Our brigade is going through an amazing amount of turmoil, and the next 9 months hold a great deal of uncertainty.
Pretty much all senior leadership has turned over. Brigade cmdr, Bde Cmd Sgt Major, all battalion cmdrs and most CSMs. We have a new S1, S2, S6, S7, Deputy Bde Cmdr, and probably a new S3 (These are the various primary staff officers.) We have a new JAG, and the IG slot is going away.
In addition, we are completely reorganizing the brigade. The M1 tanks are going away, and those soldiers will become MPs and cooks and unmanned aerial vehicle operators and military intelligence types. The support battalion is moving to another part of the state. The truck drivers and material handlers and mechanics are going to become part of a recon and security battalion, driving Bradleys. The combat engineers in north Idaho are going to become the new support battalion. All this is happening in the months after returning from deployment, and leaders are trying to be sensitive to additional demands being placed on soldiers.
The numbers of people qualified in their jobs is going to plummet, and lots of folks will have to go to schools. Some folks will choose not to stay in because they don’t want to leave home again so soon, or because they don’t want to do the new job, and our personnel numbers are going to decline.
Recruiting is going to be a huge push. Idaho is one of five pilot states that will now pay a “bounty” on recruits. If I refer a recruit, I get $1,000 when s/he signs up, and another $1,000 when s/he completes schooling. Pretty much anyone is eligible for the bounty, even civilians.
2 comments:
Wow, that does sound like a lot of change all at once! Is this something new, or does this happen to most returning units?
I've wondered about these transitions. My husband is AD in a life cycle brigade. All came in at the same time, are in for 3 years, then all will depart at the same time - the brigade commander, the battalion commanders, etc. All leadership will change at the same time. What happened to having experienced personnel on hand during the transition to ease it all through? It seems as if somebody didn't plan ahead on this.
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