Army Cuts Hit Officers Hard, Especially Ones Up From Ranks

Sgt Kelli Mays I was struck by the following statement in the middle of the article "For the first time since the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the Army is shrinking.' I was one of the officers forced out in October 1992 following the drawdown after Desert Storm which ended a couple years after the conclusion of the Cold War. There were reductions in force (RIF) during the Cold War most notably after the Vietnam war ended
By far the most dramatic RIF was following WWI when over 12 million active duty forces were culled down to approximately 1.5 million by 1947.
RIFs tend to be non-personal since they come from the highest level. the personal aspect which tends to influence the RIF includes OER/NCOER ratings and language; military specialties which have little room for promotion, and time in grade.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT LTC Stephen C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SGT Forrest Stewart SGT Robert Hawks SrA Christopher Wright SN Greg Wright SGT John " Mac " McConnell PO3 Steven Sherrill

"The Army knew we had more years and they could save money by cutting us,” said Capt. Tina Patton, 43, a combat medic who became an officer in 2007".... I SO agree with her, and I DAMN SURE feel for them. So 1in 3 CPT's sent packing are prior enlisted with nothing in their records to support mandatory retirement or not allowing them to finish their commitments, WHAT is the Army telling the future? "I don't care if you're fat, tatted up, convicted of anything, or the exact opposite hard worker, determined, team player and leader, I WANT YOU"......with the caveat in very small print, until I've used you up, beat you down, cost you your family, your mental and physical stability, THEN I want you gone. The Army forgets that MANY of us are parents to kids who know the military as a family tradition, something to look forward to. The Army will wind up assed out of good recruits because the parents are going to tell the truth to their kids, and it might be hard to swallow, but they pass on going into the service. Who does that hurt? ALL OF US. Our future is being robbed by our present (congress and POTUS combined). There are going to be more wars, there will be more trying times for us. This will NOT resonate well, or build trust in a system that really gives you the highest of highs and when you get to the top, bring you to new lows you've never seen before.
All that said.....I'd STILL do it all again.

Sgt Kelli Mays There are a lot of valuable human resources being lost because of these cuts. This has been a common practice when the government is lloking to cut costs, but I think it's a bad idea. It leaves a gap inour military experience and we lose valuable human resources. I think we should cut government employees in our government before we cut experience in the military - just an opinion - mine!