By way of following up on previous commentary about the Army’s grave retention problems, it’s been noticed that the loss of Captains is creating a major threat to the future of leadership, and the Army has developed a plan to resolve the problem.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 17, 2007) - A new Critical Skills Retention Bonus of $20 thousand is available to more than 7,000 regular-Army captains who agree to remain on active duty beyond their initial active-duty service obligation.

The bonus is part of a "menu of incentives" targeting officers nearing completion of their initial active-duty service obligation who are willing to remain on active duty an additional three years. Other incentives include graduate school, military school, transfer of branch or functional area, or post of choice.

The incentives will help the Army retain company-grade officers with valuable experience, said Col. Paul Aswell, chief, Officer Division, Directorate of Military Personnel Management, Army G1. The Army is currently growing to increase capabilities and reduce stress over the long term. This has led to an increased need of nearly six thousand captains and majors since 2004, according to Col. Aswell.

In its planned expansion of another 70,000 soldiers the Army faces some significant obstacles. It has had to waive or reduce many qualifying standards in the last 30 months in order to maintain the present troops levels as well as introducing bureaucratic gimmicks such as the stop-loss program, and repeated deployments for Reserve and National Guard components.

Additionally, trained and experienced officers are attractive candidates for civilian corporate managers because of their leadership skills, and pay opportunities are usually more attractive than in the military service.

The branches considered critical for the purposes of the CSRB include: air defense, adjutant general, armor, chemical, engineer, field artillery, finance, infantry, military intelligence, military police, ordnance, quartermaster, signal corps and transportation corps. Officers originally commissioned in these branches are eligible for all incentives on the menu. Officers commissioned into the Army nurse corps or medical science corps are also eligible for the CSRB.

Aviation officers are not eligible at this time due to their longer initial ADSOs, but the Army is working to draft an incentive program to offer them by year's end.

Eligible captains must have a date of rank between March 1, 2005, and January 1, 2007. Similar incentives will be offered to captains in other year groups, Col. Aswell said.

All of the career branches listed are either Combat Arms or vital support branches clearly needed in the “long war” against global terrorism which is now described as “generational” with the exception the AG branch, which many would laugh at. However, that branch is charged with serious duties such as recruiting and retention, as well as less attractive areas like Public Affairs and Personnel. Finance is obviously an important area – you do want your pay to be calculated correctly, don’t you?

Company grade officers seem to have grasped the impact of a prospect of a generational war and it looks like a lot of them aren't interested in a lifetime career of deployment in combat.

The rank zone described is what the Army terms “junior Captains” – those not in the immediate zone of consideration for promotion to Major. “Senior Captains” are eligible for promotion at the present, although it’s important to remember that this step is not automatic. This is a major step, because the officer indicates his intention to remain in the service as a career if he remains past his mid-range selection period.

These are the General Officers and Colonels of the 2020s. Losing them can seriously affect the service’s future.