OFFICER CAREER MANAGEMENT

Transcription

1 Section 10 OFFICER CAREER MANAGEMENT Key Points Officership Track 1 Officer Career Management 2 Reserve Component Officer Career Management 3 The Elements of the Officer Education System (OES) 4 Force Stabilization e We already know that the Army produces well-trained and highly competent warfighters well grounded in the warrior ethos. But ongoing operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world have shown us that we must do a better job of producing pentathlete leaders. Our Army undertakes a range of missions that go beyond our traditional warfighting role, and we must develop and implement new skill sets that better prepare our leaders to succeed in these new environments. Army Chief of Staff GEN George W. Casey Jr.

2 Officer Career Management 313 Introduction As the chief of staff has outlined in the quote at the beginning of this chapter, the Army requires multiskilled leaders prepared for the challenges of the future. These challenges will come through joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational (JIIM) operations. Pentathlete leaders possess sharply honed warfighting skills but they are also versatile, mentally agile, and culturally aware. Business acumen and governance skills are important, too, given the nation-building activities in which the Army is increasingly involved. To best prepare for operations in the 21 st century, you must seek a wide variety of developmental opportunities that expand the breadth and depth of your individual experience. Rather than checking the block in certain positions, your focus should be on bringing the Warrior Ethos to every job and every facet of your development. You must seek and use challenging assignments at all levels to help you hone, through experience, what you have learned through your formal education about leading and training Soldiers. Officer careers are dictated by operational factors such as the time constraints, Army requirements, positions available, and readiness rather than a static timeline. Your career success will depend, not on the number or type of positions you will hold, but rather on the quality of your duty performance in every assignment. Success is tied to your individual contribution and related to your definition of success in the profession of arms. Previously accepted conventions regarding personnel management and branch qualification no longer apply. To successfully lead Soldiers in the 21 st century, you will require a demonstrated mastery of branch, functional area, or skills specific to your military occupation specialty (MOS), as well as grounding in the Army Values. If you adopt a Warrior Ethos and a joint, expeditionary mindset, you will be confident that you are organized, trained, and equipped to operate anywhere in the world, at any time, in any environment, against any adversary to accomplish your assigned mission. Critical Thinking e Given your basic branch, describe what a pentathlete leader might be like. Officer Career Management The elements of career planning for Army officers are embodied in the three pillars of leader development: institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development. These three represent a continuous cycle of selection, education, training, experience, assessment, feedback, reinforcement, and evaluation. Learning, experience, and feedback provide the basis for professional growth. Throughout your Army career, you will develop steadily and carefully as this cycle repeats in a logical, progressive, and continuous sequence. As a successful platoon leader, for instance, you may become a key support platoon leader, executive officer, or assistant staff officer. You will then continue schooling and taking on assignments that will further prepare you for company command. The elements of career planning are embodied in the three pillars of leader development: institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development.

3 314 SECTION 10 Overall, the leader-development process enhances your ability to assume positions of greater responsibility. The needs of the Army and the unit, along with your demonstrated potential, remain the primary focus of this process. The overarching priority of the leaderdevelopment process and your career planning is to develop yourself as a leader of character and competence. The purpose is to create a leader who acts to achieve excellence and who understands and can exploit the full potential of current and future Army doctrine. This chapter will briefly discuss the Officer Personnel Management System (OPMS). The recent changes to OPMS were essential because fundamental change is required for the Army officer corps to lead forces across the full spectrum of crises in the early 21st century. The intent of OPMS XXI is to enhance the Army s warfighting ability; to provide all officers with a reasonable opportunity for success; and to meet Army requirements with an officer corps equipped with the right grades and skills. Officer Personnel Management System the Army program to enhance the effectiveness and professionalism of the officer corps Officer Personnel Management System (OPMS) Ever since the first officer management system was instituted in 1972, the Officer Personnel Management System has undergone constructive change. Rather than continually rename the system, the current and future versions of the Army s Officer Personnel Management System are simply referred to as OPMS. OPMS encompasses all policies and procedures by which Army-field grade, companygrade, and warrant officers are acquired, developed, assigned, sustained, evaluated, promoted and transitioned. OPMS ensures that the professional officer corps is capable of meeting the challenges of the Future Force. The system is under constant review to ensure it remains flexible and responsive. It s focused on developing officers with functionally relevant competencies to meet the needs of the Army and the nation throughout the next century. In short, OPMS enhances the Army s warfighting ability. It provides all officers with a reasonable opportunity for success. It also meets the Army s requirements for a balanced officer corps with the right grades and skills. Strength Management The number of officers, by grade and specialty, are defined by Army requirements, budget, and policy, as well as by law. Each of these factors is dynamic. As Army requirements for force structure change, the officer inventory will also change and be realigned to meet the needs of the resulting force structure. Assignments Throughout your career you will be assigned to fulfill current and future Army requirements while meeting the professional development needs of the various branches, functional areas, and functional categories. Your best interests are balanced against Army requirements. Professional Development Each branch or functional area defines the mix of education, training, and assignments the officer corps needs at each grade level. The Army Human Resources Command (HRC) will work to develop your career using broad models while factoring in Army requirements. To ensure your professional development, HRC operates in concert with the branch and functional area proponents, commanders in the field, the senior Army leadership, and you. All these parties share the responsibility for your professional development. The development models and charts in DA PAM show the full range of training, education, and experiences you will need as a future Army leader (see Figure 10.1). Evaluation The Army officer structure is pyramid shaped. There are many more junior grades at the base than senior grades at the top. Advancement to increasingly more responsible positions is based on relative measures of your performance and potential. The mechanism for judging the value of your performance and potential is the Officer Evaluation Report (OER).

4 Officer Career Management 315 Figure 10.1 Officer Development Model Promotion, school selection, functional designation, command and key billet selection, retention in service, and development opportunities are all based on the information contained in the OER. The OER will reinforce the link between your development and OPMS. When you reach the rank of captain, the immediate rater and senior rater will make a recommendation concerning your functional designation. Centralized Selection The Army advances and retain officers through a process known as centralized selection. Department of the Army and HRC selection boards conduct the centralized selection. They balance factors of strength management with your professional development and individual contribution, and they determine issues of retention, career status, schooling, promotion, field-grade command designation, and selective early retirement. These boards use evaluation reports, competency guidance, and Army strength requirements to advance you to the next stage of professional development. Officers generally flow through the centralized selection subsystem by groupings based on date of rank (DOR). Company- and field-grade officer groupings are termed cohort year groups. Warrant officer groupings are called the inclusive zone of eligibility.each board is preceded by a zone announcement that specifies the makeup of the cohort or inclusive zone. Centralized selection perpetuates the Army s ideals, cultural values, ethics, and professional standards by advancing and retaining only those individuals best qualified to assume positions of greater responsibility. Review Process The Officer Personnel Management System was designed to be reviewed periodically. At the discretion of the Army chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff for Personnel, G-1, and the functional designation the program that assigns officers and enlisted Soldiers an area of specialization for their Army careers that uses their special aptitudes and skills

5 316 SECTION 10 commander of Human Resources Command will conduct a joint review of OPMS to determine the health of the system and to recommend changes. Formal reviews occur semiannually. Functionally Aligned Design The functionally aligned design is the heart of OPMS. It is intended to align branches and functional areas, consistent with joint doctrine, and to focus on development of multiskilled leaders with broad, relevant competencies. The Army groups officers by similar functions to facilitate the development of competencies required on the future battlefield. Functionally aligned design is not intended to reflect where officers serve on the battlefield, but to align the functions and skills required. The three functional categories and associated functional groups are: 1. Maneuver, Fires, & Effects (MFE). This functional category gathers maneuver branches and functional areas that have similar battlefield applications or complementary roles. This grouping includes the following functional groups, with the branches and functional areas listed: Maneuver: Armor (19), Infantry (11), and Aviation (15) Fires: Field Artillery (13) and Air Defense Artillery (14) Maneuver Support: Engineer (21), Chemical (74), and Military Police (31) Special Operations Forces (SOF): Special Forces (18), Psychological Operations (37), and Civil Affairs (38) Effects: Public Affairs (46) and Information Operations (30). 2. Operations Support (OS). This functional category gathers two existing branches, Military Intelligence and Signal, with functional areas that have similar battlefield applications or complementary roles. Also included in this functional category are the functions associated with Force Training, Development, and Education that design, build, and train the force. The category includes the following: Network & Space Operations: Signal Corps (25), Information Systems Management (53), Telecommunication Systems Engineer (24), and Space Operations (40) Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR) & Area Expertise: Military Intelligence (35), Strategic Intelligence (34), and Foreign Area Officer (FAO) (48) Plans Development: Strategic Plans and Policy (59) and Nuclear and Counterproliferation (52) Forces Development: Force Management (50) and Operations Research and Systems Analysis (ORSA) (49) Education and Training: Permanent Academy Professor (47) and Simulation Operations (57). 3. Force Sustainment (FS). This functional category is based around a Logistics Corps. It is made up of all branches and functional areas associated with logistics, resource, and Soldier support functions: Integrated Logistics Corps: Transportation Corps (88), Ordnance (91), Quartermaster (92), and the Logistics branch (90), formerly the Multifunctional Logistician functional area Soldier Support: Adjutant General Corps (42), Human Resources (43/AOC 42H), Finance Corps (44), and Comptroller (45) Acquisition Corps (51) Special Branches: Chaplain, Judge Advocate General (JAG), and the six Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Corps (Medical, Dental, Veterinary, Nurse, Medical Specialist, and Medical Services).

6 Officer Career Management 317 Under OPMS, the Army posts company-grade officers in the basic branches. Their proponents give these officers a series of educational and developmental assignments. During their company-grade years, captains are designated into one of three officer functional categories. Here they continue their development either in their basic branch or in a functional area. Officers in the Reserve Component will also undergo functional designation with their Active Component counterparts. However, modification to the process is necessary to accommodate personnel-management considerations unique to the Army National Guard (ARNG) and US Army Reserve (USAR). Officers will have two opportunities for functional designation (FD) during their company-grade years: at their fourth year of service (YOS), and then at their seventh YOS. The four-year FD Board will allow a small number of officers to be designated into select functional areas that have critical positions to fill from the Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE). The four-year board is designed to identify and target officers with critical skills early, allowing them to get training and bring their skills to bear as quickly as possible. The seven-year FD Board is designed to distribute the remainder of the force into the branches and functional areas of the three functional categories. The intent of this board is to fill requirements and provide the functional areas enough time to send their officers to school and training before the officers deployment. The FD process is carried out by a centralized board at Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA). To ensure that the Army s needs are met for future field-grade officers in each branch or functional area, these boards consider the following factors: Officer education, training, and experience Evaluation reports Development models Officer preferences Strength requirements. Each factor has its own unique characteristics and development goals for officers, which reflect the Army s readiness requirements today and into the twenty-first century. Officers in all functional categories are assigned across the Army in tables of organization and equipment (TOE) and tables of distribution and allowances (TDA) organizations. Following your functional designation, you will be assigned to a position requiring expertise in the particular specialty associated with your designation. You may also be assigned to a developmental position that requires leadership and managerial skills common to all officers. Reserve Component Officer Career Management The Reserve Component (RC) consists of three categories: the Ready Reserve, the Standby Reserve, and the Retired Reserve. All Reserve and Guard manpower is assigned to one of these three categories. The largest majority of RC Soldiers is assigned to the Ready Reserve, and this is where the majority of company-grade officers serve. This section will focus on the elements of the Ready Reserve; for more information on the other categories, please see DA PAM 600-3, Chapter 7. The Ready Reserve consists of the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), and the Inactive National Guard (ING), as described below: The Selected Reserve consists of the following: Units manned and equipped to serve and/or train either as operational or as augmentation units. Soldiers assigned to Army Reserve and ARNG units fall into this category, which is divided into two subgroups:

7 318 SECTION 10 Troop Program Unit Reservists. These are trained unit members who participate in unit training activities on a part-time basis. These Soldiers are required to perform (drill) 48 Unit Training Assemblies (UTAs) per year and 14 days (15 days for ARNG) per year in annual training (AT) status. These members are in a paid status while performing these duties and are sometimes referred to as M-Day Soldiers. Active Guard Reserve (AGR). AGR status is defined as officers serving in an active duty status for at least 180 days, and performing administrative and training duties in direct support of the ARNG and USAR. These are Guard or Reserve members of the Selected Reserve who are ordered to active duty or full-time National Guard duty for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the Reserve component units. The primary objective of the AGR program is to improve the readiness of the Reserve Component. Training Pipeline (Nondeployable Account). The nondeployable account consists of selected Reserve enlisted soldiers who have not yet completed initial active duty for training (IADT). It also includes all officers who are in training for professional categories, undergraduate flying training, chaplain candidates, health profession students, early commissioning program participants, and Cadets enrolled in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP). Individual Mobilization Augmentation (IMA) (Army Reserve only). These are trained individuals assigned to an active component, Selective Service System, or Federal Emergency Management Agency organization's billet that must be filled on or shortly after mobilization. Officers assigned to this control group perform at least 12 days of AT each year and are assigned to a specific duty position in an Active Component (AC) unit or organization. The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) (USAR only) consists of those Army Reserve Ready Reservists who are not in the Selected Reserve. The IRR is a manpower pool composed principally of individuals who have had training, who have served previously on active duty or in the Selected Reserve, and who have some period of their military service obligation remaining. Members may voluntarily participate in training for retirement points and promotions with or without pay. IRR members may be (but are not presently) required to meet the same training requirements as Selected Reservists. Required training (involuntary) may not exceed 30 days a year. Upon commissioning, most officers will have an eight-year military service obligation, of which a portion may be served in the IRR. The Inactive National Guard (ING) (ARNG only) consists of National Guard personnel in an inactive status in the Ready Reserve, not in the Selected Reserve, attached to a specific National Guard unit. To remain ING members, they muster once a year with their assigned unit, but do not participate in training activities. ING soldiers are considered mobilization assets of the unit. Similar to other IRR, some ING members have legal and contractual obligations. ING members muster once a year, but may not participate in training activities for points or pay and are not eligible for promotion. The purpose of OPMS is to effectively and efficiently manage assigned companyand field-grade officers. OPMS increases the effectiveness and professionalism of the Army Reserve and ARNG officer corps by producing officers who meet the same qualifications as their Active Component counterparts, and who are able to perform effectively in their branch or functional area as a part of the Total Army team. All branches and functional areas in the Active Component under OPMS are open to the Reserve Component and are reflected in the RC force structure. The functional-area alignment-designation process, however, requires modification to accommodate personnel-management considerations unique to the ARNG and Army Reserve.

8 Officer Career Management 319 While the goals of OPMS for the Reserve Component are the same as those for officers on the Active Duty List, laws and regulations specific to the ARNG and USAR affect its implementation. OPMS is divided into two subprograms for Reserve Component implementation purposes: OPMS-ARNG is a function of the state, within the guidance and policies established by HQDA and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) OPMS-USAR is administered by the Army Human Resources Command in St. Louis, Missouri (AHRC-St Louis). AHRC- St Louis manages all USAR officers not serving in the Active Component, regardless of the component or control group to which they are currently assigned. More specific guidance for OPMS-USAR is addressed in AR 1AR , and AR , and for the Active Guard Reserve Program in AR The promotion, assignment, and transfer of officers is a collective effort between the career management officer, the officer, and his or her unit. The applicable TOE or TDA prescribes the grade, branch, and MOS requirements for positions to which officers may be assigned. In the RC environment, assignment options are constrained by the force structure and demographic and geographic limitations. For these reasons, RC officers may need to accept assignments throughout the Selected Reserve. RC officers must also realize the possibility of occasional and temporary transfers to the IRR, especially in conjunction with the completion of Professional Development Education (PDE) requirements. These transfers provide the officer an opportunity to complete required studies without the distraction of a troop assignment and allow other officers the opportunity to gain troop leadership experience. RC officers are considered for promotion using the same general time-in-grade requirements as their AC contemporaries. However, actual promotion timelines among the two groups may differ greatly. Whereas AC officers are promoted according to sequence number within a year group, promotion of RC officers depends completely upon the grade required by their assigned duty position. As a result, RC officers may get promoted ahead of their peers if they are selected for and qualified to hold a position of the next higher grade. They may also get promoted much later than their peers if no position is available at the next higher grade. The Elements of the Officer Education System (OES) The Officer Education System (OES) provides the formal military educational foundation to company- and field-grade officers. It enables them to undertake increased responsibilities and perform successfully at the next-higher level. Its goal is to produce a broad-based corps of leaders who possess the necessary values, attributes, and skills to perform their duties and serve the nation. These leaders must know how the Army runs and demonstrate confidence, integrity, critical judgment, and responsibility. They must be able to operate in an environment of complexity, ambiguity, and rapid change. To build effective teams capable of supporting joint and multinational operations, they must be adaptable, creative, and bold. They must be able to adapt to continuous organizational and technological change. You can read more about the evolution of OES for the future force and changes on the near horizon in DA PAM 600-3, Chapter 4, Officer Education. The following are key aspects of officer education: Common Core Common core is the group of common skills, training, and training subjects prescribed by law, Army regulations, or other higher authority. Common core gives you the tools to

9 320 SECTION 10 undertake the tasks all officers are expected to perform successfully, regardless of branch. Common-core instruction begins at precommissioning and continues at each educational level: Basic Officer Leader Course, Captain s Career Course, Intermediate Level Education, and Senior Service College. The instruction is progressive and sequential, building upon the skills and knowledge you acquire through training and operational assignments. Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) BOLC occurs in three phases: BOLC I is pre-commissioning training conducted by the traditional precommissioning sources (ROTC, the US Military Academy, and Officer Training School). It provides you with the foundation of common-core skills, knowledge, and attributes the Army wants all newly commissioned lieutenants to have. BOLC II is a common block of instruction designed to further develop you and all new Army lieutenants into competent small-unit leaders with a common warfighting focus and Warrior Ethos. BOLC III consists of branch-specific technical and tactical training conducted at branch-school locations. BOLC-DCO is a course designed to give direct commission officers, who do not have the benefit of BOLC I pre-commissioning training, the necessary skills to achieve success at BOLC II. Captain s Career Course (CCC) The branch CCC prepares company-grade officers to command Soldiers at the company, troop, or battery level, and to serve as staff officers at battalion and brigade levels. Activecomponent officers incur a one-year active duty service obligation for attendance at a branch CCC upon completion or termination of the course. Officers attend CCC following selection for promotion to the grade of captain, normally before company-level command. Captains who have demonstrated superior performance in their basic branches may be selected to receive this training at other than their branch schools. (For example, a Field Artillery officer might attend the CCC for Armor officers.) This cross-training benefits officers of both branches. Officers seeking accession into Special Forces will normally attend the Infantry CCC. The captain s Professional Military Education (PME) centers on the technical, tactical, and leadership competencies needed for success in follow-on assignments. Intermediate Level Education (ILE) Intermediate Level Education is the Army s formal education program for majors. It is a tailored resident-education program designed to prepare new field-grade officers for their next 10 years of service. It produces field-grade officers with a Warrior Ethos and a joint, expeditionary mindset, who are grounded in warfighting doctrine, and who have the technical, tactical, and leadership competencies to be successful at more-senior levels. ILE consists of a common-core phase of operational instruction offered to all officers, and a tailored educational phase tied to the technical requirements of the officer s branch or functional area. Senior Service College (SSC) The SSC provides senior-level professional military education and leader-development training. It is the Army s formal education program for colonels. The Army s SSC, the Army War College (AWC), prepares military, civilian, and international leaders to assume strategicleadership responsibilities in military or national security organizations. It educates students

10 Officer Career Management 321 about employment in the US Army as part of a unified, joint, or multinational force in support of the national military strategy; researches operational and strategic issues; and conducts outreach programs that benefit the nation. Reserve Component Officer Education RC officers are authorized to attend resident Army service schools to become qualified in their present or projected assignments as funds and allocations allow. Attendance at resident service schools is the preferred option for all RC officers. It allows for peer-to-peer interaction and an ongoing exchange of ideas and experiences. It also allows RC officers to interact with their AC counterparts and provide them with information about the RC. It is understood, however, that not all RC officers will be able to attend all service schools in residence due to budgetary, time, or training constraints. With the exception of the Basic Officer Leadership Course, officers may take courses at military schools, the Total Army School System (TASS), online, and through correspondence courses. The table below presents the options available for RC officers to complete their military education. It also shows the time in which each officer must complete the nonresident instruction after enrollment before being dropped from the school. TABLE 10.1 Nonresident military schools y Nonresident school Method allowed Time allotted for instruction BOLC Resident only N/A CCC Reserve course and Active Army resident 2 years ILE Nonresidence and satellite courses 3 years AWC Correspondence course 2 years WOBC Resident only 2 years WOAC Phase I - AODC Phase II - Resident 1 year WOSC Resident 5 weeks WOSSC Resident 2 weeks All officers attend BOLC in their branch to meet branch development and mobilization requirements. No alternative training method is available. Although attendance at BOLC immediately after commissioning is preferable, RC officers must complete BOLC within two years of commissioning. Once an officer has attended BOLC, he or she cannot be assigned to another branch until the officer has either attended another BOLC III or completed other branch development courses (such as CCC). Total Army School System (TASS) TASS offers CCC and ILE to RC officers. The TASS option offers an excellent opportunity for completing educational requirements because of the presence of qualified instructors and interaction with fellow officers. The Army Institute for Professional Development (AIPD) The Army Institute for Professional Development at Fort Eustis, Virginia, administers the Army Correspondence Course Program (ACCP) ( The ACCP provides progressive educational opportunities through correspondence for a wide variety of subjects. This type of military education is particularly well suited for RC

11 322 SECTION 10 officers who cannot take advantage of resident courses. Many courses are targeted at specific assignments, such as motor officer, personnel officer, or dining-facility officer. DA Pam contains enrollment information, addresses, and telephone numbers for course coordination. Force Stabilization The goal of the Army Force Stabilization System is to provide increased levels of readiness and combat effectiveness for Army units by implementing staffing methods that reduce turbulence. Future implementation will reduce moves, increase the period of stabilization for Soldiers, and provide more predictability for Soldiers and families. Furthermore, stabilization provides the basis for synchronizing Soldier assignments to unit operational cycles. As the Army implements Force Stabilization, it is critical that units be staffed with Soldiers who train and remain together. They must be able to deploy and meet operational requirements with minimal added preparation. As you begin your career, it is important to understand how the stabilization methods will affect you and your family. Units will initiate lifecycle management as designated by Army G-3 implementation timelines. Lifecycle manning synchronizes Soldier assignments within the unit's operational cycle. The goals of this manning method are to build better-trained and more-cohesive units and to maximize a unit's readiness and deployability during its Ready Phase. The total optimal cycle length is 36 months. Officers assigned to a lifecycle management unit will be synchronized to arrive during the Reset phase of the unit operational cycle. For the remainder of the unit s operational cycle, officers will remain in the unit, training and preparing for war, deployment, or any expeditionary requirement. The unit commander is responsible for repositioning officers to appropriate leadership positions, as required. Officer attendance at military leader-development courses should occur during the Reset phase. Commanders may send officers to these courses in a TDY and return status during the ready phase, but only when it does not conflict with operational requirements. The stabilization strategy is a set of policy and regulatory limits overlaid on the existing personnel system. It provides for longer initial tours at selected major continental US (CONUS) locations. The goal is to stabilize Soldiers and families for as long as possible, moving them only to support requirements based on Army needs, leader development, and Soldier preference. Stabilization through company-level assignments aims to make cohesion within units as strong as possible. For commissioned officers like yourself, stabilization must be balanced with the need to broaden your developmental experience. For example, when captains complete professional development courses, such as the Captain's Career Course, they should be assigned to a Brigade Combat Team other than the type they previously served in. If you served in a Heavy Brigade Combat Team as a lieutenant, it is important that you serve in either a Stryker or Light Brigade Combat Team or Training Brigade as a captain. This very often means you will be assigned to a different location than where you served as a lieutenant. Stabilization will initially begin at CONUS installations, which house TOE maneuver combat brigades. Expansion to other installations will be based on those installations ability to sustain junior officers for an extended initial tour. A majority of the junior officers like yourself who are initially assigned to a CONUS installation will be stabilized at this first installation for an extended period of time that allows for branch development through the rank of captain. This initial extended tour may include hardship tours or attendance at leader development schools (TDY or permanent change of station [PCS]), but in each case the officer will return to his or her stabilization installation. Filling lifecycle units may require officers to attend leader development schools and transfer to a different installation.

12 Officer Career Management 323 e CONCLUSION It s important for you to understand OPMS. It will, in large part, determine the shape of your career as an Army officer. A critical part of the OPMS is the multiple education requirements. From BOLC I to the Senior Service Colleges, each level provides you with the skills you will need for the next step in your career. Learning Assessment 1. What is the Officer Personnel Management System? 2. What are the three pillars of leader development? 3. Describe the benefits of a functionally aligned design? 4. What are the three functional designations? 5. What differences exist in the OPMS for the Reserve Components? 6. What are the Army s stabilization methods? Key Words Officer Personnel Management System functional designation References Army Regulation 611-1, Military Occupational Classification Structure Development and Implementation. 30 September Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-3, Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management. 11 December Field Manual , The Soldier s Guide. 15 October 2003.