FA branch: manning a force in transition.

Our nation is at war, and our Army is undergoing a fast-paced comprehensive transformation toward more agile, versatile and modular fighting formations. Manning this new force structure during this turbulent period requires branch assignment officers and professional development NCOs to revamp their procedures.

The Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) published his "Campaign Plan," outlining a vision for transforming the force. The CSA's end state describes a capable joint expeditionary force where homesteading is encouraged, units are focused on depth of experience and Soldiers/families have more predictability, based on force stabilization (longer tours of duty).

This article provides an overview of current procedures, guidelines and considerations for FA Officer and Enlisted Branches at the Human Resources Command (HRC), Alexandria, Virginia, to man the force.

Force Stabilization. The Army has developed a new manning strategy to meet the needs of the force (increased deployment operational tempo and support for the Global War on Terrorism) and decrease personnel turbulence. Force stabilization will reduce permanent change-of-station (PCS) moves for individual Soldiers to a level much lower than today. It will benefit families by stabilizing them longer in one place and allow Soldiers to predict future training events and deployments.

Force stabilization has two components: stabilization and unit-focused stability. (See the diagram in Figure 1.) "Stabilization," as shown in the figure, is a tool for personnel managers to slow down the force and transition to the objective "unit-focused stability."

Stabilization. The Army will use this tool to manage Soldiers and officers, assign them to particular continental US (CONUS) units or installations and stabilize them for as long as feasible. It is conceivable that a Soldier/officer could serve his first six to seven years on the same installation or in the same unit. An enlisted Soldier could remain in the unit through the appropriate leader development level as a staff sergeant and an officer through the appropriate leader development level as a captain, each attending his professional development schools in temporary duty (TDY) status and returning.

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The goal of stabilization is only to PCS a Soldier/officer for designated reasons: the needs of the Army, the professional development of the Soldier/officer or Soldier's/officer's preference. Moving individual Soldiers or officers into or out of formations frequently violates the basic premise of stabilization.

Unit-Focused Stability. This tool will synchronize Soldiers/officers tours within the unit's 36-month operational lifecycle, reducing personnel turbulence.

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The unit of action (UA), a brigade-level formation, will follow the lifecycle model in Figure 2. Each UA will have an organic cannon "battalion" similar to today's direct support (DS) battalion.

Unit-focused stability will consider a unit's echelon, type, military occupational specialty (MOS) density, mission-essential task list (METL), geographical location and mission. Unit-focused stability has two components: lifecycle management and cyclic management.

* Lifecycle management is a 36-month cycle to minimize attrition in deployed units due to Soldiers' PCSing or their expiration of time in service (ETS) by planning personnel moves at the beginning of each cycle at the "Reset Phase" (see Figure 2 on Page 40). The goal is to achieve a 25 to 33 percent personnel turnover for three-year tours during Reset.

Lifecycle management focuses on the UA. Brigade commanders will manage internal turbulence due to officer education system (OES) or NCO education system (NCOES) requirements in a TDY-and-return format.

Lifecycle management has three phases: Reset (2 months). Train (four months) and Ready (30 months). During the Ready Phase, the unit will be available for deployment and continue training to maintain its C-1 Training Level.

* Cyclic management will be used to man combat support (CS), combat service support (CSS), and command and control units, focusing on headquarters elements and low-density, high-impact organizations at the division level and above, as depicted in Figure 3 on Page 40. Figure 3 shows the 12-month, two-phase cycle (Sustain-Ready) in a block of 36 months.

With these new manning tools, officer and enlisted assignment procedures and polices have changed.

Officer Manning. Officer professional management ain't what it used to be--yet the HRC remains committed to placing the right officer in the right job at the right time. The impact of today's challenges has resulted in a complete review of the culture and the parameters used to man the force. The Army's focus and guidance provided to assignment officers is aggressive and noteworthy. Figure 4 highlights the transformation of the officer assignment process. The majority of the changes are not radical; however, they are significant in scope.

As shown in Figure 4, the needs of the Army continue to be the primary assignment consideration. Although officer preference is not listed in the considerations "Now" in Figure 4, it generally is a consideration only after the other considerations listed.

The FA Branch receives taskings (requirements) from the Human Resources Command S3 Shop (Officer Distributions Division) in the form of requirements (duty positions). The positions come in three types: 01 A Branch Immaterial (officers of any branch can be assigned to these positions), 02A Combat Arms Immaterial (any combat arms officer can be assigned to these positions: Armor. Infantry, Field Artillery, Air Defense, Aviation, Engineer and Special Operations), and 13Z Field Artillery Officer positions (FA only).

The criteria for assignment selection is as follows.

* Army requirements are the priority consideration, based on officer strength projections by installation or location.

* The basic year group of the officer is considered--no officer will be put at disadvantage to further another's career.

* The officer's professional development (branch qualification) and assignment history (skills and experience) help determine assignments.

* The officer's demonstrated abilities (officer efficiency reports, or OERs) are a consideration.

* The officer's preference is considered (last); FA branch should have each FA officer's top ten choices of jobs and (or) locations on file.

After receiving a request for orders (RFO) or verbal or other written notification of orders, an officer has 30 days to accept or decline the PCS instructions. In accordance with AR 350-100 Officer Active Duty Service Obligations, Chapter 2 (c), "Failure to submit a request to decline the orders within 30 days implies consent to the assignment, and the officer must comply with the assignment instructions."

Nominative Assignments. Eighty percent of the assignments for branch-qualified captains, majors and lieutenant colonels are nominative. Nominative assignments require the gaining command to accept the officer's file before he is assigned. Some nominative positions are competitive; assignment officers must submit more than one file against each position. All nominative positions are staffed outside the FA Branch to validate that the officers selected are best-qualified, based on their performance, skills and experience.

Nominative assignments can include (but are not limited to) the Army Staff (ARSTAF), Active/Reserve Components, ROTC, joint positions, the Combat Training Centers (CTCs), corps and unified combatant command staffs, the US Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, advisory positions and positions at any of the military academic institutions, e.g., the Field Artillery School.

Branch Detailed. By regulation, officers who are branch-detailed are not eligible for re-branching until after they serve at least 24 months in their detailed branch (AR 614-100 Officer Assignment Policies, Details and Transfers). Military Intelligence (MI) and Adjutant General (AG) officers must serve a minimum of 36 months in their detailed branches. Officers will not be re-branched until they have completed their minimum tour in their detailed branch.

Branch Transfer. The FA Branch approves requests for branch transfer on a case-by-case basis. As a general rule, FA Branch will not support a transfer to a branch that is over 100 percent of its accession target for the specific year group. Also, the gaining branch must accept the officer as a transfer.

Regular Army officers can be considered for a branch transfer after they have completed three years (36 months) of active federal commissioned service (AFCS); US Army Reserves (USAR) officers must accept voluntary indefinite status (AR 135-215 Officer Periods of Service on Active Duty).

Functional Area Designation. An officer receives one of 16 functional areas between his fifth and sixth years of service. The needs of the Army, academic background, training and experience, manner of performance and individual preference are all considered during the designation process.

Functional area assignments usually begin when an officer completes captain-level basic branch qualification; however, an officer may not be assigned to a position coded in his functional area.

The officer serves in the functional area position for two to three years. Most officers then will return to their basic branches; others can compete to remain in their functional areas for future assignments.

Officers retain their initial functional area designations for a minimum of two years before becoming eligible for redesignations into another functional area.

DA PAM 600-3 Commissioned Officer Development and Career Management is the comprehensive source of information regarding functional areas and professional development across career fields.

Career Field Designation. An officer may or may not have served in or attended advanced civil schooling related to his functional area before his career field is designated. This occurs around the 10th or 11th year of service.

An officer's personal preference is a heavily weighted factor in designating his career field. However, the Career Field Designation Board (CFDB), a Headquarters Department of the Army centralized selection board, factors in the officer's experience in his functional area and related advanced civil schooling. The board designates the officer's career field immediately after he is selected to major.

In Functional Area Army Acquisition Corps (FA 51) of the Operational Support Career Field, captains may apply for selection in their eighth year of service.

The CFDB designates an officer into one of four career fields: Operations, Information Operations, Institutional Support and Operational Support. The results of the CFDB may require a change in an officer's previously designated functional area.

Captain's Career Course (CCC). Officers normally will attend CCC after serving 36 months in the field. Officers in lifecycle manned or cyclic management units will attend CCC TDY and return to their previous duty stations. Commanders of lifecycle manned units will manage the timing of the officer's attendance at CCC to ensure it is in sync with the operational lifecycle of the unit.

AR 350-100 states that an officer will incur a one-year obligation for active duty service after completing CCC. The one-year obligation begins when he signs into his next unit.

Combined Arms and Services Staff School (CA[S.sup.3]) Termination. The Acting Secretary of the Army terminated CA[S.sup.3] at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, effective with the class that graduated on 19 May. This is the five-week course that normally follows CCC. The CCC branch proponent schools will assume responsibility for teaching the CA[S.sup.3] staff officer skills as part of their curricula.

The captain's education system is under review and will continue to develop as part of the Army's transformation efforts.

Former Battery Commander's Decision: Job or Location. Deciding which of these two factors is most important is one of the most critical decisions former battery commanders must make. Eighty percent of our branch-qualified captains will serve in recruiting or AC/RC assignments immediately after commanding a battery. The remaining 20 percent will serve in varying nominative assignments, ranging from positions at USMA and ROTC to observer/controllers (O/Cs) at one of the CTCs and interns on the Joint Staff.

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Battery commanders nearing the end of their commands should talk to their assignment officers for specific assignment options.

Branch Qualification. DA Pam 600-3 outlines the requirements for branch qualification of captains, majors and lieutenant colonels.

The most misunderstood requirements are those to branch qualify as major. FA majors must serve in branch-qualifying/developmental positions for 24 months. An officer must serve 12 months in a branch-qualifying job--which are battalion/brigade S3 or executive officer (XO) or battalion/brigade/division artillery (Div Arty) S3 or XO--and an additional 12 months in a developmental position--which are corps fire support officer (FSO), assistant fire support (or effects) coordinator (AFSCOORD/AECOORD). deputy fire support coordinator (DFSCOORD/DECOORD), brigade FSO or brigade/Div Arty assistant S3.

Intermediate-Level Education (ILE). ILE is a 50-week military education level 4 (MEL-4) course replacing the Command and General Staff Officer's Course (CGSOC). Fort Leavenworth, after Year Group 93's (YG 93's) board-selection for CGSOC ends. It will be fully implemented for the class starting in August 2005.

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ILE will provide all AC commissioned (ACC) majors a quality, tailored, resident education by year groups. RC and special branch officers will continue to be board-selected for resident ILE. (Special branches are Chaplains Corps, Medical and Dental Corps, etc.) ILE consists of a 12-week common core phase and a 38-week career field phase.

The final CGSOC selection board for ACC officers is projected for the Fourth Quarter of FY04. This board will select 20 percent of YG 93 (last look). YG 93 officers not attending resident CGSOC must complete the non-resident course to be branch-qualified and eligible for promotion to lieutenant colonel.

Starting with YG 94, the HRC will select all ACC majors to attend ILE. The timing of YG 94 officers' attendance at ILE will be managed by their branches, based on the officers' assignments and career development cycle. However, all YG 94 officers must complete the course by academic year 2007-2008.

Starting with YG 94, the ILE common core is mandatory for all ACC officers. Officers who attend other-than-Army intermediate staff colleges, such as international or sister service schools, must complete the ILE common core in resident instruction by the deadline prescribed for their individual year groups to be ILE credentialed.

Joint Qualification. There is a common misperception that an officer needs to be joint-qualified to be competitive for battalion command--not true. However, officers must be joint-qualified to be considered for promotion to general officer.

Any commissioned officer who completes a full tour (36 months) in a joint duty assignment list (JDAL) billet is eligible for the Additional Skill Identifier (ASI) 3A Joint Duty Assignment Qualified. The JDAL consists of 3,171 Army joint positions, of which 234 are designated critical billets, as approved by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. The Army assigns approximately 900 officers to joint billets each year. The ASI 3A qualifies otherwise competitive colonels to be considered for promotion to general officer.

However, serving in a joint assignment does not qualify an officer to be a joint specialty officer (JSO). To be considered for JSO selection, officers must complete Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phases I and II followed by a full tour in a JDAL billet.

Phase I of JPME is taught at each service's command and staff college (CSC) and senior service college (SSC). For the Army, ILE is JPME Phase I.

Phase II is taught at the Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia. Because of the limited number of joint billets available for Army assignments, the Army cannot send everyone who is eligible to JPME Phase II. Priority of attendance goes to officers going to overseas joint assignments and then to those officers in branches and functional areas that have higher requirements to fill joint critical billets.

Enlisted Manning. It ain't business as usual. As we write, the Army is reviewing every Army personnel policy to ensure it is applicable to our country at war--and the core of the Army's might is our enlisted Soldiers.

The FA currently has 21,995 NCOs and Soldiers. With some overlap, our Soldiers fall into three categories: previously deployed, deployed and deploying. Eighty-eight percent of our Soldiers are in modified table of organization and equipment (MTOE) units leaving only 12 percent in table of distribution and allowance (TDA) units. Given those facts, there is little question that our force has quickly become a combat veteran force.

The Army has received approval to temporarily increase its AC strength by 30,000 Soldiers in the next four years. The FA will expand by 4,0583 Soldiers. This increase will be primarily in the maneuver UAs in the following MOS: 13B Cannoneer, 13D FA Tactical Data Systems Specialist, 13F Fire Support Specialist, 13R Firefinder Radar Operator and 13W Meteorological Crewmember.

On the one hand, it will be a challenge for the FA Training Center (FATC) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to receive and train these additional Soldiers. On the other, the veteran status of our NCO corps allows us to train these new Soldiers with combat veteran instructors. This summer the FATC and FA School at Fort Sill will have an influx of combat veteran NCOs from all over the Army to train our future force.

In terms of manning, the Army is making some significant changes to support our wartime footing.

Enlistment. To accommodate the the unit-focused stability (life cycle management) strategy, the Army is implementing new initiatives in enlistment, such as the variable enlistment length (VEL). Under VEL. some Soldiers being accessed are having their enlistment aligned with the lifecycle of their units.

The 2d Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, will be the first to receive Soldiers enlisted under VEL. Under this program, a Soldier's enlistment must incorporate basic training (BT) and advanced individual training (AIT) and the entire lifecycle (36 months) of the 2d ACR. This facilitates the section/squad/team's being together from the initiation of training to the completion of the unit's lifecycle.

At the same time, the Army will continue to use enlistment bonuses to attract Soldiers in critical skills and help shape and stabilize UAs and brigade combat teams throughout their lifecycles.

Retention. Retaining good Soldiers in the right skill sets is fundamental to maintaining our warfighting force. These young Soldiers represent the future of our branch and our Army.

In the last two years, the FA has done well in retaining America's best. But to meet the demands of our authorization increases, the Army has initiated several incentive programs. These include increases in enlistment bonuses (EBs), selective reenlistment bonuses (SRB) and targeted selective reenlistment bonuses (TSRB). FA Enlisted Branch is using TSRBs for MOS 13D, 13F and 13R in the 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia, as it enters its unit lifecycle as the 1st UA to ensure we have the right personnel to man its formations.

The FA also is offering some retention bonuses tied to specific geographical areas, such as Korea and in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Assignments. The Army's organizational culture is changing: homesteading no longer is considered an inhibitor to career progression. To improve unit readiness, stability, predictability and cohesion, the Army is encouraging Soldiers to stay at the same installation as long as feasible. However, some assignments will continue to require Soldiers to PCS sooner for professional development reasons and to meet the needs of the Army.

In the past, overseas requirements were about 75 percent of the PCSes Army-wide per year. In the immediate future, overseas requirements will force the Army to continue to move Soldiers until those units are relocated CONUS.

The FA currently has 5,337 Soldier authorizations outside of CONUS (OCONUS) (or 24 percent of FA authorizations): 1,440 are short tours in Korea. Although a Soldier can expect to stay at his CONUS assignment longer, he also should expect to serve overseas with the option to return to his CONUS base.

Another initiative, the personnel lifecycle unit selection system (PLU[S.sup.2]), allows Soldiers to volunteer for assignment in a UA at a particular post as the Army moves to modularity. For a list of units available for selection. Soldiers can go to the Enlisted Personnel website (https://www.perscomonline.army.mil/enlisted/enlisted.htm) and click on PLU[S.sup.2].

Soldiers and NCOs also should update their preferences for assignment locations through Army Knowledge Online (AKO), using the assignment satisfaction key (ASK) program. If Soldiers don't take the time to let the FA Enlisted Branch know their preferences, then the branch only can make assignments based on the needs of the Army and Soldiers' qualifications.

NCOES. The Army's NCOES will remain the foundation of NCO development, but it will change. In the past two years, through no fault of their own, thousands of NCOs Army-wide have been unable to attend NCOES training. This has been due to the large number of units involved in and the duration of recent deployments.

In the Field Artillery, 667 NCOs remain eligible for the advanced NCO course (ANCOC) and 1,751 are eligible for the basic NCO course (BNCOC). The Army's inability to send these NCOs to their NCOES schools resulted in eliminating graduation from NCOES schools as a condition for promotion. Centralized boards are being instructed that many NCOs have not attended their required school through no fault of their own and should be considered at the same rate for promotion as their peers who have attended the required NCOES schools. The Army considers this temporary and may re-institute the graduation requirement when the backlog is eliminated.

Under unit-focused stability manning, there has been a significant shift in the NCOES model--from select-train-promote to the more effective train-select-promote. To maintain trained, cohesive teams and reduce turbulence, Soldiers' attendance at NCOES will be deferred until after their units redeploy. Priority for NCOES attendance will be Soldiers about to deploy followed by Soldiers who just redeployed.

The Army will continually review NCOES to determine course lengths and establish the right balance between resident schooling and distance learning training.

Professional Development. Force stabilization allows Soldiers to become experts in their specialties by leaving them in units longer. Extending the Soldier's time on station provides for a depth of knowledge as opposed to a breath of knowledge. Unit-focused stability allows Soldiers to go through a predictable training cycle, culminating with an operational deployment. The NCO then can leave and complete other professional development requirements, such as serving as an instructor, an O/C at one of the CTCs, drill sergeant or recruiter, and return to the operational Army to fulfill the sergeant first class professional development requirements.

Promotion. Enlisted promotions will continue to be based on Army-wide requirements to ensure equitability and fairness within an MOS. Obviously, Force stabilization concepts will cause professional development career paths (professional blueprints) to change. Force stabilization will not lessen a Soldier's chances for promotion as he only will be stabilized in MTOE units.

Promotions will continue to be the reward for demonstrated potential at the next grade. So Soldiers with the desired skill sets, experience and performance will be the ones selected for promotion.

Troop-leading assignments will continue to be the single most important discriminator for promotion. Soldiers should seek out the hard assignments and do them well.

Both the FA Officer and Enlisted Branches strive to meet the needs of the Army while supporting FA commanders and Soldiers alike. Without a doubt, the Global War on Terrorism with the requirement to deploy forces in harm's way and the transformation of the Army will continue to cause personnel turbulence Army-wide. Regardless, the FA Branches will remain focused on People First and Mission Always!

Reset -- Two-month phase that initiates the sequential iteration of the
cycle. The goal is for 25 to 33 percent of the personnel in a lifecycle
unit to turn over for three-year tours during Reset.
Train -- Four-month phase for individual to collective training that
culminates with a certification exercise.
Ready -- 30-month phase in which the unit is available for deployment.
The unit maintains its training level, building its collective
Capabilities to sustain itself at the C-1 Level of readiness. Soldiers
can go for skill/leader training/development around operational
deployments at the commander's discretion.

Figure 2: Unit-Focused Stability 36-Month Lifecycle Management minimizes
deployed units' attrition (unprogrammed losses) by planning personnel
moves during the Reset Phase of the three-phased cycle.

* Programmed losses and replacements are synchronized to occur in
  Sustain.
* Allows for focused training and resource prioritization during Ready.
* Replaces losses during the Ready by exception only: Special Operations
  Forces (SOF), command sergeant major selectees, officer candidate
  school, etc.

Figure 3: Unit-Focused Stability Cyclic Management mans combat support
(CS), combat service support (CSS) and command and control units,
focusing on headquarters elements and low-density/high-impact
organizations at the division level and above. Each Sustain-Ready
combination is 12 months with a three-year cycle depicted in this
figure.

Considerations Then

Needs of the Army
Individual Replacement System
Officer Preference Statement
Tour Equity (Across the Force)
Time On-Station

Considerations Now

Needs of the Army (Law, War on Terrorism, Policy)
Readiness (War on Terrorism and Transformation)
Unit-Centric Stabilization (Breadth and Depth)
Skills and Experience
Developing Joint Officers

Figure 4: Officer Assignment Considerations: Then and Now

By Lieutenant Colonels Dennis J. Jarosz and Raymond L. Bingham

Lieutenant Colonel (Promotable) Dennis J. Jarosz has been the Chief of the Field Artillery Enlisted Branch, Human Resources Command (HRC), Alexandria, Virginia, since July 2002. He will attend the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, in August. In his previous assignment, he commanded the 2d Battalion, 82d Field Artillery (2-8 FA), Automatic, part of 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Lewis, Washington. In a previous tour with 2-8 FA, he was the S3 and Battalion Executive Officer.

Lieutenant Colonel Raymond L. Bingham has been the Chief of the FA Officer's Branch, HRC, since July 2003. In his previous assignment, he commanded 1-82 FA in the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Also at Fort Hood, he was the S3 of 4-42 FA, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized). During Operations Desert Shield and Storm, he commanded A Battery, 3-41 FA in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). He has had two tours with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon as an Intern in J5 and Senior Operations Officer in J3.