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Army Offers Incentives to Try to Retain Officers
Data Project Shortage of 3,500 Experienced Leaders Mostly in Active-Duty Units
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 12, 2006; Page A12
The Army, forecasting a shortage of several thousand officers as wartime demands grow, is boosting the incentives it offers to try to hold on to experienced commanders.
The need for officers is expected to be acute in career fields strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as transportation, aviation, Special Forces and military intelligence, Army personnel statistics show. Demand is also high for skills concentrated in Army Reserve units heavily deployed in Iraq, such as military police and civil affairs. The Army projects it will fall 7 percent short of the number of active-duty officers it needs with ranks from captain to colonel, with shortages rising to 15 to 50 percent for dozens of specific ranks and skills.
In another sign of the pressing demand for officers, the Army is recalling hundreds of officers who had returned to civilian life but who are still subject to call-up, sparking protests from some who have already served in Iraq and now face more than a year of extended war-zone duty.
The looming officer shortage is part of a wider manpower crunch the Army faces stemming from the surge in demand for U.S. ground forces at home and overseas since the 2001 terrorist attacks. But it is distinct from the Army's recruiting difficulties, reflecting less a problem with signing up new officers than one of promoting and retaining experienced officers.
The shortfall could worsen if the number of officers leaving the force continues to grow. The percentage of officers -- from lieutenants to colonels -- who leave the Army each year has been rising since 2004.