HUMAN RESOURCES

ADVANCED LEADERS COURSE

42A

Review the Officer Distribution and Assignment Process

PRACTICAL EXERCISE

ANSWER KEY

Version 6.1

August 2015

PART I

1. Branch/FA requirement which identifies the need for a Combat Arms officer. AR 611-1, Table 4-1

2. Positions 7 and 8. No language skill is needed. AR 611-1, para. 4-3b

3. Skill Identifier “3S” identifies the needs for a unit air movements officer. DA Pam 611-21, Table 4-1

4. Identifies the need for a Field Artillery officer. DA Pam 611-21, para. 3-13

5. Skill Identifier “2B” identifies the need for the officer to be Air Assault. DA Pam 611-21, Table 4-1

PART II

For questions 6, 7, and 8 students need to have listed at 3 of the following reasons that orders shouldn’t be requested for officers who (AR 614-100, para. 5-1f):

a.  Have a PCS in the same FY.

b.  Are scheduled to return from overseas during the same FY.

c.  Are obligated Army Educational Requirement System (AERS) assets serving in an AERS validated position and who have not completed the required utilization. (See AR 621–108 and para 5–4 of this regulation for deferral and curtailment procedures.)

d.  Are in an approved stabilized position or unit as prescribed in AR 614–5.

e.  Are serving a prescribed tour of duty overseas.

f.  Are assigned to a JDAL position and have not completed the prescribed tour length.

For questions 9 and 10 students need to have listed at least 2 of the following answers (AR 614-100, para. 5-1a):

a.  Assignments or reassignments involving PCS moves are authorized only when required for national security or to ensure equitable treatment of service members.

b.  Assignment of any officer will be based on their possession of the professional military qualifications required to perform the duties required.

c.  Qualified volunteers who have not met time in station (TOS) requirements will be considered for all assignments before non-volunteers, even if a waiver is required.

d.  PCS moves within CONUS will in no case be made solely because of the passage of a stipulated period of time. This does not preclude reassignment on a case–by–case basis for such reasons as job stress, requirements for fresh expertise, or personal hardship.

e.  There will be an equitable distribution within branch, functional area, and grade, of overseas duty assignments considered both desirable and undesirable locations insofar as possible. Every reasonable effort will be made to shorten periods of forced family separation and any adverse effects of overseas service on members and their dependents.

PART III

Student’s overview of the officer branch detail program should at a minimum address the following:

a.  The Branch Detail Program ensures branches with the largest lieutenant (LT) requirements are filled to their required levels using donor branches that have fewer lieutenant requirements (AR 614-100, para. 3-1d).

b.  Donor branches are Adjutant General, Finance, Military Police, Military Intelligence, Ordnance, Quartermaster, Signal, and Transportation. Recipient branches for the branch detail program are Air Defense Artillery, Armor, Chemical, Field Artillery and Infantry (AR 614-100, para. 3-1f).

c.  AG company level commands do not have any platoon leader requirements (except for postal companies) like the requirements for platoon leaders in Infantry, Armor or Field Artillery company level commands (Combat Arms). Therefore, there are few lieutenant requirements.

d.  The branch detail program places the AG officer as a lieutenant in platoon leader positions in the combat arms commands or "donor branches", which have a need for more lieutenants and less captains for command. When the officer completes their detailed time, they are moved back to the AG branch as a CPT to take command or serve in other staff positions.