Kara is ready to work.
Her Navy husband is on assignment to an unaccompanied tour in Nevada. She moved to Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to be closer to her family in his absence.
Now, she is ready to fill his time away with a job of her own. When she visited the hiring office on base though, she was told that she was unable to use spouse hiring preference to apply for a clerical or administrative job there.
The reason: her husband’s orders are not for Kirtland Air Force Base. But she’s not allowed to accompany him to his assigned duty station and therefore unable to find work at his assigned base. The Navy wife seems to be stuck in a no-win situation.
We’ve asked the Department of Defense for clarification on both the military spouse preference program and Kara’s dilemma. Here is their answer:
The Military Spouse Preference Program offers employment preference in DOD civilian personnel positions to military spouses who meet specific criteria.
The requirements include that the spouse must accompany their sponsor on a PCS move to an active-duty assignment, must be married before the PCS occurs, must apply for a job within commuting distance of the sponsor’s new duty station and must rank among the “best qualified” candidates for that job.
Kara was unable to move with her husband to his new duty station due to the type of PCS orders he was given. Also, Kirtland AFB is far from his new job in Nevada meaning she is not within commuting distance.
She hoped there would be a waiver for this situation. DOD officials said, unfortunately, there is not.
The only waiver is given when there is no federal agency in the spouse’s geographic area where the military member transferred to, said Kathleen Ryder, chief of the civilian personnel section, 377thForce Support Squadron at Kirtland AFB.
Unfortunately for Kara, Ryder said the waiver does not apply in her case because she is not authorized to accompany her military member to the far-flung location.
Hopefully Kara will find employment soon even without the spouse preference rating.
Have a question about military education and hiring policies? We can help you find the answer. Email us at info@salutetospouses.com
