Retention
That's easy. A Soldier who is resilient, meets Army standards, and performs well in their designated MOS is a quality Soldier. Any Soldier who does not comply to standards in the APFT, appearance, Army Values, qualifying at the range, or performing in their MOS....cannot be called a 'whole soldier'. Too often nowadays, many Soldiers are great at their MOS, but substandard in PT, meeting height/weight standards, or qualifying at the range. And oftentimes, unless one is in a combat or MP MOS, the Army overlooks the whole soldier concept, because as long as a support soldier get their MOS done well, that's all that counts!!!! But nowadays, it is the 360 degree view, the well-rounded view of the entire soldier, that will make the difference between a soldier being counted as a soldier that needs to be retained or not as the drawdown continues..... For those soldiers who are truly patriotic and strive to meet the whole- soldier concept, it is extremely disheartening to work with and meet soldiers that only excel in a few areas. A real soldier should be resilient enough to do anything the Army asks them to do without excuses. Even a physical profile is simply a recommendation to commanders, and not a legal document that prevents them from completing an Army delegated mission..... So many whiners in todays' Army and the amount of soldiers who ride profiles and who do not meet the whole soldier concept proves this point...
Quality screening should consist of interviews beyond just check the block recruiting information....a potential recruit who wants to join the Army just for free job training and a paycheck, who already is a single parent with a questionable past, may spell out trouble for the Army once they report to their unit. Oftentimes, Soldiers are motivated in basic training and AIT, but they want to to the least amount of work possible because they can get away with it if the Army allows it. The Army was not ever designed to be a welfare system or a free ticket to a government job... A whole Soldier concept would have Army since it is returning to a garrison type environment, should go back to the Army of the 1990s, where every single unit would religiously conduct STT and ensuring that all Soldiers complete CTT training annually..with all Warrior Tasks and Drills tested to standard. A whole Soldier concept would allow all Soldiers the opportunity to volunteer for any training, regardless of MOS, physicality, or gender. All Soldiers are for our Nations' defense and thusly, even musicians should be permitted opportunities to train. Too many gung-ho Soldiers are told 'NO' and Soldiers who could care less about training are being forced to train when they would rather not. There needs to be a better inside look by leaders into the hearts and minds of Soldiers to find out what the Army needs and what Soldier needs....so in the end everyone is somewhat satisfied.
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