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Army hits retention mark
By Courtney Hickson
July 19, 2004
WASHINGTON (Army News Service July 19, 2004)-- The active Army is at 100 percent mission accomplished of its retention rate for the third quarter.
In addition, said Brig. Gen. Sean Byrne, chief of Military Policy, G1, said, in a media round table Friday, all 10 divisions are at or above 100- percent retention. He also said the aggregate number of the Army is 100 percent.
When units have Soldiers deployed, those units often have lower retention rates, but when Soldiers return to the base those numbers rebound. Byrne said some of the reasons for the increase are the Soldiers are getting re-involved in the post and discussing their situations with their family. When Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne returned home their retention numbers increased 9 to 10 percent, he said. Additionally, the Army surveys Soldiers as they return from deployment and Byrne said they have been getting good feedback.
"There may be some talking, but Soldiers aren’t walking," Byrne said.
The Soldiers impacted by the Stop-Loss are counted as eligible for re-enlistment and the Army is actively perusing them to re-enlist. There were about 9,500 Soldiers impacted by Stop-Loss, according to Byrne.
In order to compete with the civilian sector the Army offers bonuses and competitive wages. A little over half of the military occupational specialties qualify for bonuses at re-enlistment time, with the average bonus for someone who re-ups for three years being $4,200, and six years, $8,300. In addition, the Army offers various programs with enlistment.
"You are not going to find a more patriotic group of young Americans," Byrne said.
About 5,600 Individual Ready Reserve were recently notified they were being called to active duty to fill approximately 4,400 requirements. There may be the need for additional Soldiers in the future, Byrne said.
The IRR Soldiers received a mailgram telling them they are being called to active duty and another packet would arrive with their orders 30 days later. At that point, they will be told where to report and go through an intensive screening and then receive common task training.
If IRR Soldiers have been out of the Army for a while, they will get current military occupational specialty training. They will then report to an installation to join with their unit, 60 to 90 days before deployment.
The Army is also trying to provide predictability for Soldiers, as to when they will deploy.
"We try to get the Soldiers together 90 to 100 days before so they are doing things collectively," Byrne said. "They deploy as a unit and come back together. The focus is on the unit."
This predictability will allow Soldiers to have full knowledge of when they are going to deploy so they can be with their unit before deployment. Additionally, this will allow for greater unit stability. The effort to create predictability is to allow Reservists and National Guardsmen called to active duty enough time to work with their employers.
Byrne also spoke briefly about the Reservist and National Guardsmen having employee rights, full benefits and having their jobs for them.
Lt. Col. Richard Guzzetta a National Guardsmen said as members return from Iraq they are working very closely with the communities to welcome them home properly. He also said there are over 400 family assistance centers to aid families of National Guard members while they are deployed. |