KADENA AIR BASE, Japan — While active duty spouses have always been able to find employment on military installations, with the new Direct Hire Authority pilot program, that process will be streamlined to become easier for spouses seeking employment.

The 718th Force Support Squadron has officially begun implementing the program, allowing military spouses to be hired at locations outside the U.S.

“Every military installation has a family readiness center, and employment and assistance is one of the many programs that we offer,” said Darla E. Bertrand, 718th Force Support Squadron Supervisory Human Resources specialist. “Our goal with the Direct Hire program is to help people with their short and long-term employment goals.”

This program can shorten the hiring process for military spouses living overseas, mutually benefitting both employers with vacant positions and spouses looking for work. Family readiness centers also assist members looking for first-time employment, whether through classes on how to begin writing a resume or attending job interviews.

“We have classes on a variety of topics, including a resume writing workshop for active duty spouses, ” said Timerie Nastav, 718th Force Support Squadron community readiness consultant. “We go over the different career opportunities for military spouses, talk about how to search for jobs, how to build a resume and apply. We also have an interview preparation workshop where we work with you to get more comfortable about the interview process.”

The Direct Hire Authority pilot program helps not only active duty spouses but the employers and supervisors looking to fill the available positions with individuals they know are qualified and willing to work.

“If a supervisor or a commander of an organization knows of a military spouse that is interested in a position that they have, they can interview the military spouse, and then they can select them directly instead of having to go through the normal process,” said Bertrand. “So it bypasses the advertising part, but they do have to be qualified and it doesn’t apply to civilian spouses.”

Military and family readiness centers are available to assist new military families with the program, and this counts for spouses lacking in employment experience and need guidance on how to start the process, or for someone who has had part-time jobs and is now looking to turn temporary employment into a long term career.

“Our goal with the program is to help people with their short and long-term employment goals,” said Timerie. “So sometimes it’s a matter of just finding something temporary while you’re working on the longer goals, or sometimes it’s a matter of making a plan to get to that long-term career goal, and we try to help military spouses think about portable careers.”

Military members and their spouses should be aware of the program’s details regarding leaving installations temporarily or resigning from previous employment before looking for a new opportunity.

“Permanent employees hired under this program will be required to take a break in service,” said Bertrand. “Military spouses hired under this program will not be allowed leave without pay when permanently changing stations alongside their spouse.”

Active duty spouses assigned to an installation for less than a year will only be eligible for a temporary service status while spouses assigned there for over a year will be eligible for Permanent Positions.

“There are benefits to that program, if an active military spouse travels while in a permanent position,” said Bertrand. “They will have one year to resign from their current employment before looking for a new one.”

Since its implementation in Nov. 2022 in Yokota, the program has assisted military spouses, ready to fill vacant positions, with employment at their spouse’s station.