Dear Gene-Thomas,

Having served as a military chaplain and a recruiter, how might you explain the decrease in Army officer reenlistments after USA Today reported that the Army is exceeding its reenlistment goal?  Trey

Dear Trey,

In light of the fact that the Army failed to reach its recruiting goal in the last fiscal year by approximately 6,400, Army leaders were proud to report recently that they exceeded their annual retention goal by 15 percent during the first six months of fiscal year 2006. No sooner had they made this announcement, however, Thom Shanker of the New York Times reported how Army officer retention rates among both West Point graduates and graduates of reserve officer training programs have reached a 16 year low. 

While a sense of patriotism and reenlistment bonuses as high as $150,000 for those who serve in Special Operations (SPECOPS) commands may account for a number of reenlistments, there are other reasons that can impact a soldier’s decision to re-up. The Army came under Congressional scrutiny after articles appeared in the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post about alleged coercive reenlistment practices at Fort Carson. One sergeant was quoted in the Rocky Mountain News as saying, “They said if you refuse to re-enlist with the 3rd Brigade, we'll send you down to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is going to Iraq for a year, and you can stay with them, or we'll send you to Korea, or to Fort Riley where they're going to Iraq." 

If Army retention rates have exceeded their goals, why are Army officer reenlistments down? Military leaders readily admit that “recruiting is about individuals, but retention is about families.” If Army officer divorce rates nearly tripled from 1,145 to 3,325 between 2001 and 2004, why should we be surprised that many of these officers do not see the Army as the best environment in which to marry and raise a family?

In an effort to get Army officers to commit themselves to remain on active duty beyond their five year commitment, the Army is offering a promise of graduate school or the pick of a desirable duty station to newly commissioned officers who agree to stay on active duty three extra years. This offer has caused 40.2 percent (352 of 875) of the West Point graduating class of 2006 to promise to remain on active duty beyong the five year point.

What needs to pointed out is that this decision is being asked before the West Point graduates are allowed to marry, and before they would ordinarily share the decision to extend with their spouse. How much counseling did the Army offer its West Point cadets about the impact their decision to extend could have upon their future dating and married lives? Might someone be less inclined to date or marry a person who has to stay in the military for 12 years instead of 5 years?

Although it appears that the Army is simply asking for an additional three years in exchange for graduate school, the reality is that after completing a master’s degree program, an officer has to repay the Army with three months of service for every month in the classroom. Under such conditions, an officer could face not simply eight, but twelve years of obligated service. If commissioned at the age of 21, an officer could be 33 or 34 years old before he or she is no longer obligated to serve in the Army. 

Before undertaking a medical procedure such as laser eye surgery, one is always counseled about potential consequences associated with the operation (e.g., loss of sight). If you had a son or daughter at West Point, how might you feel if you discovered he or she was never counseled about how the decision to extend could impact his/her future married and family life? If you were a parent interested in one day becoming a grandparent, might you not want your son or daughter to recognize how the pool of potential spouses might be more limited for those committed to twelve vice five years of military service? Rather than making the decision to extend for graduate school while one is still an undergraduate, would it not be wiser and more honorable on the Army’s part to have this decision made toward the end of an officer’s four or five year commitment?

Gene-Thomas Gomulka
“A voice for military families” Columnist and author of The Survival Guide for

Marriage in the Military available at www.plaintec.net
Have a question or comment? Write Gene-Thomas at letters@plaintec.net