New tenure ceilings for junior-enlisted Soldiers expected to have minimal impact, states Pentagon st

By Master Sgt. Christina Steiner, Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Human Resources CommandFebruary 15, 2011

FORT KNOX, Ky. - The Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (G-1) office recently revised existing enlisted tenure ceilings, known as retention control points (RCP). The changes will take effect June 1.

Although the changes will impact staff sergeants and below, they are expected to have minimal impact on most Soldiers, said Sgt. Maj. Dean Drummond , a senior career counselor at Army G-1. Any impact will probably take two or more years to affect enlisted Soldiers.

The revision to RCPs for staff sergeants and below is about leader development and reinforces Army leadership development principles from a continued-service perspective, according to Lt. Col. Timothy Beninato, media and public-affairs adviser for G-1.

Senior noncommissioned officers' RCP revisions were implemented in 2008.

The RCP is one of several practices that support the Army Leader Development Strategy (ALDS), established in December 2009 by the secretary and chief of staff of the Army. Other enlisted leadership policies relate to promotion eligibility and points, military education, career development and deployment cycles. These policies help the Army meet higher-than-ever operational demands and determine future needs, while restoring balance.

In a joint Stars and Stripes interview last week, Drummond, the senior career counselor for enlisted Soldiers, clarified some points with the revised RCP.

"All Soldiers are expected to meet certain requirements, including attending and passing NCO schools to stay competitive with their peers, and the revisions to the RCPs have nothing to do with recent budget-cut initiatives," the sergeant major said.

"It's all about leadership. We cannot put an exact number on how many Soldiers this will affect because it will take time for impact. We haven't changed the demographics [of RCPs] for two years. Under the new RCP, enlisted Soldiers will still have ample time for self-development," Drummond said. "I think that we'll meet our operational requirements. If there are Soldiers who are concerned over this, then they should see their career counselors to try and qualify for a new MOS, or do what they can do now to help their careers. It must be a two-way street. This is all about realigning the force, and RCP is just one tool to balance things."

The final military personnel message, known in Army circles as a "MILPER message," should be published the week of Feb. 14, according to personnel in the Retention and Reclassification Branch of the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate at U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox.

Army G-1 establishes personnel policies, while HRC implements them, to include drafting MILPER messages.