Officer shortage looming in Army (critical shortage of midlevel officers)

[sabra]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-12-officer-shortage_N.htm?csp=34

Officer shortage looming in Army

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The Army, forced by five years of war to expand its ranks, faces a critical shortage of midlevel officers, interviews and military records show.

Those officers — majors and lieutenant colonels — manage troops at war. The Army estimates it has about 13,900 majors and 8,750 lieutenant colonels this year. It expects to have an annual shortage of 3,000 such officers through 2013 as it increases its ranks by 40,000 soldiers.

Beyond the shortage of midlevel officers looms an impending shortage of entry-level officers — lieutenants — from the U.S. Military Academy and university Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs. Last year, 846 cadets graduated from West Point; the goal was 900. There were 25,100 enrolled in ROTC out of a goal of 31,000, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' investigative agency.

Only an increase in soldiers put through the Army's Officer Candidate School allowed the service to meet its goal for lieutenants, the report said. The school is a 14-week course that obligates graduates to two years in the Army. It is expected to reach capacity this year, the GAO said.

[Eugene]

1. Army rushes to promote its officers (Boston Globe)

Army rushes to promote its officers
War pressures cited; quality is a concern

By Bryan Bender and Renee Dudley, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent | March 13, 2007

WASHINGTON -- To fill a growing number of vacancies in the officer corps, the Army
is promoting captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels more quickly and at a higher
percentage than before the Iraq war, a trend that some military specialists worry
is lowering the overall quality of the officer corps.

The Army, already stretched thin from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, attributes
the accelerated promotion rates to the pressures of war and the urgent need for
field commanders. Another reason for the vacancies, military analysts say: unit
leaders are quitting the Army faster than anticipated -- after multiple tours of
duty in Iraq. The shortage of captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels is
especially pronounced among experienced officers who have between five and
15 years in uniform, according to Army officials.

In 2006, the Army had to promote more officers ahead of its own timetables,
according to the most recent statistics. For example, the Army had a goal of
promoting about 70 percent of eligible majors to the next rank of lieutenant
colonel; instead, it promoted 90 percent of them to fill the vacuum. The same
year, the Army advanced nearly all of its captains to majors, roughly 20 percent
more than its guidelines call for.

Along with fast-tracked promotions, the Army is keeping underachieving officers
instead of forcing them to retire, according to the latest data.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/03/13/army_rushes_to_promote_its_officers