Army to cut up to 4,000 captains and majors

Washington Times ^ | 12/17/13 | Douglas Ernst

[Nachum]

The U.S. Army is sending roughly 19,000 active-duty captains and majors to a screening board for early separation this spring, the Army Times reported. Up to 20 percent of those screened — approximately 3,800 officers — could be scheduled to leave the service by the Officer Separation Board and Enhanced Selective Early Retirement Board. Officers with fewer than 18 years of federal active service will have their screening process done by OSB, and those with more than 18 years of service will see the E-SERB, according to the Army Times. “The Army’s drawdown plan is a balanced approach while maintaining

[xone]

In 1940,

That worked out for us the next two years.

[Rembrandt]

Each will have an amicus curae brief by an anonymous contributor nicknamed “BHO.”

[T-Bird45]

Your history is exactly on point - I got to see how it worked for two of those iterations and saw how it affected the Army. It always creates paroxysms in the officer development and promotion system, only to repeat it again when the politicians can’t see beyond the end of their nose. One iteration you left out was the round of post-Cold War cuts that affected personnel issues in the run-up to Gulf War One.

[Hugin]

How many DOD desk jobs are they cutting?

[ThunderSleeps]

just another way to weed out those who might oppose nobama in his upcoming coup before the 2016 elections

That is my cynical prediction. I would be very, very interested to know what questions the boards ask, what criteria they state they are using, and what they are really using. Probably nothing overt, but lots of questions around topics that would let them know if they could "count on" the officer to obey orders from above, regardless.

[cpdiii]

In 1940, the Army had 269,023 (including Air Corps) Navy was at just under 170,000, and there were 28,345 Marines for a total of under 500,000. Today, the army alone (without the Air Corps) is larger than that, and the total is more than 3 times higher.

Japan attacked us December 7, 1941. If we had of been strong military on December 7, 1941 Japan would not have attacked.

[GOPJ]

We need to know if there’s a pattern...

[ExNewsExSpook]

The U.S. military is about to send much of its combat experience out the gate. Many of the Captains and Majors facing a SERB board cut their teeth as platoon leaders and company commanders in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They’re the ones that made the surge a success and had the Taliban on the defensive until Comrade Obama entered office and implemented policies that reversed those gains.

And these junior-to-mid-level officers aren’t alone. Due to budget cuts, even more E-5s and E-6s are getting the boot. Many of them have 7-12 years of experience and they also learned the ropes in places like western Iraq, the neighborhoods of Baghdad and Helmand Province. They are the soldiers who were squad leaders in those places and now platoon sergeants or staff NCOs. Many planned to make the Army a career, now they are being forced out with no concern for the experience we are losing.

We are setting ourselves up for an Army that will lose critical combat and leadership experience in the years to come. True, not all junior officers and mid-level NCOs will be mustered out, but we will lose enough so that many units won’t have enough experienced personnel to ensure continuity of operations and prevent us from having to learn some of the hard lessons over again.

It’s a familiar refrain in American military history. It was only 24 years from Pershing’s Army to Kasserine Pass and only five years between the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan to the debacle of Task Force Smith. I wonder how many soldiers will die in some future conflict because the experienced battalion or brigade commander or command sergeant major was forced out the Army a decade earlier.

[Sequoyah101]

Yep, Gay and Female new skool types.

[SeaHawkFan]

I remember back in the late 1970s when there was a big RIF coming up for a lot of Captains and Majors in the army with less than 18 years in service. The policy was that an officer being riffed had to be personally notified prior to the end of the 18th year.

One major I knew had a buddy at the Pentagon who called him with the bad news. The good news was that if he went on a 45 day leave and couldn’t be found, he’d get to 18 years and be safe until he was able to retire.

[Don W]

I can confirm that the Royal Canadian Navy is also going through a major reduction in force in the lower ranks and trades due to the ridiculous workload being foisted upon the men who actually ensure the ships can sail.

How do you protect your borders when the men who keep the ships running are not there anymore?

I ask this as one who volunteered to re-up on 9/12.

[Don W]

A more accurate assessment would be to include the numbers at the END of WWII, and the levels in 1955.

[Jet Jaguar]

How do you protect your borders when the men who keep the ships running are not there anymore?

We really do not.

It’s a known thing.

A dangerous thing.

[right way right]

It has to do with Homosexuals.
Oh, and our first Fag President.

[LeoWindhorse]

thank you for your incredible insightful and informative response .
I hope the right people read it !

[itssme]

So, who's going to drag obozo off his throne in OUR White House, or pull a “Julius Caesar” on him? Something’s got to give at some point...the clock is ticking.

[SunkenCiv]

> Officers with fewer than 18 years of federal active service will have their screening process done by OSB, and those with more than 18 years of service will see the E-SERB, according to the Army Times.

Thanks Nachum.

[Bender2]

Re: Army to cut up to 4,000 captains and majors

Gadzooks, big! Just go out get drunk, bust your CO in the nose and get busted back to lieutenant... problem solved--

[Old Sarge]

There was a RIF in 1989-1991. I know. I got caught in it.

Four thousand is an ominous number; 5K was the body count they looked for back then.

The criterion for separation in the 89-91 RIF was simple: they went by Commission Source. Anyone who was not USMA was on the chopping block. I wonder what their “criterion” will be this time...

Reading the article, it states “Those officers with over 15 years of service who leave before their 20th year of active service will receive the same benefits as those who served two decades, but at a reduced pay rate.”

The “Golden Parachute” was offered to the 89-91 RIF as well. But today, the retirement benefits are being gutted by the gutless GOPe.

Taken alone, by itself, this MIGHT be a passing thing, devastating to the 4,000 but not to the overall force. But when you tie it in with the other events:

* the slashing of retirement bennies by the CONgress;
* the 157 USAF majors who got the axe;
* the three dozen or so targeted reliefs of senior officers;

THEN it starts to get ominous.

Others on this thread have mentioned another point as well: the target of this RIF is the seasoned leadership at the company level - and anyone who can remember a time before Odinga. Remember that Leftists do nothing sudden and swift; they use incrementalism to achieve their aims. When you look at it all together, this is “death by a hundred cuts”.

I’m guessing the civilian army - “a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded “ - is almost ready...

[Future Snake Eater]

Thankfully my year group isn’t on the chopping block this year since so many of us got out ASAP. Here’s to YG Quitter!