Pentagon common sense; stop being non-deployable
The Military Times reports that the service chiefs are looking at a policy that would force non-deployable service members to the curb if they are in that status for 12 consecutive months.
“The department intends to emphasize the expectation that all service members are worldwide deployable and to establish standardized criteria for retaining non-deployable service members,” said Air Force Maj. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman. “The goal of the policy is to further reduce the number of non-deployable service members and improve personnel readiness across the force.”
For certain non-deployable personnel, such as wounded warriors, the services would retain the ability to grant exceptions to the retention policy.Approximately 11 percent, or 235,000, of the 2.1 million personnel serving on active duty, in the reserves or National Guard are currently non-deployable, according to Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, the senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford.
It’s difficult to imagine why this hasn’t been a policy until now. What good is a force that is too sick to do their jobs? Of course, waivers will grant retention for members injured in combat;
Of that total non-deployable force, Troxell said, about 99,000 are on that list for administrative reasons, such as not having all their immunizations or their required dental exams. About 20,000 are not deployable due to pregnancy, and 116,000 are not deployable due to either short- or long-term injuries.
“The 99,000 is the easy stuff — that’s squad leader Troxell … walking you over to the dental clinic, and you’re going to sit in a dentist’s chair, and you’re going to get your annual exam so we can get you off this list,” he said.
“The other numbers I’m talking about [the 116,000 injuries] … very few of those are related to combat injuries. Or battle injuries. It’s related to everyday, doing their job, or during physical training that they were injured.”
I wonder how that will affect the new transgender troops who will be non-deployable when they begin their reassignment treatments.
Category: Big Pentagon
This will be fun in National Guard, In Vermont we had/have turds that have been on permanent non-deployment profiles for over twenty years. But I will admit some have deployed overseas (Gagetown Canada) in violation of medical profiles.
p.s Canada gets you an OSR!
Shameful. I was non-deployable for about 9 months due to hip surgery and felt like a complete waste. And this was AFTER doing my time in the sandbox. Some people just want to suck at the tit of the government and do nothing in return
I guess 13 years too late is better than never. Good on them. Mad Dog 2020
Way past time for the big flush. If you are not deployable with few exceptions you need to go. I couldn’t believe all the slick sleeve senior NCOs and officers I ran into over the years who couldn’t/wouldn’t deploy.
Slick sleeved Senior NCO’s hide in the schoolhouse cadre. Ft. Gordon was thick with them in 2004. So much fun to punk.
nothing has changed…Ft Gordon seems to be ready made for hideouters and deployment dodgers.
I had one of my SSGs ask me once how I had come to deploy several times, but others had not…well, child, someone has to deploy and it is apparently easier to keep sending a few of us than to pry these other squeakhole dorkers off of their teats.
I was forced to listen the lamentations of an HM1 who “didn’t understand why” he wasn’t up for chief. He was confused by my statement of fact that he had skipped two wars being fought concurrently.
I went to OCS with a prior service E7 who was a slick-sleeve. I forgot the specifics a long time ago, but I clearly remember that she was completely useless.
Had to look up how “slick sleeve” is used today. In my day (1970s) it indicated an Airman Basic who had not yet sewn on his “mosquito wing.”
“I wonder how that will affect the new transgender troops who will be non-deployable when they begin their reassignment treatments.”
That’s a scream. My take is that if a man has his stuff hacked off and puts on a dress, he’s welcome to stay home.
Might also be a backdoor way of dealing with the shit sandwich they were handed by the last guy
Exactly how I read that.
Huh huh huh…he said, “backdoor.”
They’ll sue claiming discrimination and demanding an exception to policy. The claim will probably try to equate getting a dicloptoffome is the same as being pregnant.
Bet on it
I’m sure they’ll go screeching to whichever 0bamite Fed Judges they think will rule the way they want and suck at the Government teat while they do so. In the meantime the Adults at the helm likely already have a plan to counter their antics and it will hit them like a baseball bat.
I couldn’t believe the number of slick-sleeved Senior NCOs I saw on Fort Stewart both times I de-mobed there, ditto with when I went to NCO School where maybe ten percent of the Cadre sported a Combat Patch versus maybe ten percent of the Students had slick sleeves.
In 2010 I went to AC/RC at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. At the time HRC wouldn’t send any active duty Soldier there who didn’t have at least 2 combat deployments.
I ended my career unable to deploy (my last deployment was in 2012, and I retired in 2017) because my back was so messed up doing my regular job that I had to get surgery. Before that, I had 7 deployments, including 2 to the sandbox. I think they should look at the non-deployable list and see if they had deployed anywhere credible (2 weeks to Korea doesn’t cut it) for at least a 120 rotation. If you can’t deploy and you haven’t, you should either 1) get out or 2) get deployable
Yup! I retired a couple years of my planned departure because the years took their toll, and my Doc and a couple of deteriorated vertebrae said “no more body armor”. They kept me around as rear D 1SG, (worst job ever), and hung it up when the unit redeployed. I was taking up space that some young hard charger should fill.
I was told the same thing and deployed anyway…probably not the best decision I ever made.
Spent the next 2 years nearly unable to walk….
Still, would not do it different….
I did that too… The previous deployment
I became non-deployable in 2009 after my second marriage imploded when I came back from deployment in 2006. I was already having anxiety from PTS issues, but that narcissistic, manipulative, evil whore really had the twist on me, started having serious depression issues that developed into suicidal thoughts. Didn’t seek help because I didn’t want to become non-deployable, and gutted it out for two years until my suicidal thoughts became thoughts of killing that bitch, and THAT’S when I sought help, self reported, became a non-asset, and retired. I figure 28 years is probably long enough, but I really wasn’t ready to pop smoke yet.
I am truly sorry for the torment you suffered and hope that matters continue to improve for you. 28 years is a helluva lot of military service. Thanks for being here.
Oh, it’s all good now. I remarried in 2010, one month after I unassed my last unit. I started a new family, have two beautiful kids, a son and a daughter. It only took close to three decades, and two previous marriages, but I finally found the woman who could handle the Army life. Thankfully, I don’t have to ask her to.
And we’re all glad that you made the right decision.
Thank you for your service.
Many thanks.
What the other two said, glad that you got those thoughts under control.
I still wish that evil witch everything that she has coming to her, though. I want Karma to pay her a visit. I won’t be there, of course.
I hope they don’t go easy on the pregnancy issue. I’ve seen that abused about as often as not, but what *really* bugged me is that I couldn’t take advantage of it too.
I remember we had one that went from PT failures to back-to-back pregnancies until her and her husband both popped hot for drugs and were kicked out. No idea where they are now, but it’s probably not a good place.
They are hanging out at the local VA bitching about how tough they had it during their time in.
and how “the army” fucked them…
Hey, if you can declare your gender, shouldn’t you be able to declare your pregnancy status?
I identify as a pregnant man. I require 8 months of light duty, and 2 months of maternity leave.
My only concern with this is that it can be so difficult to get a profile lifted once you’re on it. Especially for mental health issues. It can take a year or more to prove you are OK again after ACL surgery.
Pregnancy always spikes around a deployment.
I know I’m just a civilian, but I’ve thought for a while that pregnancy should be seen as a self-inflicted wound.
Holding the daddy responsible would be a nice bonus.
My take on this. Slick sleeve SNCO’s during in start of the war was understandable. As time progresses there should be little to no excuse as to why they don’t have at least one combat patch. Non deployable status in reserve/national guard. Medical readiness and dental readiness are hard appointments for most people to schedule because they have to work to get approval to get them seen then have to get them seen by a provider. Bow they have to submit to DFAS for travel and time. The problem with this situation is time. We all know time is not our friend. Getting a joe to get stuff done on his own time and trusting them to do that before the next drill.
. Funding is the second largest factor for non active duty troops. I wish I could’ve dragged my Joe’s by their collective ears down to a tmc to get them all green. Hell I’d rather do that then fuck’n watch another god damn death by power point mandatory anti-whatever hurt butthole fringe group of society flavor of the day training class.
Sandbaggers, malingers, and all around fat bodies. 3 strikes you’re out period. No gains no pays.
Abuse of medical waivers aka profiles: once found out abuse is going on. Bad conduct discharge.
Your mileage may vary but I told my Senior Chief I wanted to deploy with the Marine Corps and three weeks later I was in the fucking Infantry. The only thing that could have made it more cartoonish would be her telling me “Roger that Motherfucker”.
I was in a non deployable unit for a while, granted we were transitioning from a separate light infantry brigade into a Stryker brigade. Fun fact, we were the last active duty brigade to deploy for the first time. Every other brigade in the Army had already deployed at least once to Afghanistan or Iraq.
I’m torn. On the one hand it’s always good to trim the fat and oxygen thieves in any bloated organization. On the other, not all jobs require people to deploy. Someone needs to stay behind and train people, do the paperwork, and maintain equipment that allows the door-kickers to do their job. Even the dployment dodgers can be put to good use.
Also, I really hope they know what they are doing in times where the Navy is hurting for every warm body they can get their hands on.
As far as I know, while there are indeed some billets and secondary MOSs that are non deployable for a short time, there isn’t many MOSs that are restricted to state side jobs.
For instance once someone in the USMC is made a career recruiter they never leave the US. However a Motor Transport guy who goes from DI to I&I to Quantico to Instructor Duty at Ft Leonard Wood is looking at 11 years of stateside duty, while he could have deployed with a unit.
Everybody doesn’t have to deploy. However, everybody DOES have to be deployable. We don’t need to create a whole non-deployable career field.
As SFC D says, “deployable” and “deployed” are distinct.
That someone is needed stateside and never gets to deploy is one thing.
That someone is not ready to deploy if needed is another thing.
Those who are not deployable due to their own actions(within limits)/inactions and do not bother to take the effort to become deployable should be shown the door.
Being mocked for being overweight and/or out of shape should also be encouraged.
I have no problem with this policy – give ’em a chance to explain why and if it doesn’t pass muster then give ’em the boot. They kick out plenty for weight control or PT each year for not meeting the standard – not performing the job you were hired for falls in the same boat in my view.
To be honest is someone is non-deployable for over 12 months due to a medical issue they are going to end up being a candidate for medical retirement and VA compensation anyway.
They need to be fixed, rehabilitated and back to duty, if not capable they need to be separated with the appropriate pension and benefits.
If they are malingering…. well bye.
There’s another side to this one as well – this will force the Med Group’s and CC’s to stop cooking the books and do what they are supposed to when an individual IS in a true medical status. Case in point – I was on a profile because of damage to my knee that should have gone to an AF med board, but my unit did a local policy and local board instead. Their solution was to profile a member for 335 days – just under a year, let the profile expire, then do a new one the next month. They shafted I don’t know how many people because of their little policy (that was later destroyed because they got caught).
Well, if the problem is having people stateside to train troops for deployment, there are plenty of geezers who could probably use the extra cash, and would even volunteer for stateside duty to release the younger crowd.
That should solve that problem.
Or they could do one tour as an instructor, then back down-range to brush up on all the changes since the last time they went. Another instructor tour or recruiter after that, then back in the mix with the rest.
I’m down and have years of experience as a 9502.
The discussion of pinks & greens being trotted around the US Capitol sparked a thought:
How’s about putting everyone on profile into a special uniform showing all the world that they are nondeployable? Could be an orange jumpsuit or some such. Maybe an orange PT outfit so it would fit over casts.
Point being that only those who can deploy wear the actual uniform of the service.
Kinda how back in the day pt belts were worn different for “broke dick” pt? Subject the “broke dick” to mass humiliation until they get “healed”. Can’t see any down side to isolating a soldier, degrading them,sarc. I am for minor social discomfort. Wearing a shoe polishing kit when one forgot to shine his boots before morning formation was a classic. Personal hygiene kit, wall clock and reporting the time to each tl in the plt, wearing a sign that said who am I for lost/forgotten ID card. Stuff like that bruises the ego and there is always someone else who fucks up the next day so you are forgotten about literally overnight. However only time anyone gets to wear the Orange jump suit or any other color jumpsuit to single them out should be inmates. Isolating soldiers because of non deployable status is already done at the unit level amongst the staff,PLs,PSGs. They’re already working on ways to deal with the non deployable SMs. Either fix or out. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff that’s going on in leaders meetings after drills. Most hang ups on getting rid of in unsats and non part (In my experience)has been at the brigade level. Once it leaves our hands at the company and battalion level it is in the ether.
Bring back the Baby Blues…
And hardcore physical discipline.
My squad leader zip tied a M249 to a Private for about a week. That happened this century and I love it. I get your point and lived it. I will never have a problem with cuffing a dickhead to his machine gun, then tossing strawberry dairy mix on him while in the shower.
In the early 90s I had a Section Sergeant who made a couple of Joes who lost their Vehicle Dispatch Folders carry a 3′ X 4′ plywood replica of one with them for a week, one was even equipped with a sling one Joe made so it was easier to carry. Of course that was back in the Good Old Days when NCOs were allowed to do their jobs and punish wayward Joes sans paperwork that wouldn’t haunt them later in their careers.
Pink underwear…worked for Sheriff Joe!
20,000 non deployable due to pregnancy. That’s a good use of our taxpayer money.
Who’s doing their job while they grow fuck trophies? If you answer the Family Readiness Group you are INCORRECT!
Hey, somebody has to stay behind and answer phones, take messages, and stock the shelves, y’know!
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Zip tying stuff to Marines was a common practice in a line unit. Teaches them gear accountability and not to lose stuff in the future.
As a voluntold recruiter I had nothing but odium for career recruiters. Most had like a whopping 8 ribbons and had not deployed. They also treated their Marines like garbage simply because they could.