21 Issues taking shape for the Army in 2012

[Richard]

Guess it's gonna be another busy year out there...

Richard

21 issues taking shape for the Army in 2012
ArmyTimes, 2 Jan 2011

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/0...n-2012-010212/

• New combat uniforms
• New PT test
• Smartphones on the job
• BCT overhaul
• More time at home
• Leadership changes
• Year of the professional
• Education benefits
• Career tracking online
• Re-enlistment deadlines
• NCO promotion forecast
• Promotion points
• Senior NCO promotions
• Retirement overhaul
• Help with transition
• Realistic training
• The vehicle dilemma
• The defense budget
• Gays in the military
• Stolen Valor Act
• Tricare pharmacy turbulence

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Richard

• Promotion points

The changes put a greater emphasis on education. Under the revised format, the Military Education section of the worksheet has been divided into subcategories, each with a maximum point value designed to encourage soldiers to pursue a mix of resident and correspondence courses.

I'm curious to hear what daughter has to say about this, having spent 5+yrs of last 10 downrange while "rear-dets study on their couch-bound laptops and order-in pizza."

Richard, do deployments these days count for anything other than TIS accrued at same rate as everyone else? I'm not dismissing the value of formal education but it seems to me the most experienced folks - who often have the least amount of time to make inroads in this area - keep banging their heads against the same cutoff as everyone else.

[Streck-Fu]

It's gotten better over the years but I hope the military as a whole does better with education agreements.

I'm still working on my degree and have a hodgepodge of credits from 5 different schools with many credits not transferring or outside of the 10 year timeline for transferring.

I thought being an instructor would have given me time to get some classes in but I ended up traveling just as much on shore duty with the Navy as I was on Sea Duty.

The most successful people I saw with regards to completing degrees were those that had low tempo jobs where they didn't travel and could do assignments at work.

[LongWire]

Originally Posted by Badger52

I'm curious to hear what daughter has to say about this, having spent 5+yrs of last 10 downrange while "rear-dets study on their couch-bound laptops and order-in pizza."

Thank your daughter for her service...........At the same time you can remind her that she can always approach the Chain of Command and request to pull Rear D if she needs some time.

Not all Rear D's are the malingering hapless loafers that are hiding out and stacking college cred.

Some are the injured and recovering guys who are trying to rehabilitate, or have earned enough deployments to garner a break in order to help restore some order to their homelife.

True some soldiers will try and not deploy regardless of their situation, and yes they give all soldiers everywhere a bad name, deployed or not.

Rear D, if done correctly, is a "no nonsense, no credit, all the blame" job that no one truly wants to do, but still needs to be done. No one wants to deal with everyone else's personal problems or hangups. Let's not even mention getting that call at 0300 informing them that one of their Team Member's is KIA and you have to go tell their parents.

No one I know wants to watch everyone leave for months on end doing the job we love, just to sit behind a desk and answer phones and email......No One!!!

Apologies, but you touched a nerve. After 10 years of war, 10 Combat deployments with 6-9 years gone since 98, throw in a few service schools and a divorce making me essentially a single dad, yeah I asked for a break.

Cut the Rear D some slack, chances are they are working more than you realize, even if they aren't working for you.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by LongWire

Apologies, but you touched a nerve. After 10 years of war, 10 Combat deployments with 6-9 years gone since 98, throw in a few service schools and a divorce making me essentially a single dad, yeah I asked for a break.

Cut the Rear D some slack, chances are they are working more than you realize, even if they aren't working for you.

No apologies necessary, I get it. One unit, one Soldier's perspective as passed to me. (Coming out of her 5th trip this year she finally caught orders for Gordon which will help get the big-Army Div hooks out of her for awhile.)

My question is separate from her comment, and it would appear it's been answered in the negative. Downrange time doesn't count for diddly in the promotion-point rice bowl.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Badger52

My question is separate from her comment, and it would appear it's been answered in the negative. Downrange time doesn't count for diddly in the promotion-point rice bowl.

I think you misread the section on Promotion Points. It seems to me as if this new system allows for a more equitable tallying of points based upon formal and non-resident education, training, and experience, addressing and inhibiting the current favoring you expressed concerns about in your previous post.

Advise your daughter to 'soldier on' and wish her luck with her career.

Richard

[LongWire]

It will be interesting to see how well these hints come to fruition. Interesting to see their take on stuff, like we need to refocus on being professional? Sick of seeing hand and neck tattoos? Why allow them in the first place? Damn...........

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Richard

Advise your daughter to 'soldier on' and wish her luck with her career.

Richard

Will pass that along, thank you. Soldiering on is in her nature; grousing to the folks aside, there's no quit in her.