The United States Army is the most formidable ground combat force on earth, and regardless of the challenges we face, we must ensure the Army remains ready to fight and win. Soldiers, Civilians, Families, Retirees, and Veterans are our greatest asset and they exemplify the Soldier for Life mindset in their everyday commitment to the Army and our Nation. As we continue to drawdown the Army to the lowest level since before World War II, we truly appreciate the strength, devotion, and service of our Soldiers, Civilians, Retirees, Veterans, and their Families as they either continue to serve or reintegrate into civilian life. This year, with our Soldier for Life Program, we continue to partner with private industry to hire qualified veterans who have gained valuable skills, knowledge, and experience in the Army. We also call to action all Soldiers for Life to share their experiences in the Army and inspire other extraordinary young men and women to be part of something bigger than themselves and join the one percent of Americans who serve their country during this time of conflict.
As we draw down the Army we must ensure we have both a ready force and a quality force. This drawdown is performance based, and we have strived to conduct necessary separations with the utmost compassion and care while remaining committed to giving our Soldiers the benefits they've earned and the dignity and respect they deserve. Simultaneous to the drawdown and to shape the future force, we must still recruit resilient and fit Soldiers of character and retain the most talented Soldiers with the experience and skills necessary to meet our current and future needs.
To ensure we take advantage of the best talent the Nation has to offer, we have expanded opportunities for women. For the first time in history, all military occupational specialties are now open to anyone who qualifies and meets the specific standards of the job. We've taken a "leaders first" approach to integrating women into combat-arms specialties and placed female officers and noncommissioned officers into newly integrated units to serve as role models and mentors for female enlisted Soldiers. Going forward, Army leaders at all levels will ensure that all Soldiers have the opportunity to reach their full potential by assigning tasks, jobs, training, and development opportunities commensurate with a Soldier's ability, not gender.
To sustain a high quality Army that is trained and ready, we must leverage all available talent and ensure that every Soldier is deployable and can get on the field and play his or her position both at home and away. We are committed to optimizing the human performance of every Soldier and civilian in the Army Total Force and we seek to build cohesive teams of trusted professionals who thrive in ambiguity and chaos. To that end, we have established a Talent Management Task Force to integrate and synchronize Army efforts to acquire, develop, employ, and retain a high quality force that can fight and win against any foe in the world on the battlefield.
ACQUIRING TALENT
This year the Army expanded its talent-based branching model for newly commissioned Army officers to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). This new approach, inaugurated at West Point is now used in ROTC to gather detailed information on the unique talents possessed by each cadet, as well as on the unique talent demands of each Army basic branch. This allows for the creation of a "talent market" that identifies the strengths of every officer and places them into a career field where they are most likely to thrive and be engaged, productive, and satisfied leaders.
Future Soldiers will continue to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) as a predictor of their ability to meet the academic requirements needed to do well in a particular military occupational specialty (MOS). Additionally, Soldiers will take a new Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) to predict a recruit's ability to perform physically demanding tasks required for his or her MOS. The ASVAB coupled with the OPAT, will better match Soldiers to those jobs where they are most likely to be successful and maximize their talents.
DEVELOPING TALENT
The Army has always been known for developing world-class leaders. In order to ensure we are ready of the future fight, we've instituted two key initiatives for the non-commissioned officer corps. First, the Select, Train, Educate, Promote (STEP) model was implemented to ensure the appropriate training, education, and experience is completed before promotion to prepare NCOs to lead and win in a complex world. Second, we fielded a new Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER). This report allows the Army to differentiate talent and better determine those non-commissioned officers with the very best performance and potential. For our officer corps, we are the midst of conducting a review that will ensure all developmental opportunities are based on performance and future potential.
EMPLOYING TALENT
We are in the process of developing and implementing the Integrated Personnel and Pay System -- Army (IPPS-A). This is critically important for our Army because for the first time ever, it will provide us complete visibility of the total force in one Human Resources System while simultaneously enabling us to manage the talents of the total force based on their knowledge, skills, and behaviors. Additionally, IPPS-A provides an audit capability for pay and benefits to ensure the best use of Army dollars for its human capital. IPPS-A will provide greater permeability and transparency between all components of the Army will allow us to employ and retain our very best.
RETAINING TALENT
The Secretary of Defense recently announced his intent to seek additional authorities from Congress to allow greater flexibility in the military's "up or out" system. While this system continues to serve its purpose today it does not unequivocally ensure the best utilization of talent and potential. A shift to a more deliberate and individualized career management talent system will provide the Army greater flexibility to use a Soldier's skills and expertise where they are most needed and best retained.
At the end of the day, the Army is people. The men and women who serve our Nation, along with their families, are our most important asset. We must ensure we provide them the required resources, have the right person with the right skills in the right place, and that our Army is ready when called upon to fight and win our Nation's wars.
Winning Matters!
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