Junior Officer Career Progression: A Reevaluation

As the Long War against terror continues, many company grade officers are choosing to separate from the Army. This is due to a variety of factors, including, stress on families due to multiple deployments, and the inability to attend advanced schooling. As a result our formations are suffering from a lack of captains. Occurring simultaneously in the institutional Army, Training and Doctrine Command TRADOC, is struggling to provide relevant training for units deploying to an ever changing battlefield. In order to address both issues, the Army should restructure young officers career progression. Officers should serve a tour of duty within Training and Doctrine Command TRADOC after their first operational tour within Forces Command FORCOM, thus increasing retention rates among captains, manning Army TRADOC schools and Army accessions with combat veterans, providing the most current institutional knowledge, with the additional benefit of filling company command billets with more mature and prepared commanders.