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Shorter BCT assignments
To sustain war rotations, dwell time, 3-year life cycle down to 2
By Jim Tice - [email protected]
Posted : September 22, 2008
The 36-month unit-manning system has been shelved to accommodate the hyper-paced rotation of brigade combat teams into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Under a new system that will be implemented in phases over the next 2½ years, manning actions will be directly aligned with a brigade’s reset-train-deploy timeline.
That means that soldiers who had been assigned to a brigade to train, deploy and reset together over a three-year period will now do so over about two years. Army leaders say keeping soldiers together through training and deploying increases unit cohesion and readiness.
Personnel managers say that will enable the Army to better meet war-zone rotation requirements while preserving at least a year’s dwell time between deployments. At the same time, the Army will better be able to align schooling and assignments to keep soldier career progressions on track.
Timelines under the new model will vary, depending on the event they support, but brigade timelines currently average 27-28 months, considerably less than the 36-month standard for the classic “life cycle” system launched in 2004.
While the new manning model is shorter, personnel officials do not expect it will adversely affect most soldiers who want to remain at their current location or unit.
However, officials with Human Resources Command say it will provide more flexibility for personnel actions, both for assignment managers who oversee the manning of units, and soldiers who want to switch jobs or location upon returning from deployment.
Under the classic life cycle model, soldiers must complete 36 months with their brigade.
Personnel managers do not expect the new policy to increase the number of soldiers whose separation and retirement dates are extended because of stop-loss.
That is because personnel managers will make a major effort to identify soldiers for assignment whose enlistments will carry them through a unit’s cycle, thus limiting the effect of stop-loss, said Col. Dave Tighe, chief of enlisted readiness for Human Resources Command.
Col. Jude Fernan, chief of officer readiness, noted that officers do not have enlistment expiration dates, “but we do try to get them into units for key developmental jobs.”
The new system does not affect the processing of officer or enlisted retirements.
However, Army policy does require retirement requests from soldiers with fewer than 30 years of service “be considered on their individual merits.”
Such requests normally will be approved, according to a recent Army directive, but the regulation governing this issue (AR 635-200) states that “some requests may be disapproved, or the date of retirement delayed, based on the best interest of the Army.”
Stop-move policies that restrict most moves into and out of a unit during deployment remain in effect.
Over time, the changes will reduce brigade and battalion command tour lengths for BCTs so they match the length of the unit’s cycle.
That in turn could slightly increase command opportunity for the officer corps.
The standard tour length for command is 24 months, but in life cycle brigades and battalions officers remain in command for the entire life cycle.
The suspension of life cycle manning was ordered by Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, and announced by the Human Resources Command Aug. 29.
The shift to the new unit-manning model will be applied sequentially, beginning this month with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, to 17 brigades now operating under the life cycle model.
The transition will end in November 2010 when the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division completes its 36-month life cycle.
Life cycle alternatives
Brigades previously scheduled to come under life cycle manning will transition to a new deployment-oriented system called Army Force Generation Focused Manning.
Sources said Casey ordered staff agencies to look into alternate methods of manning combat brigades this past summer because it has become increasingly difficult to sustain the life cycle system.
Casey and other leaders want to return to life cycle manning, but not until operating tempo in the combat theater subsides, and soldiers are given at least 24 months of “dwell time” at home station between deployments.
Dwell time averages slightly more than 12 months for soldiers serving 12-month and 15-month deployments.
However, officials anticipate that dwell gradually will increase to 18 months, and eventually to 24 months, or more, as the operational pace subsides in theater. The new manning system will support that change by putting more flexibility in the assignment process, sources said.
Maj. Mike Knowlton, a strategic planner on HRC’s operations staff, said the return to life cycle manning will involve all BCTs, but will be done in phases because of management policies that prevent the Army from manning more than four life cycle brigades per quarter.
Currently, the Army has 45 maneuver brigades, but four of those — one in South Korea and three in Europe — are not part of the life cycle system.
One of the major challenges in manning life cycle units is coordinating the timely arrival of thousands of junior enlisted soldiers from Recruiting Command and the training base.
There always has been friction between the 36-month life cycle strategy, and the requirement to send units on repeat tours to the combat theater, said Col. Wes Gillman, deputy chief of staff for operations at the Human Resources Command.
For example, a life cycle unit might spend a year preparing to deploy, then deploy for 12 or 15 months, return to home station, and be put into the queue for a return trip to the combat zone.
The manning aspects of this formula could easily get out of sync, in terms of units having soldiers whose enlistments expire just as they reset and begin a new cycle.
“It’s certainly not uncommon for returning units to have many soldiers who are on initial (three-year) enlistments and who will not be staying in the Army beyond their enlistment,” Gillman said.
“It’s always been difficult to get the right soldiers into a unit before the end of the reset, so that unit can train and get ready to deploy,” he said.
Tighe said that from his perspective in the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, it appears the Army as a whole has been happy with the life cycle concept.
Soldiers were frustrated at the changing lengths of deployments caused by shifts in operational schedules, he said.
Tighe also noted that some soldiers have been frustrated by policies that required personnel managers to reduce noncommissioned officer populations in life cycle units during reset to allow for promotions and upward mobility during the coming 36 months. About 2 percent of the NCO positions go unfilled so that soldiers who are promoted can be moved into the vacant leadership positions.
These reset actions were needed to prepare units for their next mission.
The classic life cycle model calls for units to be manned by the same people for 36 months, “but we have always had to adjust that length, depending on operational requirements, such as the surge,” Gillman said.
Under the surge strategy, the Army added five brigades to its 13-brigade force in Iraq, and temporarily increased tour lengths for both Iraq and Afghanistan from 12 to 15 months.
Gillman said he did not see any negative implications on dwell time because of the policy change, “because we have some pretty strict guidance from the chief (Casey) in terms of giving soldiers at least 12 month of dwell time.”
“We only take soldiers out of a unit after it has returned from deployment, and we only take those who have to be moved, such as those who are going to recruiting duty, drill sergeant duty and other high-priority requirements.
“These soldiers will not have a dwell time issue,” he said.
Under the Army Forces Generation Focused Manning model, unit-manning cycles will begin 90 days after a brigade returns from deployment.
Gillman said the goal is to get units up to at least 80 percent strength by the 180-day point after redeploying to home station. Requirements needed to get the unit up to full strength will be accomplished through the traditional individual replacement system.
“We are filling units as quick as we can after they come back,” Gillman said.
“This will allow soldiers to train together, fight together and come back together.”
Brigade cycles will run from 91 days after return to home station through training and deployment to 90 days after return from deployment.
Units will receive individual replacements as needed throughout the manning cycle, according to guidance issued by HRC in late August.
Unit manning changes
The Army is ditching 36-month life cycle management brigade-assignment policy and shifting to a 24- to 27-month model. Here’s what that means for:
• Deployment rotations and dwell time
The new manning system will help the Army cut unit operations tempo by putting more flexibility in the assignment process. Personnel specialists say that will enable the Army to gradually move the current ratio of one year deployed and one year at home, to one year deployed with two or more years at home.
• Schooling, training and assignments Because the time soldiers are stabilized in units will drop from three years to slightly more than two years, they will have greater flexibility to change jobs or attend school.
• Stop-loss and stop-move policies
These restrictions will remain in force, but assignment managers say they will make a major effort to man brigades with soldiers whose enlistments will carry them through the reset-train-deploy cycles of their unit.
• Home stationing
Most soldiers who return from deployment and who want to stay with their unit or remain at the same location will be allowed to do so. However, the Army will continue to involuntarily assign soldiers to recruiting, drill sergeant duties and other high-priority jobs.
— Jim Tice
To sustain war rotations, dwell time, 3-year life cycle down to 2
By Jim Tice - [email protected]
Posted : September 22, 2008
The 36-month unit-manning system has been shelved to accommodate the hyper-paced rotation of brigade combat teams into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Under a new system that will be implemented in phases over the next 2½ years, manning actions will be directly aligned with a brigade’s reset-train-deploy timeline.
That means that soldiers who had been assigned to a brigade to train, deploy and reset together over a three-year period will now do so over about two years. Army leaders say keeping soldiers together through training and deploying increases unit cohesion and readiness.
Personnel managers say that will enable the Army to better meet war-zone rotation requirements while preserving at least a year’s dwell time between deployments. At the same time, the Army will better be able to align schooling and assignments to keep soldier career progressions on track.
Timelines under the new model will vary, depending on the event they support, but brigade timelines currently average 27-28 months, considerably less than the 36-month standard for the classic “life cycle” system launched in 2004.
While the new manning model is shorter, personnel officials do not expect it will adversely affect most soldiers who want to remain at their current location or unit.
However, officials with Human Resources Command say it will provide more flexibility for personnel actions, both for assignment managers who oversee the manning of units, and soldiers who want to switch jobs or location upon returning from deployment.
Under the classic life cycle model, soldiers must complete 36 months with their brigade.
Personnel managers do not expect the new policy to increase the number of soldiers whose separation and retirement dates are extended because of stop-loss.
That is because personnel managers will make a major effort to identify soldiers for assignment whose enlistments will carry them through a unit’s cycle, thus limiting the effect of stop-loss, said Col. Dave Tighe, chief of enlisted readiness for Human Resources Command.
Col. Jude Fernan, chief of officer readiness, noted that officers do not have enlistment expiration dates, “but we do try to get them into units for key developmental jobs.”
The new system does not affect the processing of officer or enlisted retirements.
However, Army policy does require retirement requests from soldiers with fewer than 30 years of service “be considered on their individual merits.”
Such requests normally will be approved, according to a recent Army directive, but the regulation governing this issue (AR 635-200) states that “some requests may be disapproved, or the date of retirement delayed, based on the best interest of the Army.”
Stop-move policies that restrict most moves into and out of a unit during deployment remain in effect.
Over time, the changes will reduce brigade and battalion command tour lengths for BCTs so they match the length of the unit’s cycle.
That in turn could slightly increase command opportunity for the officer corps.
The standard tour length for command is 24 months, but in life cycle brigades and battalions officers remain in command for the entire life cycle.
The suspension of life cycle manning was ordered by Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, and announced by the Human Resources Command Aug. 29.
The shift to the new unit-manning model will be applied sequentially, beginning this month with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, to 17 brigades now operating under the life cycle model.
The transition will end in November 2010 when the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division completes its 36-month life cycle.
Life cycle alternatives
Brigades previously scheduled to come under life cycle manning will transition to a new deployment-oriented system called Army Force Generation Focused Manning.
Sources said Casey ordered staff agencies to look into alternate methods of manning combat brigades this past summer because it has become increasingly difficult to sustain the life cycle system.
Casey and other leaders want to return to life cycle manning, but not until operating tempo in the combat theater subsides, and soldiers are given at least 24 months of “dwell time” at home station between deployments.
Dwell time averages slightly more than 12 months for soldiers serving 12-month and 15-month deployments.
However, officials anticipate that dwell gradually will increase to 18 months, and eventually to 24 months, or more, as the operational pace subsides in theater. The new manning system will support that change by putting more flexibility in the assignment process, sources said.
Maj. Mike Knowlton, a strategic planner on HRC’s operations staff, said the return to life cycle manning will involve all BCTs, but will be done in phases because of management policies that prevent the Army from manning more than four life cycle brigades per quarter.
Currently, the Army has 45 maneuver brigades, but four of those — one in South Korea and three in Europe — are not part of the life cycle system.
One of the major challenges in manning life cycle units is coordinating the timely arrival of thousands of junior enlisted soldiers from Recruiting Command and the training base.
There always has been friction between the 36-month life cycle strategy, and the requirement to send units on repeat tours to the combat theater, said Col. Wes Gillman, deputy chief of staff for operations at the Human Resources Command.
For example, a life cycle unit might spend a year preparing to deploy, then deploy for 12 or 15 months, return to home station, and be put into the queue for a return trip to the combat zone.
The manning aspects of this formula could easily get out of sync, in terms of units having soldiers whose enlistments expire just as they reset and begin a new cycle.
“It’s certainly not uncommon for returning units to have many soldiers who are on initial (three-year) enlistments and who will not be staying in the Army beyond their enlistment,” Gillman said.
“It’s always been difficult to get the right soldiers into a unit before the end of the reset, so that unit can train and get ready to deploy,” he said.
Tighe said that from his perspective in the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, it appears the Army as a whole has been happy with the life cycle concept.
Soldiers were frustrated at the changing lengths of deployments caused by shifts in operational schedules, he said.
Tighe also noted that some soldiers have been frustrated by policies that required personnel managers to reduce noncommissioned officer populations in life cycle units during reset to allow for promotions and upward mobility during the coming 36 months. About 2 percent of the NCO positions go unfilled so that soldiers who are promoted can be moved into the vacant leadership positions.
These reset actions were needed to prepare units for their next mission.
The classic life cycle model calls for units to be manned by the same people for 36 months, “but we have always had to adjust that length, depending on operational requirements, such as the surge,” Gillman said.
Under the surge strategy, the Army added five brigades to its 13-brigade force in Iraq, and temporarily increased tour lengths for both Iraq and Afghanistan from 12 to 15 months.
Gillman said he did not see any negative implications on dwell time because of the policy change, “because we have some pretty strict guidance from the chief (Casey) in terms of giving soldiers at least 12 month of dwell time.”
“We only take soldiers out of a unit after it has returned from deployment, and we only take those who have to be moved, such as those who are going to recruiting duty, drill sergeant duty and other high-priority requirements.
“These soldiers will not have a dwell time issue,” he said.
Under the Army Forces Generation Focused Manning model, unit-manning cycles will begin 90 days after a brigade returns from deployment.
Gillman said the goal is to get units up to at least 80 percent strength by the 180-day point after redeploying to home station. Requirements needed to get the unit up to full strength will be accomplished through the traditional individual replacement system.
“We are filling units as quick as we can after they come back,” Gillman said.
“This will allow soldiers to train together, fight together and come back together.”
Brigade cycles will run from 91 days after return to home station through training and deployment to 90 days after return from deployment.
Units will receive individual replacements as needed throughout the manning cycle, according to guidance issued by HRC in late August.
Unit manning changes
The Army is ditching 36-month life cycle management brigade-assignment policy and shifting to a 24- to 27-month model. Here’s what that means for:
• Deployment rotations and dwell time
The new manning system will help the Army cut unit operations tempo by putting more flexibility in the assignment process. Personnel specialists say that will enable the Army to gradually move the current ratio of one year deployed and one year at home, to one year deployed with two or more years at home.
• Schooling, training and assignments Because the time soldiers are stabilized in units will drop from three years to slightly more than two years, they will have greater flexibility to change jobs or attend school.
• Stop-loss and stop-move policies
These restrictions will remain in force, but assignment managers say they will make a major effort to man brigades with soldiers whose enlistments will carry them through the reset-train-deploy cycles of their unit.
• Home stationing
Most soldiers who return from deployment and who want to stay with their unit or remain at the same location will be allowed to do so. However, the Army will continue to involuntarily assign soldiers to recruiting, drill sergeant duties and other high-priority jobs.
— Jim Tice
