G1: Army seeking to slow deployment frequencies
By Sgt. 1st Class Tammy M. Jarrett
October 27, 2004
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 27, 2004) -- The Army's top personnel officer told about 300 AUSA corporate members at the AUSA 50th Annual Meeting Oct. 25 that the Army is decisively engaged In the war on terror, but seeking to stabilize turbulence.
The goal is to have active-duty units home for at least two years before deploying again and five years for those in the Guard and Reserve, said Lt. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck, G1. However, some units are going to deploy more rapidly at least for the next year or two, he said.
Hagenbeck said the Army has been transforming into an expeditionary Army since 9/11, where new recruits and present Soldiers are being made more readily available for deployment. Jobs once traditionally held by Soldiers are now being transitioned into the civilian sector, Hagenbeck said.
The expeditionary Army is moving the Army from the individual replacement forces, where "we changed faces repetitively day in and day out overtime," Hagenbeck said, to more stable and cohesive units. These units will be kept together for 36 months at a time where they will train, deploy, fight and come home together, Hagenbeck said.
Even with the quick redeployment turn around, Hagenbeck said recruiting and retention efforts are doing well, bringing in 101 percent on the active side this year and aiming for 80,000 recruits for this fiscal year and 80,000 next fiscal year.
Hagenbeck said people are looking to come into the Army, but not by the traditional ways. There's the Internet, the "Army of One" Web site and much more one-on-one contact with recruiters in the field at high schools.
Because new recruits are asking for more individual attention, an additional 1,000 recruiters have been identified "to give them that face time they demand to join our ranks," Hagenbeck said.
Keeping soldiers in has gone well also. Hagenbeck said they surpassed their goal of 56,000 for the active side this past year by more than 4,000.
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