Transforming Army Leadership - The Key to Officer Retention

Abstract

Abstract : Army leaders of the twenty-first century will operate in a high OPTEMPO environment, with ever increasing military requirements and competing civilian demands for quality military officers. The new millennium will require numerous deployments involving a shrinking active duty force. These deployments and increased OPTEMPO requirements will continue to impact upon the Army's ability to retain high-quality junior officers. It is time to examine the role of the senior officer in solving the complex problem of officer retention. Personal leadership, which results in developing the leadership skills of junior officers while continuing to focus on time-honored traditions, is the key to retention. To insure success, transforming and updating leadership skills and senior officer command involvement in creating a positive command climate is a must. Much has been written on the problems of junior officer retention, and this paper will summarize those issues. However, this paper will analyze the relationship between junior and senior officers as the key to officer retention, focus on the reasons why many officers continue to make the military a career, and finally address the question of senior officer accountability in regards to junior officer retention and development.