OPMS XXI Failure vs OPMS II
Since OPMS XXI / III have been implemented, I am discerning a specialization in the officer corps, mainly, by field grades and senior company grades having to choose a specific career field. There are several fields that this specialization is applicable, however this does not translate across all fields. This is especially important during the post Sep 11 era. OPMS XXI was created prior to 9/11 and therefore must be reevaluated in the contemporary operating environment.
I will highlight five specific areas in my experience to prove my point, SF, PSYOP, CA, IO and FA59. In all categories now officers are expected to choose a future career field in their 4-10 year window. A 4-7 year window for SF/PSYOP/CA/IO and 10 year for FA 59. This design started when SF became its own branch. It was formalized with OPMS XXI. It allows officers to choose a career field different from the basic branches. The previous system (OPMS II) allowed dual track officers who served in one for a period of time and then a return to their basic branch (FA/AR/IN/SC/MP). This system OPMS II, allowed a cross fertilization of skills and experiences, while allowing the officer the ability to stay or leave that track. OPMS XXI requires officers to choose a career track later with not as much flexibility to return to a basic branch.
During the current fight, a cross fertilization of skills would be very useful. Also, a return to the OPMS II model would allow a greater diversity of officer skills to suit a specific job. The proposal I raise is whether we are better of now than before. I can see the benefits of a former SF/PSYOP/CA officer serving at the CPT/MAJ level returning to his basic branch and sharing that experience across the force. The same goes for an FA 59, what good is it to have a strategist that has not served as a BDE S3/XO or Div G3? FA 59 should be focused on those completing a course in strategic planner (SAMS / JAWS) etc... However currently FA 59 planners do not attend this level of education, nor are they required to. Similarly, IO officer attend a three week course to become IO officers vs PSYOP/CA who attend 6 months of schoool, inculding a Regional Studies course, 3 months. How many Brigade commanders and division commanders would rather have a FSCOORD/ECOORD, who served for 3 years as a PSYOP/CA/IO officer and brought that non-lethal experience forward. Similarly, the newly announced Electronic Warfare field creates even more specialists. This coupled with universal, but not equal ILE can create a generation of specialty officers without the tactical acumen of their peers on a staff.
My conclusion is that we must review OPMS XXI and possibly go to the ASI route for officers vs. a strict functional area management system. This would allow cross fertilization of experiences as well as, officer development. The specialization of the officer corps is creating the opposite of what is directed by the Army COS and leadership. We desire generalist with varied skills and experiences, however our system is creating the opposite, specialists with a stove pipe system for promotion.
I offer these thoughts for discussion, but highlight my original point, that it seems we are creating more specialists than generalists. This obviously is not in accordance with the prevailing thoughts on officer management by our leadership.
As a long time observer, may I applaud your intent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Steel31968
...My father, in 1962 served with SF for 3 years and returned to his basic branch infantry, bringing his experiences with him. It allows officers to choose a career field different from the basic branches.
As you know, Aviators used to do the same thing. This cross fertilization was beneficial to SF, to the aviation community and to the rest of the Army. That process was halted for two reasons -- some but far from all in SF and Aviation wanted to be branches for the advantage that would hold; and then OPM (now HRC) hated the extra work involved in tracking and assigning such folks with multiple skills.
These Personnel Managers, after all, are the folks that said and 11B and an 11M peon -- or, far more dangerously, NCO -- were identical and interchangeable. HRC wants ALL persons of like specialization and rank to be absolutely interchangeable so they can stick round pegs in square holes (they'll fit, but they have to be smaller in diameter or capability...).
That regardless of the dangers to unit effectiveness...
They have also assigned Foreign Area Officers to a nether world.
Desired are as few sub specialties as possible to lessen the workload. In fairness, HRC is not solely to blame, Congress pushes much of the minutia in the personnel field in a misguided and flawed attempt to be 'fair' and to avoid the penalizing of marginal performers -- to the detriment of the Armed forces as a whole.
Quote:
...This obviously is not in accordance with the prevailing thoughts on officer management by our leadership.
Our leadership is busy and has five thousand irons in the fire; they rely on HRC to best devise personnel policy. Thus, I'm not sure the leadership is fully aware of the flaws, even the dangers, of the current personnel system. They, after all, did well in spite of it.
Who wants a squirt gun that on shoots grape jelly...
its amazing what claymation childrens' stories can bring up. I think any reliance on a systematic approach to personnel management will only get you a 50-70% solution to your personnel requirements at best, and the larger the population combined with the more changes in the environment the more degredation that will be associated with that number.
Why do we often get more round pegs in round holes at the BN / lower levels? because we take the time to get to know our people better, and the consequences of our choices are ones we have to live with.
In order to get our number higher, we have to apply the same philosophy to personnel management on the institutional scale. Systems will not cut it because by their nature they establish walls and get comfortable with themselves. What is needed is a three part approach that provides understanding of changes in the environment, a way to look across your resources and understand which person best meets those requirements (or might if given some additional training or education) and the flexibility to choose that person or if that person is meeting a higher priority, the ability to choose someone out of the score or so most qualified.
I would also add there is value in accommodating self selection where possible. This is because people often know themselves and their situations better then an outsider.
We don't do any of these particularly well in my opinion. We prefer to believe that an _____________ (fill it in) will do as well as any other. Its comfortable to do so, but neither realistic or particularly effective.
Best, Rob
Cross-Fertilization on a smaller scope
Steel 3,
Welcome aboard. You have started an interesting discussion, and I like the professional manner in which you frame your approach to avoid needless aggravation to an emotional topic.
With that, my two cents...
I had lunch with a buddy of mine before the Superbowl yesterday. He is an artilleryman, and I am an armor officer. Currently, we are both in grad school in the defense analysis department at NPS. During our company grade time, we both served on SSTR and combat deployments in platoon/command positions in BOTH light and heavy units. Additionally, we both served on unique staff positions for our third deployments. He worked with the Air Command planners in Kuwait during OIF One, and I did a stint as an LNO and assistant planner with CJSOTF-AP in 2005.
We were discussing the pros and cons of our varied experiences. The majority of our peers have had some similar opportunities during the last nine years. Furthermore, between the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, almost every combat arms officer spends some amount of time as motorized infantry.
Without reservation, we believe that this cross-fertilization within the maneuver community has personally made us better officers. In this regard, maneuver branch is "getting it right." As a tank PL/XO, I learned combined arms maneuver and maintenance. With SF, I was introduced to COIN, FID, and bottom-up intelligence collection. As an airborne recon troop commander, I mastered covert reconnaissance, air assualts, patrolling, and raids. The collective insights I gained from the various specialized NCOs I had the opportunity to meet, serve, and fight with is unparalled. My buddy had the same experiences within the Artillery community.
We spent our lunch debating the merits of what would be fun to do and professionally rewarding during our field grade time outside of ILE and S3/XO jobs. Prior to ILE, he is off to combat advise in Iraq. He will no doubt be a better operations officer with the real world lessons he learns advising.
Without placing labels like FAO or SF, we just thought that having the opportunity to do a tour with state department, working in an embassy or internship with an NGO, or something drastically outside of combat arms would better prepare our peers and ourselves for the difficulties of command in the current operating environment.
Our discussion may have simply been wishful thinking, but I think it is relevant. I suppose this approach would be a more hollistic one than the current scheme.
Good luck with your study, and I hope this adds to the discussion.
v/r
Mike
One question / consideration
How closely does this particular issue reflect the decision which was made years ago to do away with specialist ranks in the enlisted branch and many of the problems that have stemmed from that?
Just as doing so there removed some of the "true" expertise through either those who truly where great at what they do having to move up or out and thus no longer available to their particular specialty. Or what it does when those who are really good at a specific job but just weren't cut out for administrative/political crud that comes with NCO status end up becoming the latter and in many ways make it harder for those still doing the former to do their jobs because their busy making things work behind the scenes that that particular NCO is having a hard time with.
But enough about my pet peeve:(:wry::D
Not to mention officers are very much the face of DOD to those who work for it and as such sometimes it takes a geek to "geek speak" or a business minded individual to talk business. There really does have to be a balance there too.
Let me put that another way
I have been counselled offline and duly chastised. And I really appreciate it.
Now back to my point.
In your posts on this thread alone, you introduce several topics potentially worthy of investigation. Figure out which one(s) support access to good data. Pick one and define exactly what you're going to analyze. Go get the data, analyze it using acceptable academic rigor, then publish the results.
If you really want to collect personal impressions for data, you're going to need to develop a structured survey instrument. Sorry 'bout that.
On most of the issues you have raised thus far, there are viable arguments for and against the way that the personnel system has evolved. If one COA were clearly the solution to all our problems, I would like to think that we would have figgered that out by now.
Now my personal biases --
I don't like FA 59. Mainstream officers can be developed to be expert planners without leaving the force.
I love the new warrant officer corps.
I like aviation branch because that means that ground maneuver units don't have to put up with pilots as commanders.
I like SF branch for the same reason. An infantry company is not an ODA, and no, sir, we're not going to call the first sergeant, "Sandy".
I do not like single tracking FAOs. Any single -tracked FAO can be replaced by a reasonably competent foreign service officer.
AND in EVERY SINGLE ONE of those arguments, I can reverse the statement and make it defensible, too.
Good luck, and have fun.