Military Retention
By Callimachus | Related entries in In The News, Military, WarFast Squirrel, who has a military background, has some thoughts on one aspect of the Army’s current retention problem.
The Army is now facing a curious phenomenon, low and mid-grade leaders are vested with massive responsibilities in the war-zone. Staff Sergeants and Captains are working as mayors, tribal and familial liaisons, and representatives of the United States government. A First Sergeant may be in charge of an entire neighborhood or act as a kind of Solomon figure in local disputes. An E-4 may adjudicate a compensation case as a deciding authority. Wow. Not since the end of World War Two have such leaders held so much responsibility. Also importantly, we have a smaller military now with fewer junior leaders carrying a larger burden.
At what point will this young captain ever again have the same level of trust and responsibility? Probably never. Not even if he were a one-percenter and was promoted to general officer. Who would have thought that a twenty or thirty-something year-old dude could rule as a kind of warrior-king? This may sound dramatic, but trust me that it is/was true and that the responsibility is not taken lightly. Now they return back to garrison and the mendacity of military life. Difficult choices must be made. Some will choose to stay and incorporate lessons learned into doctrine; others will realize that they are capable of much more than they ever imagined; still others will stay in as long as they can deploy and experience this level of responsibility again. Most likely, those who were most successful will be frustrated by the Peter Principle. The very best will likely feel the burn of ambition turn toward the private sector.
Could be great news for the private sector, but the brain-drain won’t be pretty for the military in a few years at this rate.
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 1st, 2005 and is filed under In The News, Military, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 2nd, 2005 at 5:26 am
I think those in the private sector will benefit from the military’s perspective, but I wish these voice wouldn’t leave the fight against terrorism.
A tragedy to say the least.
October 2nd, 2005 at 10:50 am
Spot on. It was, and continues to be, difficult to transition from being a front-line decision maker to a guy who, on an average day, sits at a desk doing paperwork or supervises a uniformed janitorial crew. A lot of my friends couldn’t handle the garrison bulls**t and left to seek greener pastures.
October 30th, 2007 at 3:51 am
Weight Loss Guide…
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…