Mission effectiveness. In fact turnover can be a positive indicator thai employees Are being devel oped and provided advancement opportunities to reach i Clr fullest potential. However in some jobs turnover increases training casts and reduces organizational performance and productivity. Based upon january March 1986 hiring which was a relatively Slack hiring period family member turnover was 89 percent other los citizen turnover was 31 percent and local National turnover was 24 percent. In Spile of the fact that the demand for jobs is greater than the Supply is. Army Europe has Long been a Leader in providing employment opportunities la army family members. At the end of March 198$, there were More than 29,000 family members employed in activities serviced by Usa eur pos. Family member employment has increased from Aboul s percent of the work farce in 1971 to nearly 25 percent today while employment of other us citizens and local nationals has remained about the same. In addition cafes employed b.9s8 family members. Stars and stripes employed 52 and american express Bank 830. Sloppy neighbors in housing laundry room i have had in up to Here for some reason Lazi Ness i suspect Tew bad apples in our building Are making one aspect of stairwell life harder than in has la be. I am referring to the laundry room. Stairwell life is nothing like life in a single family Home. We have to realize that and make allowances for it. Think of All the other families in the stairwell when you 10 Aboul your daily living. When you Are downstairs doing your laundry it is not necessary or considerate to Slop detergent powder or liquid on All surfaces. More than once i be had to remove the lint traps from the Washer to rinse the caked Dele genl off. Also please remove the lint. In takes less than 15 seconds to whack in against the Side of the trash can. Clean the top and inside of the machine when you finish with it. That also goes for the dryers. Clean ing the of is a Timple easy Courtesy. If the dryer is still in use when my Wash is ready to be dried i place my clean laundry on lop. I Don t appreciate getting my laundry dirty because of somebody else s thoughtlessness. Ii is defeating your purpose to stuff the dryer so full the clothing can t move freely Aad dry. I was in the laundry room with a Friend when she opened a dryer to Check if someone else s clothing was dry. The dryer was so full some items fell out. We were amazed Al the amount of laundry inside. In looked like the contents of to Trep washers. Maybe you be noticed the Bright red stickers with White print on the dryers. They say that unless the lint traps arc cleaned after every use a fire May re sult. I Check each trap before i put my laundry in. I stun t pay Good Money for clothing just to have it go up in smoke today i cleaned one dryer that had lint dirt arid a Sticky substance probably a pastry filling. We had a stairwell meeting the other night. In was decided that two residents would clean their Stair Well the basement Hall and the laundry room. Each family pays them 20 Marks per month. I Hope this does t mean that every one will assume hey no need to clean up after myself nope. You still have to do so. For three reasons 1, because another person May come in immediately after you to Wash. Once they see the Stop they will naturally be upset and have a very poor opinion of you. 2. These laundry rooms Are provided free of charge. The . Government pays far All new machines. They also pay for he repairs. Think to much a new Washer and dryer Cost think about All the new machines and How expensive they Are As a whole not one by one. With the new budget minded mood prevailing in Congress i would not be one Bil surprised to learn that free laundry facilities Are being Cut. Go to the Post laundromat. Co on the Economy. Buy your own Washer and dryer. You Don l take care of the ones provided at government expense. Therefore we Are removing them to save Money next Lime i see a trashed out laundry room if i know who left it thai Way i will not hesitate to report you to the housing office. Think about it. Is it Worth losing free laundry privileges to not clean up after yourself we have less i Hill nine months remaining in our tour. I have no desire to buy a new Washer and dryer just to turn around and sell them. One last thought when i see the laundry room in the shape it s often led in i have an extremely Low opinion of the person who used in including the people who urinate in there. Barbara Alvarez  Germany editor s note la. Col. Richard d. Benja min a Schattenburg Deputy Community commander. Replies your letter concerning abuse of the laundry room by your fellow resident Point Oul the need for continuing education of some tenants throughout our Honing Are. There Are several systems within a Schallenburg which allow concerns to be voiced and which help ensure All tenants Are living up to their responsibilities As Good  town Hall meetings an regularly held for everyone the most recent of which a held in a Schaffenburg on july i. The entire Community staff was present to answer questions and Deal with issues such m yours. Mayoral meetings Are held every second month for our leased housing complexes. At these meetings areas of concern Are raised by Volunteer mayors to the Community staff for Resolution. Additionally several systems Are in place which galil in resolving situations such As you ban de scribed in your letter. These systems include using tit housing Chain of command stairwell building and Are Coord Lasata reporting directly to the hoax Tai officer calling the commander s hotline 35-7380, of visiting the Community command surge and major m Deputy Community commander. Occupant responsibilities As they relate to laundry rooms and All other tenant responsibilities to govern ment quarters will continue to be stressed within the a Schaffenburg military Community. Bimonthly inspections by the homing Chain of command building stairwell and area coordinator were implemented on july is and will assist in eliminating the conditions which you describe in your letter. I Trust that your letter will Send a message to other residents of government quarters who share laundry facilities la take a look Al their Awn situation and ask themselves am i doing my part am 1 being a Good neighbor