West Point grads exit service at high rate

[ieffinhatecardio]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/11/west_point_grads_exit_service_at_high_rate/


West Point grads exit service at high rate
War's redeployments thought a major factor

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff  |  April 11, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Recent graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point are choosing to leave active duty at the highest rate in more than three decades, a sign to many military specialists that repeated tours in Iraq are prematurely driving out some of the Army's top young officers.

According to statistics compiled by West Point, of the 903 Army officers commissioned upon graduation in 2001, nearly 46 percent left the service last year -- 35 percent at the conclusion of their five years of required service, and another 11 percent over the next six months. And more than 54 percent of the 935 graduates in the class of 2000 had left active duty by this January, the statistics show.

The figures mark the lowest retention rate of graduates after the completion of their mandatory duty since at least 1977, with the exception of members of three classes in the late 1980s who were encouraged to leave as the military downsized following the end of the Cold War.

In most years during the last three decades, the period for which West Point released statistics, the numbers of graduates opting out at the five-year mark were between 10 percent and 30 percent, according to the data.

The rising exodus is blamed on a number of factors, including the economic lure of the private sector. But interviews with former West Point superintendents, graduates, and retired officers pointed to another reason: the wear and tear on officers and their families from multiple deployments.

The nation's premier military academy has started offering graduates new incentives to keep them from leaving active duty at their first opportunity.

For example, West Point now guarantees its graduates the home bases of their choice, as well as a chance to go to graduate school, in exchange for a commitment to serve at least three years beyond their five-year commitment.

Senator Jack Reed , a Rhode Island Democrat and a member of the West Point class of 1971, said a more young officers are shying away from multiple tours in Iraq.

Much of the drop in retention is the result of "the operational tempo," he said, referring to the high pace of overseas deployments since 2001.

The military academy at West Point, N.Y., established in 1802, has provided top Army officers for all the nation's wars. Along with a four-year degree and military training estimated to be worth millions of dollars per cadet, graduates receive the rank of first lieutenant in the Army.

West Pointers have been among the nation's most storied battlefield commanders, including Union commander Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate commander Robert E. Lee in the Civil War; World War II and Korean War hero General Douglas MacArthur; General Creighton Abrams, the top field commander in Vietnam and namesake of the Army's top battle tank, and Benjamin O'Davis, the nation's first black general.

In more recent years, West Point graduates have carried a heavy load in America's wars. One example is the class of 1966, which graduated at the height of the Vietnam War and saw many of its graduates serve as platoon commanders in Southeast Asia.

By the early 1970s, "a full third of the class was out or dead," retired Colonel Daniel M. Smith , a member of the class of 1966, said in an interview.

West Point grads have continued to stand out. The US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus , graduated in 1974.

But the Iraq War itself, with its repeated tours of duty and often-shifting military objectives, appears to have dissuaded more graduates than in recent history from continuing their military careers -- even as the Army has stressed that West Point training has become more important in an era of high-tech warfare.

West Point spokesman Francis J. DeMaro said he could not explain why more young officers were opting to leave the Army, and declined to comment further.

But the sharpest increases in those leaving the military were among those whose commitments expired in 2005 and 2006, as many units were going back to Iraq and Afghanistan for their second and third tours. In each of those years, covering the classes of 2000 and 2001, about 35 percent got out at their earliest opportunity.

The rate was significantly more than the classes from 1977 to 1986, which averaged 18 percent. For those who graduated between 1990 and 1999, 29 percent left after their five-year commitment.

The retention rates of the classes of 1987, 1988, and 1989 dipped the lowest of all, but that is widely attributed to the military's downsizing at the end of the Cold War.

"We were shrinking the officer corps in the early and mid-1990s," said retired General Wesley K. Clark, another member of West Point's class of 1966. "Early release was one step. We screened officers and encouraged them to get out."

Reed likened the departure of recently minted West Point graduates to the situation during the waning days of the Vietnam era, when "at the five-year mark you were losing a lot of officers because of the wear and tear."

Indeed, the percentages of recent graduates wanting to leave active duty may even be higher. The numbers do not reflect those who may have been forced to stay longer than five years under the wartime authority known as "stop-loss," in which the president can order troops with critical skills to remain on active duty.

The numbers also do not show how many of those who have left may have joined the Reserves or National Guard, DeMaro said. A total of four graduates from 2000 and 2001 have died on missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Clark said the departure from the ranks of West Point graduates cannot be overstated.

"There is a lot of development that goes into" molding these unique military leaders, he said in an interview. "There is no way to get them back."

[240 is Back]

i guess, despite what mm69 continues to display, our military men and women aren't stupid.

[ieffinhatecardio]

The best and the brightest military men and women are running away from this war. Now that's a legacy a President can be proud of.

[rockyfortune]

For example, West Point now guarantees its graduates the home bases of their choice, as well as a chance to go to graduate school, in exchange for a commitment to serve at least three years beyond their five-year commitment.




Really tough to go to graduate school if you are dead in the desert...great incentive.

[Tre]

The best and the brightest military men and women are running away from this war. Now that's a legacy a President can be proud of.

You nailed it.

[militarymuscle69]

The best and the brightest military men and women are running away from this war. Now that's a legacy a President can be proud of.

this one I will agree with you on, one of the complaints I made to Rumsfeld when he visited and I got to eat lunch with him was the fact that they were cutting 40,000 AF positions and expecting us to deploy more often. It isn't the fact that we are at war that are making thses officerd leave, it is the fact that they are being asked to deploy more because of service cuts that started under Clinton and are just now this year starting to be reversed

[ieffinhatecardio]

this one I will agree with you on, one of the complaints I made to Rumsfeld when he visited and I got to eat lunch with him was the fact that they were cutting 40,000 AF positions and expecting us to deploy more often. It isn't the fact that we are at war that are making thses officerd leave, it is the fact that they are being asked to deploy more because of service cuts that started under Clinton and are just now this year starting to be reversed

My life is now complete, thank you.

You never disappoint MM, nice job working in a shot at Clinton. I commend your ability to work party-line rhetoric into your post. Excellent job.

[militarymuscle69]

My life is now complete, thank you.

You never disappoint MM, nice job working in a shot at Clinton. I commend your ability to work party-line rhetoric into your post. Excellent job.

party line rhetoric? I guess you missed my complaints to Rumsfeld, but yes it started under clinton and Bush has continued it....blind hatred has affected your reading comprehension

[ieffinhatecardio]

party line rhetoric? I guess you missed my complaints to Rumsfeld, but yes it started under clinton and Bush has continued it....blind hatred has affected your reading comprehension

Hardly, you worked in a dig on a President that left office nearly two full terms ago. Anything he did or didn't do could have long ago been undone yet you still chose to throw a jab at him. I'm guessing if he were a Republican you wouldn't even have mentioned it.

Blind hatred directed at who? I don't hate anyone, and certainly not you. You're far too amusing to hate. You have me confused with Mr. Intenseone or as I like to call him, Mr. Hate.

[militarymuscle69]

Hardly, you worked in a dig on a President that left office nearly two full terms ago. Anything he did or didn't do could have long ago been undone yet you still chose to throw a jab at him. I'm guessing if he were a Republican you wouldn't even have mentioned it.

Blind hatred directed at who? I don't hate anyone, and certainly not you. You're far too amusing to hate. You have me confused with Mr. Intenseone or as I like to call him, Mr. Hate.

"Bush has continued it" that is the second time you missed my SHARED blame for the situation caused by clinton and continued by BUSH!!! Blind hatred for Bush

[Old_Rooster]

The best and the brightest military men and women are running away from this war. Now that's a legacy a President can be proud of.

naw, thats something the grads will have to live with as their legacy of being pussies.  Before you say i'm not there either, i didn't go to West point, i didn't sign up, they did.

[ieffinhatecardio]

"Bush has continued it" that is the second time you missed my SHARED blame for the situation caused by clinton and continued by BUSH!!! Blind hatred for Bush

Yes, I saw that both times. You're still missing my point, it's not about Clinton. He left office nearly TWO FULL TERMS ago. Why even bring him up. If it was a bad policy why didn't Bush change it?

Perhaps there are some policies Carter enacted you might want to criticize next, I mean after all he was a Democrat after all.

[militarymuscle69]

Yes, I saw that both times. You're still missing my point, it's not about Clinton. He left office nearly TWO FULL TERMS ago. Why even bring him up. If it was a bad policy why didn't Bush change it?

Perhaps there are some policies Carter enacted you might want to criticize next, I mean after all he was a Democrat after all.

because of the length of military service, these trends don't happen overnight. They just came out with targeted pay raises for warrant officers and SNCOs between 20-30years in the military. I only mention Clinton because the trend started then. I actually like the Bill half of the clintons, so it isn't partisan. But this deployment problem started then, it takes a long time to correct things in the military because #s are governed by lae. This year the #s are finally coming back

[Camel Jockey]

naw, thats something the grads will have to live with as their legacy of being pussies.  Before you say i'm not there either, i didn't go to West point, i didn't sign up, they did.

Sign up then. Practice what you preach.

[w8tlftr]

The best and the brightest military men and women are running away from this war. Now that's a legacy a President can be proud of.

The problem is that the military is sick and tired of being the pawns for both the Republican and Democratic party.

[240 is Back]

this one I will agree with you on, one of the complaints I made to Rumsfeld when he visited and I got to eat lunch with him was the fact that they were cutting 40,000 AF positions and expecting us to deploy more often. It isn't the fact that we are at war that are making thses officerd leave, it is the fact that they are being asked to deploy more because of service cuts that started under Clinton and are just now this year starting to be reversed

Guess what...

To Rummy, you were a number.  That's right.  And a whiny number at that.

[Tre]

If it was a bad policy why didn't Bush change it?

Because it was actually a good idea...one of the few Clinton had, mind you. 

[ribonucleic]

Guess what...

To Rummy, you were a number.  That's right.  And a whiny number at that.

I can't improve on that.

But "War's redeployments thought a major factor" has got to be th "No shit, Sherlock" moment of the week. 

[militarymuscle69]

I can't improve on that.

But "War's redeployments thought a major factor" has got to be th "No shit, Sherlock" moment of the week. 

Recruiting, Retention Rates Remain High for 10th Straight Month
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2006 – Recruiting and retention rates released today demonstrate that young people see military service as a viable career option and, once they join, they want to continue serving, Defense Department officials said today.

Active-duty statistics for March reflect continued across-the-board success for the 10th consecutive month, Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Pentagon spokesman, told American Forces Press Service.

The Army achieved 104 percent of its active-duty recruiting role for March, and the Marine Corps attained 102 percent, with almost 1,700 new members. The Navy and Air Force both met their monthly goals, recruiting more than 2,800 sailors and almost 3,200 airmen, respectively.

Reserve and National Guard recruiting remained strong too, particularly for the Army, which represents 80 percent of the entire reserve-component force. The Army National Guard exceeded its March goal by 2 percent, recruiting almost 6,700 members, and the Army Reserve attracted almost 2,300 soldiers, 89 percent of its goal.

The Marine Corps Reserve exceeded its March goal by 22 percent, signing on 457 new members. The Air Force Reserve achieved 117 percent of its goal for the second consecutive month, recruiting 722 airmen in March, and the Air National Guard met its goal, with 834 new recruits. The Navy Reserve recruited 757 sailors, 87 percent of its goal.

Re-enlistments in the active as well as reserve components ran higher during March than for the same period last year, Krenke reported.

The Army reported today that it's 15 percent ahead of its year-to-date active-duty re-enlistment goal of nearly 35,000. Almost 40,000 soldiers re-enlisted during the first six months of fiscal 2006.

.This trend is reflected in the Army's officer corps too, with the percentage of officers leaving the military at the end of their obligations continuing to remain lower than before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman

http://www.army.com/articles/item/1665

[ribonucleic]

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

 

[militarymuscle69]

LMFAO...so now the military is making up numbers?

[ribonucleic]

LMFAO...so now the military is making up numbers?

Of course not.

When has the military ever lied about anything?

 

[ieffinhatecardio]

LMFAO...so now the military is making up numbers?

I hate to pile on here but are you kidding? Are you honestly saying they wouldn't lie?

[militarymuscle69]

I hate to pile on here but are you kidding? Are you honestly saying they wouldn't lie?

serious the only thing I want to know is why you are rooting for defeat....why eles would you discredit every piece of good news?

[ribonucleic]

serious the only thing I want to know is why you are rooting for defeat....why eles would you discredit every piece of good news?

The only thing I want to know is why you're afraid to answer his simple question.

Never mind. I think we all know.