Talent Management : The Army Bureaucracy Essay

The Army White Paper, The Profession of Arms, provides an insight into what it means for the Army to be a Profession of Arms, what it means to be a professional Soldier, and how Soldiers individually and as a profession meet these aspirations after a decade of war. The Army is made up of numerous jobs that have multiple roles. One in particular is the Human Resource Sergeant. HR Sergeants are a profession of its own; they provide a broader framework for the Profession of Arms, balance the role of the Profession’s leaders, and are greatly influenced by the Army’s professional culture.

Stewardship of the Army Profession is the last of the Five Essential Characteristics of the Army Profession, but in terms of importance, it is just as, if not more important than the other four. The United States Army’s ADRP-1, or Army Doctrinal Reference Publication 1, even defines stewardship as “the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”. Such importance is placed on this characteristic because Stewardship of the Army Profession is the one that ensures the other four are maintained. I sought out the definition of stewardship because despite having spent almost three and a half years and West Point, I was not entirely sure what the doctrine behind Stewardship was. In doing this, I felt like I was better prepared for both this paper and ensuring that the corrections I made were stewarding the profession. With this newly acquired knowledge, I set out to make my corrections.

As the Army transitions from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the organization is well served to take a long look in the mirror. After ten plus years of deployments, our combat tested warriors are sure to possess more than enough valuable knowledge to reinforce and improve upon our status as a profession. A TRADOC published paper explains “to be a professional is to understand, embrace, and competently practice the expertise of the profession.” I believe the profession of arms exists and there are many components that reinforce this argument. Among these components, initial entry training and institutional learning, shared values, and a monopoly on our mission are three of the most important tenants. All Soldiers must graduate

Army leaders must balance the link between the Army’s culture and it’s climate and institutional practices. When there is a proper balance it has a huge impact on the mindset of the Army’s Soldiers. Their actions or inactions impacts the five key attributes of the profession, and the four fields of expertise, and have long term effects on the Army’s culture and climate. These actions influence Soldiers’ perceptions that they are serving professional who have answered the call of service to the republic, it is important that Soldiers understand that their role is a calling and not just a job.

The main idea of this publication is to create a collective understanding of the Army Profession by providing the Service members the guidelines and definitions of it and the Army Ethic. Fail to follow or even understand the concept of rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad have been the reason of studies, due to the consequences this could bring upon the service. This publication defines the membership and affiliation of competent individuals in character and commitment, five essential characteristics legitimize the Army as a military profession, trust, military expertise, honorable service, spirit de corps, and stewardship. Trust is vital in society at school, at work, at home, among the citizens, trust in the skills of those you depend on, and trust that the mail will be deliver to your home to give an example. American people perhaps have lost or are close to lose the trust in the highest level of government being this the direct orchestrator of the actions perform by the armed forces, after planning and rehearsals every move is directed and now that the population does not support or agreed with many of these actions government has to act to regain the support and reassurance of the masses. American people as society trust their arm forces to perform their duty to protect them and their country, support and defend the constitution society trust the strongest Army in the world due to the technology it possess and the will soldiers have

Talent Management is a key component to the proper development of the Army. As a strength manager, you can play a pivotal role in the talent management process. Strength managers manage the current force pool versus the requirements of the organization. A common approach used in the Army National Guard is to break down the assigned strength into different categories are “Obligors” or “Careerists”. These groups, based on their current time served in the organization and their probable plans to make the Army a career.

Trust is the foundational attribute that every professional Soldier should possess. Despite sustained military conflicts throughout the world over the past thirteen years, we have still been able to maintain firm belief in our reliability as an Army. When it comes to confidence from the public other organizations such as the police, the government, the media, and various other organizations do not have the same level of trust that the American people have in us. Trust is the most important of the five characteristics of the Army profession. Without trust we would lose the support of the American public, trust is the embodiment of our profession, and trust drives the four other characteristics of the Army profession.

The situation in today 's Army is clearly much different from what existed years ago. Many changes have occurred, moving the Army 's EO program from a strictly educational and training initiative to a multifaceted management program with clear goals and objectives. These goals and objectives are also an integral part of human relations and are nurtured and developed through a professional military education system.

As a former member of the recruiting organization, I have intimate knowledge of how the organization works, its overall mission and the impact of how not accomplishing that mission affects not only the state of Georgia, but the entire United States Army and the Department of Defense. The key points I will address in this research paper are the following: 1) to detail the major changes that should be enacted in order to move the organization into a different mindset; 2) to attempt to share the strategic plan of the Defense Department, in regards to its

There are many things that contribute to the US Army’s status as a profession. The US Army relies heavily on patriotism and positive public opinion to maintain its status as a profession. The US Army currently sustains its enlistment levels solely through volunteers from the general population. Throughout history the draft has been initiated very rarely in order to augment the ranks. Congress approves the funding and benefits that make the US Army a viable profession for those US citizens who volunteer to serve. Without adequate financial support, many soldiers could not afford to volunteer to serve. The public must trust that military and congressional leaders will utilize the Army, comprised of the sons and daughters who volunteered to serve, in moral and ethical ways and for purposes that support only the best interests of the United States. If Army soldiers and their leaders’ acts in reprehensible ways that destroy the trust and confidence the public places in this profession, the status of the Army stands at risk of declining.

During the overall restructuring of the United States Army current active Army units began to transform into modular organizations to enhance the capability to perform its mission by making them a quickly deployable, flexible and lethal unit than had been previously structured. Therefore, Combat Aviation Brigades were developed and are multi-functional, allowing for a combination of attack helicopters, reconnaissance helicopters, medium lift helicopters, heavy lift helicopters, and medical evacuation capabilities. It was decided that aviation units will not be a portion of a larger unit such as combat brigades and will continue to reside at the division level due to resource constraints. The various helicopters that are to be

Currently on average Soldiers today are older than those who served prior to the acts of September 11th (Taylor, 2011). Over the last 25 years the military has also increased greatly with the number of minorities that are serving within the ranks, in a 2009 study it was reported that nearly with one-third of the active force are now minorities (Taylor, 2011). The military is also far more educated than they were two decades ago; with far more college graduates serving and nearly ninety-three percent being high school graduates (Taylor, 2011). This percentage is increasingly accurate within Alpha Troop with only two soldiers of the ninety three that are currently on the unit manning report having General Education Diplomas (GED). Overall, the experience that comes with age and the knowledge that comes with education has allowed both the military and Alpha Troop to make significant strides when dealing with societal

As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.

Adaptive leadership is becoming widespread in the United States Army amongst junior officers in leadership positions that require quick thinking and innovation. Leonard Wong discusses how the versatile and unpredictable enemy and situations in Iraq produces adaptable junior officers. These officers are learning to make decisions under chaotic conditions and are becoming more mentally agile. The Army is changing. The Army is transforming its capabilities in the war in Iraq to be effective and successful. General Schoomaker states that we will not accomplish our goals as a nation in the 21st century unless our Army becomes much more agile but with the capacity for long term, sustained level of conflict. The Army is in the process of

The Army is a profession because it requires a collaboration of highly training Soldiers who possess specialized skills that combine to operate in complex situations in more complex environments. General Martin Dempsey stated that “The Profession of Arms requires expert knowledge, and that expertise is manifested as unique skills in the individual professional and by Army units.” For the purpose of this paper the operational definition of the term profession is: a type of job that requires special education training, or skill. In order to meet and maintain the demands of this definition, The Army has established the Army Development Model which consists of institutions, operational training, and self-development to create highly skilled service members.