I helped DS fill this out this weekend. The information said we would be notified if he was qualified and then the rest of the application would open in August. This is the statement from his portal:
Due to sequestration, candidate kits for competitive applicants will now open in August 2013 instead of July 2013. Additionally, because of mandatory furloughs, the Selections Division will be closed every Friday starting the 12th of July through the end of September (and your counselors will unavailable). If you wish to contact your counselor by phone, we recommend calling Monday thru Thursday from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM MST. An email is still the best way to contact your counselor. We will answer all inquiries as soon as possible, but expect processing delays and backlogs to occur during sequestration and possibly beyond.