Over hill, and dale- Baltimore Sun
"Every West Point graduate must serve five years after leaving the academy, and historically all but about 29 percent of them continued their military careers after that term was up. But no more - as McClatchy Newspapers has reported, 35 percent of the Class of 2000 left the Army five years after graduation; 46 percent of the Class of '01 did so; and this year, 58 percent of the Class of '02 chose to leave active duty.
That's about as red a flag as could be imagined. Captains have a lot more to do with the smooth running of the Army than generals do, but the captains are getting out. And it's not just the West Pointers: The Army Reserve has only 53 percent of the captains it needs, and 58 percent of the sergeants first class."
If this article is using accurate data then we've a number of very serious problems. While enlistments have struggled for both the reserves and active army, re-enlistment rates of soldiers serving in combat arms have been touted as indicators of resiliency within our personnel system. It now seems that the officers of those soldiers see things differently and are leaving at rates nearly double the historical average, if graduates of the 2002 class of U.S.M.A. are any indication.
The implications of this message obviously reach far beyond the immediate impact upon small unit leadership. The class of 2002 were seniors on 9/11. What are these men and women telling us?
Your thoughts?
Courtesy of SWJ and the Baltimore Sun.