Rebuilding Community: Army Personnel Accountability System for Disasters

In today’s world of frequent natural or man-made disasters, it is essential to have a plan of action for reducing the impact of such events on Army personnel and their families. The Army Disaster Personnel Accountability and Assessment System, or ADPAAS, was developed to account for personnel and family members after catastrophes and assist the Army in a rapid return to recovery and stability.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Department of Defense mandated that each of the services develop an automated accountability system. ADPAAS is designed to account for personnel, assess needs and assist the Army in making a rapid recovery. It is the only way the Army will accept status reports from soldiers, civilians, families and overseas defense contractors. Since 2008, ADPAAS has been used during numerous disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and events like the Boston Marathon bombings.

If directed to do so by the Secretary of Defense or their major commands, all soldiers, civilians, family members and overseas defense contractors must report their status and whereabouts following any natural or man-made disaster. Army preparedness using the ADPAAS system increases the resiliency of America’s fighting forces, supports soldiers who are forward-deployed and offers reassurance to deployed soldiers about the safety of their families.

ADPAAS Aids in Disaster Help and Recovery

If an emergency or disaster occurs, the Secretary of Defense or Headquarters, Department of the Army, may issue a directive to the services and 4th Estate Agencies for all personnel to report on their status to their respective agencies. Army personnel will be directed to report their status either to their unit, directly to the ADPAAS website or through the Army contact center.

ADPAAS is a valuable tool for Army leaders who must make quick decisions following an emergency. The ADPAAS data allows commanders to access personnel status, thereby facilitating the delivery of essential services to areas of critical need in the disaster-affected area. The system enables them to assess needs such as housing, medical, financial assistance, employment, pay and benefits, transportation, child care, counseling and general legal matters. ADPAAS ensures contact is maintained with Army personnel and family members to guarantee that the required assistance is provided, and affected personnel are returned to a state of normalcy.

Training Now Available

Regional, face-to-face training is now available to both new and existing ADPAAS command officer representatives, or CORs, within your command’s area of operations through the ADPAAS Mobile Training Team, or MTT. This reoccurring annual training event is a time to address all ADPAAS concerns and to discuss new ideas. Completion of the training will result in ADPAAS COR course certification and commander’s appointment to assume ADPAAS COR duties.

Class schedules can be found on the ADPAAS COR site. For each training session, you can download instructions for how to register for open classes. Notifications will be posted when pending classes are confirmed. For more information, you may also contact Army G-1, PCC at 703-697-4246 or email ADPAAS customer service at USArmy.Pentagon-E.HQDA.MBX.ADPAAS@mail.mil.

Protect Yourself: Keep ADPAAS Up to Date

Army families need to maintain accurate, up-to-date contact information in ADPAAS.

To access ADPAAS, log on to https://adpaas.army.mil and click on the Army Military, DA Civilians, NAF Employees, OCONUS Contractors and their Families button. Once logged in, navigate to the My Info button to update your physical address. This contact information in ADPAAS can be updated at any time by the soldier or their family member. Accessing ADPAAS from an iPhone, Android, iPad or other mobile device with an internet connection? The ADPAAS mobile application is up and running for use at https://adpaas.army.mil.

Army leaders can access a downloadable poster to help remind personnel to log in to ADPAAS before and during an emergency.

For more information, contact the ADPAAS Information Line at 888-276-9472 or oraskhrc.army@us.army.mil.