Is there a better way to deal with reenlistment?

2013-11-06T08:07:24-05:00

I'm due for reenlistment in FY15. We recently had a meeting to inform us that there's 7 slots in the unit for initial term soldiers, and 32 soldiers in the FY15 window. So 25 people are going to, essentially, force out of the Army.

What I do understand is why it's being done by Unit. There are multitudes of MOS's in each unit, some of the them are under strength. So if this soldier in under strength MOS doesn't "match up" to the "whole soldier concept" as well as the other 7, we're going to cut him from the Army and exasperate the already existing problem of an underrepresented MOS?

I think there has to be a better way to delegate slots for reenlistment. What about the ones that want to leave their over strength MOS and re class to an job on the IN/OUT calls?

I agree that cuts need to be made and the Army needs to be right sized, but I can't help but think there has to be a better way to go about it.

What are your thoughts and opinions? How would you handle the limited number of retention slots available?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2013 1:39 PM

2013-12-15T13:39:19-05:00

I'm curious about this as well. I'm in the process of reenlisting and was told that there are plenty of slots in my unit, but some of the soldiers I went to AIT with may be affected by the reenlistment limit in their units.

I agree that it would make more sense to establish limits based on MOS rather than unit.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2013 2:13 PM

2013-12-15T14:13:44-05:00

Unfortunately the Army as a whole has cut retention slots across the board from general to private. As a survivor of the mid 90s Clinton cuts, I find myself drawing parallels between the policies today and back then.

The retention process should start at the team leader level. Identifying individuals that don't meet the standards for retention should be counseled regularly and bared from reinlistment to free up those slots for those that should be retained. Not everyone will be retained ensure that the right people are being retained. This can often be difficult for leaders especially if you have limited slots and multiple Soldiers that meet the requirements, you then need to have the strength of character and intestinal frortitude to tell those that don't make the cut that they don't have what it takes to stay.

It's the total Soldier concept, a Soldier must be proficient in MOS, basic Soldier skills, warrior tasks, fitness, and meet Army body composition, after tht it may come down to areas such as motivation, responsibility, and contribution to unit and community.

selection of one Soldier over another, even if both are great Soldiers may come down to a Single point in the APFT, it doesn't meant the other Soldier is a s***t bag, it just means you selected the better of the two based on their performance.

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Dec 15 at 2013 9:08 PM

2013-12-15T21:08:50-05:00

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Army has not placed a MAX on it's retention mission...this could be something your unit is doing.

The Army's retention mission is based on a "fair-share" of eligible Soldiers with the announced parameters (currently Soldiers with ETS dates with FY14 and FY15).

The only "cap" placed on retention is the Commander's Allocation Program (CAP) which is referred to as 'precision retention'.

http://www.armyreenlistment.com/cap.html

Precision retention is designed to facilitate force alignment while sustaining unit readiness and achieving Army end strength requirements. The CAP applies to Regular Army Soldiers with an ETS date within the G1 prescribed reenlistment eligibility window.

Precision retention will allow commanders to retain a limited number of Soldiers serving in over strength mos/skill levels for continued service in their PMOS through the use of the CAP.

Current MOS’ affected by CAP:
19D1, 25Q1, 74D1, 91D1, 92A1

Commander's Allocation Process (CAP)

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