Non-deployable Soldiers No.1 problem in the U.S. Army



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Non-deployable Soldiers No.1 problem in the U.S. Army



FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (Army News Service, Nov. 19, 2015) -- The biggest

problem in the Army today is Soldiers who are non-deployable, and that's having a

direct impact on readiness, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey said. He said this

construct is unsustainable in the complex operational environment that exits today.



Dailey spoke at the chief of staff of the Army-sponsored Noncommissioned Officer, or

NCO, Solarium II, held at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College here,

Nov. 19.



To give a scope of how big the problem is, there are currently about 50,000 Soldiers

who are non-deployable. "That's huge. That's three out of the 10 divisions" that the

Army currently has, he said, putting the numbers in context.



With the Army's mission being to fight and win the nation's wars, that's totally

unacceptable, he said. And, that mission applies to every Soldier, no matter what

military occupational specialty they're in.



"If you will not or cannot fight and win, then there's no place for you in the Army," Dailey

said, "We have to become unemotional about this. We have a job to do."

Dailey said he's doing something about it. He's proposing to the Army's chief of staff

that in the future, there should be a box to check on the Soldier's evaluation form,

indicating if that Soldier is deployable.



Soldiers with long-term medical profiles would be critically evaluated against their ability

to recover and be deployable if called, under his proposal.



Dailey said he realizes this will take a big shift in culture. It's natural to want to keep

someone who has a profile, especially if that person is really of good character and

skilled. But having so many Soldiers in non-deployable status is not good for the Army

or good for the nation, particularly as the Army draws down from 490,000 to 450,000,

and as more deployments loom on the horizon.



Dailey added that he wants to incentivize deployments by increasing deployment pay.

He said he'll do what he can to recommend this, as it would require policy changes.



The other incentive he said he wants for Soldiers who stay and are willing to deploy, is

more promotion opportunities. He said he's recommending reducing the retention

control points to 20 years for E-6s, 24 for E-7s, 26 for E-8s, and 30 for E-9s. He also

said he plans to recommend reducing the time-in-grade requirements for E-7 through

E-9 by one year.



These changes would stimulate initiative in young leaders, and offer more opportunities

for promotion by moving stagnant leaders into their transition phase, he said.



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