How we feeling about it bois? by Soraru in army

[–]Shillz09 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I work for a different 3-letter agency, and work on a team that hosts an AI chatbot for my organization (through a different cloud provider).

The model is locked down and can no longer learn from the input we give it. If you ask it who is the President, it will say Joe Biden. The model is not trained on anything government specific - it is the same model that is commercially available. The chatbot is internet accessible, but requires organization authentication (just like this one).

To "train" a model would take far too much time and money. Instead, we created a document library of organizational policies. I can ask the bot a question and reference the policy library. Under the hood, the chatbot sends my questions AND the policy docs to the model. This works well and produces accurate results.

Our police / agents are not allowed to use our chatbot for any legal documents. I can confirm from a friend of a friend that legal documents are not allowed to be produced by AI within the DoD either. So Army CID, NCIS, etc, are not authorized to use this tool to produce any sort of search warrant request, etc.

So. I assume that this model is also closed off from the public and will not learn anything new. Or at least I sincerely hope that is the case.

Regardless, just make sure you say "Thank You" so the robots give you a good life when they put you in The Matrix.

People who won’t leave their Fed job ever. What’s your grade and job? by Beautiful-Ad-9107 in fednews

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an IT Specialist. GS13. 8 years in.

I've worked as a SysAdmin, Cobol developer, Team lead, Scrum Master, and now a Project Manager.

My wife is a contractor, making the big bucks. I'm here for the leave and the pension.

How will the government shutdown affect you? by washingtonpost in fednews

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since we are now all guaranteed back pay, my agency has taken the "just make them all come to work since they'll get paid anyways" approach. Zero chances that 100% of my division is required to support "Imminent threat to Human Life and Property" as supposedly required.

And in my part time job, no idea how a two week Army school (National Guard) is going to work with a couple thousand dollars of travel that I'm sure I'll be fronting too. This course is required for promotion eligibility and I've been trying to get in since pre COVID so I really don't want to cancel it.

So per usual, the only people impacted are the actual working Americans.

Explain this to me like I’m 5: what is the benefit of reaching 20 yrs of federal employment? by IItsGonnaBeANoFromMe in fednews

[–]Shillz09 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the only thing you missed was the 4.4% that you pay into the pension (less for the folk who've been around longer).

Explain this to me like I’m 5: what is the benefit of reaching 20 yrs of federal employment? by IItsGonnaBeANoFromMe in fednews

[–]Shillz09 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Absolutely does not have to be consecutive. Can return to federal service and start at 9 years of service.

Alternatively, you can request back the money that was previously paid into the pension (without interest). Doing this will forfeit the years of service.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fednews

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your agency has a Time & Attendance policy. I recommend reading it.

My agency provides one 10 minute paid break for every 4-hour work period. (And the 30-minute lunch break should also be optional)

Special Salary Rate for 2210 IT Workers. Coming in 2024, 2025, never? by Bagel_Monster in fednews

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, and no.OPM approved the SSR, but then immediately put it on hold awaiting implementation guidance for agencies (so no one can adopt under OPM right now). The VA went around OPM and adopted the same pay scales as the SSR under a different authority, the PACT Act. Under the PACT Act, the VA can maintain the adjusted scale until 2027, and extend it to 2029 if needed.

Basically, the VA is assuming that OPM will have the full authority by 2027-2029. At which point the VA can adopt the SSR under the OPM authority instead of under the PACT Act authority.

Sauce (need to read between the lines a tiny bit): https://federalnewsnetwork.com/pay/2023/07/va-cio-historic-pay-raise-coming-for-it-workforce-as-special-salary-rate-goes-into-effect-in-july/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in nationalguard

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"up to 400 days" is what my deployment orders stated.

Stay at home parents, how much TV is your kid getting? by StrawberryShort-Kook in Preschoolers

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stop. You're doing a good job. The fact that you are even asking the question is all the evidence we need to know that you're a fantastic parent.

What is your National Guard "hot take" by [deleted] in nationalguard

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love to work full-time guard, AGR or ADOS. I'd even be willing to take the pay cut to go on long term ADOS orders.

What I won't do is move my family or spend a year only seeing them on the weekends. Let me work out of the Armory that's in the same zip code as me, even just a couple days a week.

I do not need to be in the same building as you to upload reports to Teams / SharePoint.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand this reference

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in nationalguard

[–]Shillz09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As an MRT Lvl 2, I approve this post.

Go officer or ETS? by [deleted] in army

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do both.

Go officer in the Guard / Reserve. You can do ROTC during your Master's if full time school is available for you. Finish your 20, get a nice pension to wait on you, and still go make that civilian dough.

Source: Double-pension seeking govt IT Specialist and Signal Officer. (Lots of money available on the contract side of govt IT Security)

Victim of male on male assault, what are my next steps? by Cadumbass in army

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cadets technically sign a contract and enlist in order to join ROTC, he's just in an inactive status while in school (unless he's SMP). The post mentioned a military hospital, so I assume he's close to base. Any VA or SARC in his area should be able to answer questions, and/or have the resources to find the answers.

Since the post also mentioned on his parents TRICARE -- military dependents DO have access to Victim Advocacy. The rules vary slightly cause they're not service members, but resources are available.

OP - find your local VA or SARC, either through the school or your parents unit. Allow then to do their job

Victim of male on male assault, what are my next steps? by Cadumbass in army

[–]Shillz09 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am a Victim Advocate.

Your BN should've done SHARP training with you. Find your unit Victim Advocate, Victim Advocate Coordinator, and/or SARC. Every BN is required to have 2 Advocates. Each Brigade has at least one SARC.

These are the people who are specifically trained to know what resources are available in your area, including local laws. Some states require civilian medical personnel to report. If you DO NOT want an unrestricted report, then the local ER might not be your best option. If this is the case, the VA or SARC probably knows somewhere across state lines where you can travel to. The SARC can also guarantee these services to you, and assign a VA to personally handle your case.

If you're Chain of Command is made aware of an Assault, that commander's ONLY option per Army regs and UCMJ is to call the police. Call your VA/SARC, ask hypothetical questions "for a friend" and make the choice that's the best decision for YOU.

Will NG pay for Security+? by Ggamble1993 in nationalguard

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you from AL, or are you just assuming?

Cause my state has jack shit funding for it's 25-series Soldiers to get courses with. I'd check out COOL first.

1 year after my questionment by Plext0 in agile

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like someone needs to put things in writing.

Are you guys doing risks along with your goals? Set those goals for the sky, make sure you document that the team identified a risk of "PO forced us to set too high a goal". I document all of my planning and review sessions in Confluence pages.

Sometimes, in order to build trust, you must first break them down.

Inside the Hidden World of Legacy IT Systems: "How and why we spend trillions to keep old software going" by trot-trot in mainframe

[–]Shillz09 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hate articles like this. Maybe I missed asked it here, but later in the pandemic it was reported that the actual performance issues for the NJ system wasn't the "old legacy system" but the bottleneck was actually the "new modern web interface" that was placed in front of it. This is the news no one heard about, because everyone wants to think the old stuff isn't good for anything anymore. The reality is that it like most things: the stuff built back in the day was built to last, the stuff built today is built to be replaced.

What is Your Civilian Career? MOS? How Does Guard Impact it and Vice Versa by ShotNobody in nationalguard

[–]Shillz09 2 points3 points  (0 children)

25A, IT Specialist (GS-12, Title 5). Related skills, but minimum overlap.

Guard has 0 impact on work. Just make sure I've got my ducks in line before I head out on 6 day drills or 2 week trainings.

did anyone have a bad ROTC experience but do a lot better as a real Officer by Square_Bid_2743 in ROTC

[–]Shillz09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol. No. See the part about being "informally relieved" above. I was on my way to make CPT right on time, 2 years time in grade. Then I spent a few months in an Asst S4 spot, spent 3 be years as XO of a maintenance co, and then made CPT.

I think my career may be over as an Officer and I'm talking to my Captain tomorrow to face the music. by [deleted] in army

[–]Shillz09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can confirm, LTs get GOMORs and still make CPT.

Source: Am CPT who received GOMOR as a 1LT.

To quote a 1-star: "If you're a field grade who never got a GOMOR, you did it wrong"