Personnel Force Innovation

PFI is an Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) initiative that operates with executive oversight from Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Indianapolis. PFI is designed to provide a critical connection between the pool of nearly one million Army and Air Force Reservists & Guardsman and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies who need them.
 

PFI identifies volunteers with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to “do the job” and then works with the services to process approved military orders. Defense agency customers fund the service member’s active duty tour with working capital funds, civil works funds or foreign military sales funds via a Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request (MIPR). Service members report to work at their assigned DoD agency, roll up their sleeves, and get right to work. Once their tour is complete, they return to their reserve component unit. Tours are typically one to three years in length and vary based on the mission.

Over the past two decades, PFI has had a wide array of opportunities to confirm that Reserve Component service members have invaluable military and civilian expertise that can be applied to unique and challenging missions within the DoD. Defense agency customers can use this expertise to their advantage in order to satisfy critical requirements and complete special projects in a multitude of areas. Individuals can be selected based on their civilian experience and are not limited to positions based on rank or military occupational specialty. This gives PFI the flexibility agencies need when searching for qualified manpower to help accomplish their mission.

PFI can fill these manpower gaps with service members in an efficient and fiscally responsible manner. For our Defense Working Capital Funded (DWCF) agencies, we use the civilian equivalency rates for reimbursement. This is a shared cost between the agency and the service budget offices. The services recognize the value of placing Soldiers and Airmen within the DoD, as it allows them to gain valuable experience and aid in the overall DoD mission. The service members then return to their units and share their knowledge, making those units better and more capable, thus adding value to the force. The US Army Corps of Engineers uses its civil works (CW) funds in support of their non-DoD funded CW projects. The full composite rate is charged when using CW. For those under the umbrella of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency who have Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds, PFI is a viable option for many hard-to-fill positions around the world. Since these tours are funded by case dollars assigned to foreign countries, the full composite rates are used. Regardless of fund type or rate, there is no difference in the pay or entitlements our Soldiers and Airmen receive.

There are many advantages on both sides to partnering with PFI. PFI has the experience and is the recognized leader in reimbursable tours. We work directly with the service budget and personnel offices to ensure the funds and service members are taken care of. Our team of professionals handle all aspects of the process from beginning to end.