Posted on Jul 11, 2015
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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This question is for the RP Executives, Administrators, Support Staff, and RP Members (all branches and statuses). If Civilian Supporters that I’m connected with have suggestions please send them to me as well. I hope you can share with the group openly and honestly (unless its a business secret)!

I see a lot of Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members signing up on RallyPoint. I have some questions that I would like to see the answer to for General Purposes (GP) only and get some thoughts from other RP Members on how they can or can't contribute in the future:

I personally have connected with a lot of Civilian Supporters that work in different industries that I'm interested in or would like to network in and I have exchange some really good dialogue with a few on comments they had some of the discussion questions.

I'm sure there are brighter people than me that developed RP and have the answers to all these questions, but I would like to hear the "why", "What if", "Suggestions from RP Members", and "what the future holds" for RallyPoint with regard to Civilian Supporters and Military Family Members!

Questons:

1. I would like to know "why" they are allowed to sign up in the first place?

2. Secondly, what is the benefit to RallyPoint?

3. Does this provide additional advertising to members that can't provide input for outside companies & financial contributors to RP?

4. Was this just an after thought when non-military veterans started signing up through invitations?

4. Could military spouses provide valuable feedback on RP or would that be a waste of time?

5. How many of you have had good dialogue with Civilian Supporters via messages, because that can't reply, post a discussion, and don't have any access to voting, etc...?

6. Should we allow limited access to Civilian Supporters (say so many characters to post a reply or thought), special voting rights, or special characters to add to a post or discussion just to know they are there watching and reading the discussions?

7. Should we give them any "rights" on RallyPoint except for "view" only?

8. Should we give them their own section to post stories or post questions that we RP Members can't jump in on, so they feel welcome?
Edited 7 y ago
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Responses: 17
LTC Yinon Weiss
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Hi, here is what is going on with RallyPoint and civilians.

RallyPoint is a site for those who serve and have served, and will remain so. RallyPoint is also a place for networking, for learning, and for career progression. There are times when civilians can contribute in these areas to your benefit, and we plan to create compartmented groups within RallyPoint where this professional interaction can take place. To be clear, these interactions will be compartmented to just their own subject areas, and will not cross over into the rest of RallyPoint. Examples:

- Corporate recruiters who want to help you with your resume, job search, or job application.
- Military families who want to learn from each other and how to better support their units and spouses (any potential "drama" will be kept separate from the rest of RallyPoint).
- Potential recruits interested in joining the military, and want to learn more about opportunities besides just what their local recruiter can tell them.
- Employees of various local businesses who want to help veterans in their job search and transition.

If the above is not of interest to a RallyPoint member, then you do not have to engage in any of it, or even see it. Civilians cannot post to you, and cannot initiate a contact request (but you can initiate one to them). Helping military members advance their career both inside and outside the military is one of our primary missions, and to support the "outside the military" piece of it, allowing civilian recruiters and supporters on the site that can help you, if you seek it, is part of the way we intend to help military members in their transition.

Your feedback is very important to us and we are definitely interested in your input. This is part of the reason we are being very deliberate in how we approach introducing this resource.
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CW4 Scott S.
CW4 Scott S.
9 y
Yes MAJ Weiss, thanks for your explanation!
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Vit Spirek
Vit Spirek
>1 y
I think that civilians and military families will bring a lot more, I agree at all. anyway we can count that the targets of the server will expand by needs.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
7 y
LTC Yinon Weiss, please explain how civilians become verified, and name the criteria. I've only seen a few with a blue "C", meaning verified. The preponderance of civilian RP members have gray "Cs" denoting unverified.
CPT (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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LTC Yinon Weiss
LTC Yinon Weiss
7 y
LTC Stephen C. Verified civilians generally means they are recruiters who have been vetted by RallyPoint.
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COL Charles Williams
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I don't know, and see no reason to allow or want that. Want I liked about this, RP, was it was only for Veterans.... The .45%... COL Mikel J. Burroughs
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
9 y
COL Charles Williams Totally agree. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of "why" they are allowed to join!
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COL Charles Williams
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CPT All Source Intelligence
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I used to be very active here until I started seeing non-military/veterans and international members. I think the solution is #8: “give them their own section to post stories or post questions that we RP Members can't jump in on, so they feel welcome.” I’m not even in support of giving them general “view only” rights. I prefer that when a military member starts a discussion, the default should be that it excludes civilians and the asker would have to actively opt them in to allow them even see the threads. It allows me to know/control when I am interacting with these types of members. I also think their ability to become “contacts” should be in some way different. My participation will be much more limited until this is resolved. I do not think RP should be so eager for growth as to get away from its core mission. I have a LinkedIn account. I’m not looking for a second one.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
LTC Yinon Weiss
9 y
Hi Ann. Civilians cannot post nor initiate a contact request, so it is not really possible for them to have much interaction with a service member unless the service member or veteran initiates the contact. We have a lot of corporate recruiters and civilian supporters on here who have helped our members find jobs and support their career transition, which is a very valuable resource that we believe adds substantial value to the network.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
9 y
CPT (Join to see) Hope to see you back and participating based on LTC Yinon Weiss explanation in this post. Thanks
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CPT Military Police
CPT (Join to see)
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LTC Yinon Weiss - Good information to know regarding the direction of contact/information flow. Thank you.
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