Placing Army personnel where they fit best

[Stan]

Hey Allie,

... Staffing issues such as Stan was referring to. Taking someone who speaks the language of the area and replacing him with someone who does not. Thankfully Stan was cognizant enough to call branch and call them on it. Some younger/newer Soldiers may not know to do this. Perhaps I am being naive, but I am just curious.

My example sounds extreme and a real waste of time and talent, but there are far worse. I almost agree with Ken - in the heat of the moment it came down to "anyone will do". The Army spends a lot of time and money on their senior NCOs and Officers ensuring they remain foreign language proficient (not to mention other highly specialized skill sets). But yet, when the chips are down and those folks are needed the most, we get sent into left field. In this case I was part of a very small NCO cadre within DIA and would have thought they protected their assets.

Stan, my husband does contribute to posts and has been helping a lot with this paper. I am learning more and more about the system that you have had to work with and through. It gives me a better understanding of his day to day frustrations.

You remind me of my former boss' wife - a very determined and (ahem) attractive M113 driver -- That was a compliment
I applaud your support and efforts ! Assuming you figure out what the Army is really up to, I assume you will keep the rest of us informed

One of the other things that I am looking at as a smaller side area; the fact that the job market today in general is having to facilitate four generations. This is new to the employers. The Army is no exception; though it is more like three generations as the youngest traditionalist would be approximately 67 years old. The three generations are: Baby Boomer, X and Y. How can we best utilize all generations?

Where I am now, there are at least four generations of EOD and mechanical engineers. While at the soldier level this is actually a good thing, I can't imagine what the managers are thinking. We just retired a bunch of folks in their late 60s as if they could be replaced tomorrow (I'm just a smiggin younger than Ken) .

I disagree with those folks being a burden because I don't know where we think we will obtain subject matter experts (unless we now have a school that pumps them out). I appreciate what I get from those old fogies and youngsters, being caught somewhere in the middle. The job market doesn't have to accommodate "them" as much as use them. On the surface simplistic, but, in reality, their experience was not free and is irreplaceable.

Regards, Stan