Army force shaping
According to Military.com, notices have gone out to 2500 officers and NCOs that their services are no longer required by the government.
The non-commissioned officer-turned-officer knew the service was downsizing after more than a decade of war. But he figured he’d be one of the lucky ones, in part because of his tours in Bosnia, Kosovo and, most recently, Afghanistan. What’s more, he had just received orders to move to a new duty station.
So he and his wife, who’s newly pregnant with their first child, signed a lease and put a deposit on a home at the family’s next location. A few days later, he was called into his post’s commanding general’s office and informed that, effective almost immediately, he would no longer be in the military.
“It really is disheartening to see the Army engaging in force shaping in the manner that it is,” one said. “I’ve seen many of my fellow company-grade officers decide to get out because of the uncertainty over pay and future promotions. We’re losing those who can get jobs, which means the Army is losing the talent it should be retaining.”
Yeah, at least when the Clinton Administration drew down, they asked for volunteers first and bought us off. I guess that won’t happen this time around. But then, the people who should be leaving are most likely the ones who are making the decisions about who will leave.
If I was making the choices, I’d send letters to every senior NCO who hasn’t been in a first sergeant or command sergeant major slot – especially those who declined assignments to those positions. Then I’d cull the officer ranks using the same measure (although that might be a little more difficult to apply). But infantry officers like our buddy Robert Bateman who had last served in an authentic infantry slot as a platoon leader would be out on the street.
Having been through these before, we all know that it will be the guys who worked their jobs among the troops, the folks who deployed every time they were ordered to deploy, no matter where, no matter how “no notice”
who will pay the price for this draw down. It won’t be the people who avoided deployments through more than a decade of war.
Category: Big Army
I haven’t got my notice.
Yet
Officially, once notified, the affected officer would have 9 months to separate (if separating) or 7 months to retire.
“Almost immediately” is journalistic bullshit put in there to get people mad.
This sucks. Those that did the deed will be intimidating to those that didn’t. Guess who’ll go in that case?
I was force-shaped after only 58 days in the military. I’m now shaped like the Michelin Man.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
“A few days later, he was called into his post’s commanding general’s office and informed that, effective almost immediately, he would no longer be in the military.”
I didn’t think it happened that way in today’s military. In my time they had programs like Palace Chase to offer those close to end of enlistment or retirement an early way out. I cannot believe this is how they choose to reward NCO and Company Grade Officers who have Infantry in theater experience. Where is the new leadership going to come from? Where are they going to find the combat seasoned veterans on AD to fill these slots? It just does not make sense to me. Meanwhile, we are making all preparations to ramp up in Iraq again and Lord only knows what third world shit hole Obama has his eyes on next.
Wait – what? You want effing common sense out of the current military climate?
Oh, come on, Sparks! You should know better by now. There is no such thing left in the military.
They’re supposed to be goodwill ambassadors or something, not a fightin’ force.
That’s right. The military isn’t a fighting force. It’s supposed to show the world how well the LGBT community can make military stuff fashionable.
Meh, maybe I could get promoted for showing up in a skirt saying I was the Unit’s LGBT quota?
/sarc
Sparks, look at it like this. Take the situation at hand and think of the most common sense way to handle it.
Then rest assured that this administration will do exactly the opposite.
That’s a horribly misleading quote. Separating officers have 9 months before they are out. Retiring officers have 7.
That’s also something I don’t get. I get until 30 June 2015. I was expecting something like 30 SEP 14.
Hmmm…I know this happened at the end of Vietnam to a lot of officers, too. I wonder if they’d let him serve his time out as an NCO and then retire at his highest grade? I knew more than a few E-5’s and E-6’s who were former officers and every one of them was pretty squared away. They didn’t seem to resent their loss in rank or status and most of them were highly valued by the unit leaders.
A friend of mine was one of those. He was a Captain in the Air Force at the time at had the choice of separating or going back to the enlisted ranks. He chose the latter and retired out as a Chief (E-9). When he retired though, it was as a Captain. That was a good news, bad news thing for him. The good part was he received his retirement as an O-3, meaning more money, but the bad news was the lowering of his status as a Chief to a Captain
Martinjmpr…I saw the same thing when I went from Army to Air Force in 1972. The first duty base I was assigned had a buck sergeant who had been a C-130 navigator and Captain. At the end of Vietnam, he was given the choice and he went enlisted. he said he would retire at his highest rank plus one, or Major. So that being said, it answers why he had a somewhat lackluster attitude towards his job and duties and a kind of “so what” mentality. He was a nice enough guy but could have cared less if he made E-5 or not. He had enough time then, he knew he could make his 20 by just keeping his head down, staying under the radar and doing whatever they told him to do. He did finally make E-5 before I left and so he was solid, he said, for retirement. I don’t know if that is still the case in Officer to Enlisted RIFs that they retire at their highest plus one.
I saw it twice. One was an E7 motor sergeant that was a former major and the other was an E4 former helicopter pilot LT (he said). Both said they were RIF’d.
I’m Air Force and I’m going through the same thing. Because of a non-stellar performance report during my last year in recruiting in 2008, I’m certain I’ll be on the chopping block. I’ve got my 20 in, so I’m know I’m not as bad off as a lot of people. But in my case it really sucks for my daughter. We moved to Japan in January of this year, the middle of her junior year in high school. Our house was already packed up and I was on leave-en-route when the Air Force announced the Force Shaping measures. So now I’m looking at being forced to retire after only being in country 10 months…the middle of my daughter’s senior year in high school. I have two choices. Tell my daughter we’re moving AGAIN, and she’ll have to apply to colleges without having a class rank for scholarship purposes. Or I can try to find a job that will allow me SOFA status to enable us staying in country and her to attend DODDS schools. The only jobs I’ve seen that will give me the SOFA status I need open since I’ve been here are AAFES food services. So after 21 years of service with three deployments, my job choices will be Burger King or Popeye’s.
I would take Popeye’s their chicken is stellar.
Hospital food services? Do you have access to those positions, and/or have you looked into those?
Very few GS job openings since I’ve been here. Even fewer of those offer SOFA status. The ones that do, usually have a clause to hire spouses of command sponsored AD members over retirees. It will be about timing for me. Obviously I want to stay on AD as long as possible because nothing is going to equal that pay. The only consistent opening I see that offers SOFA status is the wonderful AAFES fast food jobs. You know what would have been really nice. If I could have pled my case on a personal level to somone who gave a damn. All I’m asking for is a six-month extension so my daughter can graduate high school. But I’ve been told I can’t even request an extension on those grounds because they don’t qualify as a true hardship. Apparently the Air Force will go broke if I stay on active duty for an extra six months.
So basically, in a word, POLITICS.
And the beat goes on…
In al fairness Bateman hasnt been in ther Infantry MOS since Christ was a Corporal.
Tha cock mole just likes to flap hid shit gobbler about the billets he held over 20 years ago.
Im sure whatever bullshit MOS he is in needs reduced as well.
Obama wants to remake America and the military in his own (craptastic, effeminate, metrosexual, pussified) image. This is likely just an implementation of that desire by the Glorious Leader’s minions.
Just wanted to take this time to throw this out there: screw Bateman.
With a backhoe.
I second that. Fuck that douche.
Amen.
Up his ass sideways with a frozen porcupine!!
… with a honeybadger on steroids pushing it.
Meanwhile, B. Hussein 0bana & Company scramble to hand out all they can to the illegal aliens flooding over our largely unenforced Southern Border and B. Hussein 0bama himself valiantly prepares to go golfing after he plans his next multimillion dollar vacation!
The Title 10 Army National Guard AGR program is doing the same thing for O4s and above with 18 years active TIS. Since the organization refuses to be open and honest about the board process my observations are subjective, but it seems that a white male with more than one 6 month deployment isn’t going to fair well.
Ya think???
I recall seeing my buddy, CPT DA selected for promotion and couldn’t be promoted due to low # on the OML.
Somehow the OML was ‘released’.
#1 on the promotion list? female, permanent profile, no deployments, no masters, no ILE.
Strangely the Top 10 on the OML all worked in JFHQ and not BNs or BDEs……
Funny part was they asked many of the 90’s downsized troops to come back after 2001. Deja vu coming?
I was hitting the new and improved RCPs in late 90’s, but saw it coming, planned, bailed and never looked back. The least they should do is provide the separation benefits and time to plan that was offered the last time we blew it, eh, I mean drew-down.
I saw quite a few of my friends who got out in the early/mid 90’s asked back. Including several who thought that were out of the Army, but forgot to resign their reserve commissions when they hit the 8 year point.
Several actually chose to stay on active duty once called back. One actually did 2 yrs of CPT and all his O-4 time in the reserve/IRR. He was an O-5 when he was made “regular” again, and had 13 years active duty when he pinned on O-6.
Got mine last Tuesday via my Brigade Commander
I have until 30 June 2015. Which is pretty dang generous IMHO
I thought the O4 OSB didn’t come out until later this month and that only the Captains’ results were out.
Got my letter right here in front of me on the desk
I assume that you made the 18 year lock in to retire at 20?
Yes I have 25 will have 26 by the time I retire.
That’s a 12-month wait, whereas the normal wait period, as indicated elsewhere is 7 months to 9 months.
Something’s up.
Don’t clean your desk out yet, O-4E.
The writing was on the wall about this ever since the CSA indicated voluntary early retirement (TERA) would NOT be offered this time around.
Sparks, Martinjmpr is correct. This is precisely what happened after Vietnam. Was a kid near a major US Army installation during the 1970s and saw it personally. Knew a guy who’d been an E5, went to OCS, and was an O3 at the local military hospital. He got RIF-ed and ended up spending his last 2-3 years before retirement as an E7.
I’m pretty sure the option to revert to enlisted status is only available to officers who were prior enlisted, and that those who began their service as a commissioned officer are SOL on that score. There may also be a specified amount of enlisted time required before reversion to enlisted status is possible, but if that’s the case I haven’t been able to find find the “magic amount” of prior enlisted service.
Hondo. Everyone I know that is getting the axe has 18+ years of service meaning all will get a pension. I know of no one who has or is getting cut (so far) that is short of retirement eligibility.
The latest round that I got my pink slip on basically gives the lucky person 30 days after completing 20 years OR 1 year after notification whichever comes later.
O-4E: then so far the real nasty part of the bloodletting hasn’t started yet. I’m afraid that’s coming in the next year or two – and that we’ll be seeing involuntary separations due to RIF.
As CWO5USMC notes below, 18 years is the statutory sanctuary mark. Once a individual has 18 years active military service, they can in general only be involuntarily separated prior to retirement for misconduct.
See 10 USC 632; 10 USC 1176; 10 USC 6383(f).
However, 2x nonselection for officers doesn’t come with sanctuary; ditto an enlisted guy/gal hitting RCP. Most of those happen well before 18 years. And both officer and enlisted personnel can be hit by other board actions (QMP, force shaping, “show cause” during promo board, etc . . . ) designed to reduce numbers.
Bottom line: it’s gonna get ugly over the next couple of years.
Yep. Agreed. Us guys with 18+ years (in my case 25 years) are the low hanging fruit at this point.
I’ve only got 14. What will be interesting is for those in my position who would be eligible for the 15 year option upon the separation deadline who get selected by the OSB.
I’m in the same situation Dave…14+ years (prior service). I’m hoping TERA kicks in and we might get some sort of retirement bennies if OSB’d. Also, I was tracking mid-July for O-4 notifications.
So was I. O-4E says he got his notification already. I guess the ones up for mandatory retirement got their notifications last week and the ones up for separation get theirs in 2 weeks.
David, Patrick: I believe – but am not positive – that TERA is authorized for those with (1) between 15 and 18 YOS who (2) are tapped for INVOLUNTARY separation not for cause.
Check with your S1/G1 to be sure. And have them cite the authorizing document for same for you – and GET AND KEEP A COPY.
Read it over very carefully as well. Let’s just say sometimes S1s/G1s make errors in interpreting DA guidance.
The USMC is doing something similiar to cut numbers. If you’re twice passed for promotion to E-7 and have less than 18 years (18 still being the sanctuary mark), there is going to be a special board held to determine your future service. I’ve heard they are doing the same thing for Majors who are twice passed for LtCol but haven’t seen the official notifications yet. Marines whose service is no longer required will be notified one on one by their CO….Once the results of the board are published and the individuals are notified, they’ll have no more than six months left. Talk about job insecurity….
http://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/MessagesDisplay/tabid/13286/Article/164388/fy14-staff-sergeant-retention-board.aspx
I’m sorry, Chief, but respectfully, six months of notice of termination is hardly insecure – in my right-to-work state, my “notice” consists of being paid out for any unused vacation days. Now, compared with a typical military career, it’s extremely insecure – but compared with the real world, it’s just unheard of to have that much lead time when the axes come out…
SGT E,
Valid point and I agree with you that compared to the civilian sector, it’s alot of time. My wife was released from her job with no notice a month ago so I know how the civilian sector works. My only issue lies in the changing the rules mid-stream on folks…for us, history has shown promotoin to E-6 would guarantee 20 years of service as long as you didn’t have any serious UCMJ violations. I’m not saying it’s comparable to the civilian sector, just that it’s changing the rules on some folks.
Look for the Army to employ the Air Force’s favorite trick: “The Unofficial RIF Board.” It works well on Captains and Majors. Just keep delaying and delaying their promotion boards. Then after a year or so of no boards, suddenly announce two boards 6 months or less apart. Set the promotion rate for both lower than normal. Those that don’t make it the first time around have no chance in hell to get their records straightened out before the deadlines for the second board. Two strikes and you are out.
From what I understand, the Air Force JAG Corps (I’m Army) is cutting a slew of captains based on their entry date. Now it’s like Game of Thrones as the captains compete against each other through some sort of board in an effort to beat the cut. I think the ones cut are out in December… I haven’t heard of this in the Army, yet.
I can tell you from experience that those lawyers getting the boot are going to face a tough job market out here in “the world” at least in the private sector.
At least Clinton had the decency to offer Voluntary Separation Incentive (VSI) for that draw down.
This is reprehensible.
Having been through these before, we all know that it will be the guys who worked their jobs among the troops, the folks who deployed every time they were ordered to deploy, no matter where, no matter how “no notice”
who will pay the price for this draw down. It won’t be the people who avoided deployments through more than a decade of war.
Ouch, why is it the shitbags outlast the good guys? At some point we need to stop losing good men and women while keeping guys you wouldn’t trust with a potato gun. Of course when the white house and the folks appointed by those in the white house are mostly hacks and incompetents I guess I would be lying if I said I was surprised.
Sweet bit of Karma. If you read above I got my letter last Tuesday. No biggie I am already planning on retirement and have been for 6 months.
So. The only lackluster OER I have ever had in my career came from this jackwagon LtCol who was my Battalion XO when I was an S3. He gave all of his subordinates lackluster OERs while he himself received oustanding OERs based on the work of his subordinates. One of “those guys”. In his mind this guy was destined for the stars. His daddy being a retired BG and all.
This asshole also got his letter the same day I did. Sweet karma.
Why would a Battalion XO ever rate a Battalion S3? Isn’t that the job of the Battalion Commander?
Because it was a jacked up MTOE for a SECFOR mission for deployment. You are correct. The guy was actually a DCO.
Some have said that this is one method of ‘purging’ the ranks to gain a more compliant force for “domestic” duties.
*IF* that is the case, they haven’t realized that the best war fighters among them are now going to be the guys they are trying to pacify.
Not to mention that these folks, who have made a lifetime of running towards gunfire, are now free to enter the ranks of our civilian leadership and bring those without any experience along with us to the fight that is coming.
Try this. Let’s say the violence in the Middle East is exported to this country by returning jihadists. Don’t ask me how they get back in, it’s just a proposal, because we ALL know just how effective TSA is at screening people.
So they get back in, bring their jihad with them, incite their immigrant countryment follow them, and begin a jihad over here. And all these experienced now ex-military are not about to let that happen.
I watched ‘Sleeper Cell’ a while back on one of the offbeat channels, don’t remember which one, and it was fascinating, well done, and really rather blood-curdling, because they hid the bad guy in plain sight.
We are not entirely a nation of sheep, you know.
Ex-PH2…I think they will arrive across the southern border. No TSA, no security to speak of. Grease a few palms at the Mexico side of the border and they are in and loose.
We can’t keep out 60,000 unaccompanied minors does anyone really believe we could keep out a few dozen determined murderous terrorists?
VOV…Here-Here! If we don’t truly secure that border it will be the broad avenue from which out enemies arrive. Does anyone not think terrorist groups don’t watch American news and know what is happening on our southern border? I mean, even the dumbest of cell groups will stop and think, “How do I get into the U.S.? Canada? No, tighter security and going through Canadian customs. East or west coast? Nope they’re out for obvious reasons. Straight flights into U.S. airports? Nah, our phony papers and faces could show up in customs or TSA screening watch lists. I know! The Mexican border. Easy to get into Mexico even from Central America and travel to the border. Mexico is as corrupt as we are. A little money in the right hands and we will be across the border and into the heartland of America to join our other cells in no time. It’s just too easy to believe but that’s what America is allowing on their Mexican border. So why not make it easy on ourselves.”
Canadian customs? Oh, please, Sparks! Do you have any idea just how little of the northern border is so unsurpervised, I could hike across it with no on stopping me? I could ride a horse north along the Rockies right into Alberta and no one would pay any attention, not to mention the wilderness areas that run straight north across the border.
Canadian checkpoints? I’m giggling, but if you think there are more checkpoints on the northern border than on the southern, you’re mistaken, that’s all.
And I didn’t mean ‘mistaken’ in a snide way.
The US-Canada border is less an issue than the US/Mexico border because Canadians in general are just like us, even if a lot of them speak French.
And yesterday HRH Obama said that he was going to redeploy Homeland Security assets from the interior to the southern border. In this case the “Interior” is the Northern border. It should be simple for American passport holders to waltz across from Canada. Game on, Baby!
Ex-PH2…P.S. “Sleeper Cell” was excellent!
Yes, it was.
Interestingly, I didn’t see any mention of review boards for general officers. With a 1 star making twice what a captain at 15 years makes, one would think that an organization trying to cut a budget while retaining current and future talent would be looking at expensive senior leaders at the end of their careers instead of inexpensive mid level leaders in the middle of their careers. Of course, captains and majors aren’t the ones approving the policies.
Fortunately theirs is set in federal law. Once you make 1 star you have 3 years to make 2 stars or you are out. Same for each subsequent grade. Of course the POTUS can extend these times like in the case of 4 star COCOMs and service chiefs.
I thought there was no minimum or max TIG for Flag Officers? And no requirement to hit every rank on the way up (IIRC Haig went from 2 to 4 without ever having 3, and I’m sure he wasn’t the only one.) Though my knowledge may be based on older regulations.
Yes. It is 3 years under federal law. Of course the POTUS (with Senate approval) can override this.
Bobo: according to this source, the Army has less than 300 GOs authorized on active duty. It has over 46,300 CPTs and MAJs.
You tell me where you think money can be made in cutting officer personnel – and where the most cuts are going to be seen.
An additional factor for consideration is that you don’t save as much money cutting an individual who is already fully vested in the system and entitled to retirement, as you do with one (or more) who in all likelihood you won’t have to eventually pay retirement and benefits for.
“A few days later, he was called into his post’s commanding general’s office and informed that, effective almost immediately, he would no longer be in the military.”
He actually had to go see the CG for this? Really? Dramatic much or was it that the S1 is at the HQ building?
Some CGs would actually take the time to do that. Mine delegated it down to the Brigade Commanders to be the hatchet men.
Some of the Captains were notified by the DCG in the box…at Irwin.
That would be the ultimate kick in the nuts.
Got one better for you, O-4E. If I’m recalling correctly, in 2007 I saw a USAF officer get notice he was going to be involuntarily released as the result of his career field being overstrength.
The guy was in Afghanistan at the time.
For deployed officers, their clock doesn’t start until they return.
David: dunno what USAF policy was at the time (I didn’t ask and didn’t know). The impression I had was he’d be involuntarily separated not very long after he returned to CONUS, but I don’t know how long “not very long” was in his case.
If I recall correctly USAF tours in Afghanistan at the time were either 4 or 6 months, and he was already partway thru his tour. So best case, that bought him an extra 2-4 months.
In any case, I hold that getting a “your services are no longer required” notice while freaking deployed to a combat zone is a worse kick in the nads. YMMV.
Oh, come on!
You all knew this was coming since it was ‘announced’ last year. Cutbacks overall, if I recall correctly, not only in equipment but also in personnel.
The only difference, as other people have said, was that Clinton offered an incentive to leave the job and the current idiot-in-charge wants to spend $2+ billions on goodwill for illegal aliens crossing our southern border.
This drawdown was planned in bodaprez’s first administration and most likely had an effective date that was unannounced, dependent on whether or not he got to keep HIS job.
It’s just unfortunate for HIM that the violence in the Middle East has picked up so much during his second term in office, and he’s being forced to send US troops over there to protect our ‘assets’.
It’s also unfortunate for him that this bit of news from Agence France Presse has shown up on my front page:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/30/iraq-jihadists-selling-oil-to-syrias-bashar-al-assad-says-france/
Isn’t that just a damned shame? Is there egg on someone’s face? I sure hope so.
Even Clinton and Carter put together were not this stupid.
While I have no love lost for the current occupant of the White House, Congress authorized and appropriated money for the services to have voluntary separation programs.
It’s the uniformed leadership who have made the decision to only use involuntary means.
Also, these are the same folks who pushed the Army to eliminate the OER “Block Check” for Captains and LT’s for a good portion of the last decade. So now, there are CPT’s and MAJ’s who we have no real comparative measure of what their job performance was with respect to their peers.
A truly sorry state of affairs, and entirely self inflicted.
This was the exact reason why when the AF offered me the chance to retire at 19 vice 20, I took it and ran.
And wait until things get nasty and there aren’t enough senior NCOs to run things, Ish.
Nah, they’ll just fast track some E-5’s and E-6’s into those Senior NCO billets, even though they only have a few years in. That can’t possibly go wrong, right?
E-6s ARE senior NCOs, martinjumpr.
Not in the Army, they aren’t.
In the Army Corporal (E-4), Sergeant (E-5) and Staff Sergeants (E-6) are junior NCOs.
And that’s why I like the Navy. <3 <3 <3
Senior NCO = E7-E9
This very same thing happened after WW II and again after Korea. In 1954 my Dad made O-4, a year later the axe fell and the RIF’s started. Pop was lucky to be able to change branches and snag a WO-2 CID billet. He had four years left before retirement and stuck it out. Bird Colonels went back to E-5 or E-6 and the Army was in a tizzy for several years. As often happens, less than 10 years later we fell into Viet Nam.
Carter did his damndest to gut the fighting forces during his short tenure and if re-elected he would have completely disarmed us. Reagan had to rebuild the military just in time for Gulf I. Clinton cut to the bone and left a ghost force to watch the towers fall. We watched Gulf II being fought by reserve units, and Afghanistan augmented by back to back deployments.
Now Obama wants to again gut the forces at the precise time the Jihadis are gaining strength everywhere. If we have to fight them here, I hope we have enough spare rifles and ammo to arm the citizens. I will need some more .45 ACP for my MAC-10 sniper pistol. I’ll need to go to Homeland Security for my .40 S&W loads as HS bought out the whole supply for years to come. I wonder which government office has all of the .44 Mag? I need some if we are expected to fight the ISIL Caliphate on our ground rather than his.
When I was an 2/1LT, our Division CSM was a CPT who had been RIF’d to E-7 following Vietnam. In those days you could serve on dual status (enlisted AC/Officer in the RC), he made E-8 the year after his RIF and E-9 18 months later. He was also a resident graduate of CGSC and retired as a LTC.
Roger in Republic: as much as I detest Billy BJ Clinton’s administration, you cannot blame him for the force mix used during DS/DS. That force mix was intentional, brought about by the “Total Army” restructuring that occurred post-Vietnam. Prior to and during Vietnam, the Army’s RC force structure mirrored that of the AC. That allowed LBJ to get us into a major war in Vietnam “on the sly”, with no RC mobilization to speak of. (Very few RC personnel and units served in Vietnam that were not individual volunteers.) The result screwed up the Army royally – for around a decade and a half. That’s about how long it took the active Army to recover fully from Vietnam’s effects (approx 1972-1987, give or take a year or so either way). It wasn’t just the Carter era that was a “hollow force”. As CSA, Abrams and others decided they would make damn sure this never happened again. To do so, they restructured the AC and RC. Virtually all Army combat forces were allocated to the AC and NG. The bulk of CS and CSS support units were placed in the USAR. The thinking was that this force structure would force any POTUS to make the case for war to the Congress and the American public – since going to war would now not be possible without major mobilization of the Army’s RC. Precisely that happened in DS/DS. In fact, the RC mobilization was less than originally projected. While the active Army had fully recovered from Vietnam by the late 1980s, some ARNG units originally tapped to go were still kinda . . . well, let’s just say they reputedly didn’t measure up. Thus the “roundout” brigade concept wasn’t really exercised during DS/DS. Additional active components generally went in their place. Clinton did many things that were IMO ill-advised, and I blame his administration for indirectly causing 9/11 via treating Islamic extremist terrorism as a law enforcement matter vice a national security threat. But the Army’s force mix for DS/DS wasn’t the result of one of those ill-advised Clinton Administration decisions. That… Read more »
One thing that is being missed in this discussion is that the islamic extremists have been keeping an eye on everything going on in this country, especially this malfunctioning, incompetent administration.
It’s no coincidence that the violence in the Middle East took a quick uptick, starting in Syria and Mali. Those things were already on their agenda, because they knew the US would do nothing. This is a weak, ineffective, incompetent admin, and they know it quite well. They are counting on the drawdown to gut the US military down to nearly nothing, leaving it as a do-nothing pack of witless wonders, and a gutless leadership that just wants to get along with everybody.
Delilah T. You are correct. The problem with gutting the military is the resulting lack of ground options. If the U.S. is faced with a major strike again on our soil or one of our allies, with limited armed forces personnel to respond, the response options become more dire. In my opinion, better of the U.S. If our retaliation has to be in the form of bombs, Tomahawks and other long range weapons first, I say good. No loss of American lives and it will perhaps send the message to whichever extremist terrorist organization we hit that we are now done and mean business. Then let the rest of them worldwide see what awaits them. Obama is leaving a mess for whomever replaces him in 2016. I pray it is a conservative Republican who will set about on a course change and correction. If it is another liberal Democrat or even a whimpering Republican, we could be in for trouble we have yet to imagine. If it is, God forbid, Hillary, buy your guns and ammo and get set for a whole different America. At home and abroad.
Deja Vu all over again. And the same will occurr in about 20 years!
My consolation is that we might get some of the better ones to fill the gaps in my Guard unit. The downside is that our junior people are going to watch their promotion opportunities just evaporate. We don’t have nearly the same mobility as active component; I’m only MOSQ in a single platoon in my state, and only a handful of Guard units in the country.
Not surprised. On the Navy Reserve enlisted side, promotion opportunities have been VERY slim for non-intelligence/crypto types for a couple of years. There was the “Perform to Serve” debacle a few years ago for Active Duty where they were kicking guys out at 14 years, the next year it was massive promotions in some ratings (MOSes) that got shafted.
It seems the only constant is that it tends to be boom and bust for promotions in the military. I’m an E-5 right now, and I’m thankful that under current rules, I can hit retirement at that grade, but I don’t know about making even E-6.
I will concur on the tight Navy Reserve promotions. I made board every year I was eligible (5 years)and the best year was a 4% promotion rate. Crap sucking odds.
First, this is no surprise. Officers and NCOs have known for years about the separation boards, and that those with ‘bottom half’ files were in jeopardy.
Secondly, virtually all officers and NCOs have multiple combat tours, so that is not a discriminator.