Posted on 08/06/2014 1:21:05 PM PDT by pabianice
Earlier this week, Army officials provided greater clarity behind its ongoing involuntary drawdown efforts with MOAA and other major veteran and military service organizations.
The teleconference followed swift negative reaction by the press and legislators when various “pink slip” news stories surfaced regarding the way the Army handled the notification of nearly 1,200 officers involuntarily selected to separate; some while deployed combat zones.
During the teleconference, Army officials emphasized that leaders were involved in the notification process. The 87 deployed captains (O-3), once notified, immediately received “change of mission” orders and will be out of country within 30 days. They were given the choice to either return to home duty station or to a transition location of choice and given 10 months to separate.
These separations are just one method the Army is undertaking to bring their active duty force down from 570,000 members to 490,000 by 2015. Enlisted drawdown efforts will largely be adjusted by reducing the accession pipeline but more officers can expect pink slips early next month when the involuntary separation board results are released for majors (O-4).
The Army is in a difficult predicament. Sequestration and other budget cuts have led to significant end strength reductions that hit the Army and Marine Corps hardest.
The Army’s Soldier for Life Transition program is working with MOAA and other Military and Veterans Service Organizations to assist in providing transition services for these service members.
As a member benefit, MOAA also offers a military-friendly job board, interview preparation tools, and career transition seminars around the country. The career transition team is prepared to assist with military-to-civilian résumé critiques, personalized one-on-one counseling, salary negotiation, and more. To learn more about MOAA’s career transition services, visit www.moaa.org/career.
- See more at: http://www.moaa.org/armypinkslips/#sthash.EcOq5jqv.dpuf
The Officer Separation Board is not employing such ridiculous methods of selection. From what I understand, after Desert Storm the Army offered separation bonuses to anyone who’d take them, so they had a tremendous brain drain. The Army is desperately trying to avoid that mistake again. Problem children are the first on the chopping block. I’ve know a few people who’ve been cut, and let’s just say it was very well deserved.
There are two others I know who didn’t make promotion to O-4, and they will be cut which I find interesting. I don’t know them very well, but they appear to be good officers.
I know my observations are speed bumps on the “They’re kicking out Christians who aren’t loyal to Obama and won’t fire on US citizens!” FReeper road, but I’ve seen nothing so insidious. The main reason I can attest to that is that most of the folks I’ve grown up with in the Army are still here and getting promoted, and they haven’t canned me yet.
Some of the homosexuals already own pink slips.
lol
That is probably true, but I am not going to try and confirm it
It’s obvious you are an active component officer (what used to be called the Regular Army) & your insights are appreciated.
Those two who were nonselect for O-4 must not have gotten their required schools if performance was not an issue. I’ve known some fine officers who neglected that simple detail & were passed over.
The captains I saw RIFd in 1973 were all company commanders in a BCT battalion; in fact nearly all the O-2s & O-3s in the brigade were VN qualified & most of us were aviators.
As I had noted, during the worst combat attrition years, year group 1967 through 1969, degree requirements were lowered. When RIF time came with most of those officers having fine combat performance records, some criterion had to be found.
In the current climate, officers thought to be less than subservient to the Obama agenda & are being separated are mostly O-7 & above, or so the suspicion goes.
But the cycle of cutting too deep w/o planning for future conflicts hasn’t changed. Real question: does the Army still have ten maneuver divisions?
We have about the equivalent of 10 maneuver divisions. We do the Brigade Combat Team thing now, so it doesn’t quite match up.
I’m visiting family near Fort Campbell & did annual training there until 2010. One of the 101st’s BCTs is usually coming or going. BCT kind of replaces TFs with task organizing mech hvy or armor hvy elements with attached units, OPCON units, etc.
IIRC, the Army had fourteen divisions at the end of Desert Storm then shrank to ten. Would like to learn more about the current RIF & which MOSs are most affected; my guess is it’s the combat ones.
FWIW, I was out for nearly ten yrs then came back as a WO & managed to stay until age 62.
It probably is. The problem with RIFs, as you know, is differentiation. In an Army filled with combat vets, combat experience in and of itself isn’t much of a separator among peer groups. That’s when the education, overall service records, difficulty of previous assignments, etc come into play. While the board attempts to be fair with their decisions, it’s staffed by humans reading ORBs and OERs. Problems will occur and mistakes will be made. I’m not trying to sound cavalier about it as these are people’s careers, but I challenge anyone to come up with a better, more equitable solution.
It was ever thus.
My last promotion was in 2006 & the system which allowed me to line up my OERs online, IMO improved the fairness of the process. I know the reviewing officers have to read & recommend with seconds to spare, but it’s better than it was with paper files.
Now....photo, APFT, weight, schools - that should be in order from the get go, although deployment can interfere with schools.
Anyway, I’m retired but I still think about those who have to survive in the system. Wish the media would stop using the term `pink slip’ but it’s just their jargon.
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