Chairman
Supports All-Volunteer Force
By Fred W.
Baker III
American Forces Press Service
|
|
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2007 – The
all-volunteer force has made the nation’s
defense the strongest it’s ever been, the
U.S. military’s top officer said this week,
adding that he would not want to return to a
Vietnam-era military by implementing a draft.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen made
these comments in response to questions from
Army officers about why the Defense Department
will not support a draft to relieve forces
stretched thin by repeated deployments in the
war on terror. Mullen fielded the questions in
“town hall” sessions with soldiers as he
visited three Army installations this week.
Mullen, who was commissioned in 1968, said he
saw first-hand the effects the draft had on
the force as it wound down from the war in
Vietnam. “I watched the military break
apart. … To the best of my ability, I’m
never going to let that happen,” he said.
“You can read about it, but I was there, so
I know; I understand the quality that we had
back then.”
Mullen said his comments were not intended as
criticism of anyone who served then, but that
the overall quality of the military is much
higher now. “The quality, the professional
level of our armed services right now, every
single branch … is so exceptionally high,
and it’s that which I believe we have to
preserve,” he said.
The admiral said the U.S. military now serves
as a model that other nations look to as an
example of how to train, fight, equip and
develop a force. He said the fact that troops
chose to serve is the foundation for that
quality.
“The bedrock principle of this country is
young people who raise their right hand and
swear to support and defend the constitution
of the United States,” Mullen said.
During the town hall meetings, the admiral
acknowledged the stress frequent deployments
have had on the force, particularly the Army.
But, he said, that may be fixed by a
combination of growing the force and retooling
the role of the National Guard and reserves as
part of the total force. At the same time, he
conceded, recruiters are facing leaner years
to come even though they met their goals this
year.
“The propensity for service is going down.
Decision makers, who are dominated by parents
and family and coaches and teachers, … are
not as supportive of the military service as
they were a few years ago,” Mullen said.
Also, the pool of eligible candidates is
getting smaller, and there is more competition
for recruits, he said. This has led to the
Army allowing more soldiers to join this year
with waivers for minor criminal offenses on
their records.
Mullen heard complaints from officers that the
increase in waivers from the Army has turned
into more discipline problems for commanders.
However, in another meeting with two Army
lawyers during the visit, the chairman said
the Army has yet to see any actual data that
the waivers are leading to more discipline
problems.
“I don’t know if it’s too soon or not.
This is not an issue that is constant,” he
said. Mullen said it may just be too soon to
actually quantify the problem with hard data,
and that leaders need to monitor the issue.
When asked about the reserves’ increasing
role and future, the chairman said officials
will have to determine an optimal mix of
operational forces, with shorter call-up times
and regularly scheduled deployments, and true
strategic reserves.
“On the Army side, there is a tremendous
(future) commitment to top-of-the-line
equipment going to the Guard,” Mullen said.
“The dependency that we have on the Guard
and Reserve in the fight that we have right
now, we’re going to continue to have
that.”
Managing all of these issues in a time of
“great change” in the military and during
a concurrent war is a challenge, the admiral
said.
“Preserving this, making sure that we
don’t break our military, is a huge priority
for me, and I’ve said, ‘It’s not broken,
but its breaking,’” Mullen said. “So
that’s why this whole issue of reliving
stress on the force is so important.”
“This is the best military I think this
nation has ever had. I’m old enough to
remember when we were a draft force, … and I
am not anxious to return to that. The
exceptional, professional military we have
right now I wouldn’t trade for anything. The
stress is an issue, and it is one of great
concern for me,” he said.
|
|
Biographies:
Adm.
Michael G. Mullen, USN
Related Articles:
Chairman
Reaches Out to Ground-Force Troops
Chairman
Asks Straight Questions, Gets Hard Answers
Chairman
Starts Two-Day Trip to Visit Army Posts
|
|
Managers Encouraged to
Support Volunteer Efforts
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 2004 -- A top Pentagon administrator is
trying to help employees vie for the President's Volunteer
Service Award by encouraging managers to be flexible with
schedules so workers can participate in volunteer activities.
Pointing out that President Bush has
challenged all Americans to perform volunteer service in their
communities, Howard G. Becker, deputy director of Washington
Headquarters Services, sent out a memorandum recently
requesting support for "the president's call to service
by supporting your employees' participation in volunteer
activities."
Washington Headquarters Services provides a
wide range of administrative and operational services to DoD
components and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The
memorandum was distributed throughout the Office of the
Secretary of Defense and to various defense agencies,
activities, administrations, services and offices that WHS
services.
"Flexible work schedules and various
leave flexibilities are available which enable our employees
to participate in volunteer activities," Becker said in
the memorandum.
He attached guidance for recipients of the
memorandum, including use of leave and compensatory time so
employees can perform community work. The guidance applies
only to memorandum recipients, but the requirements for the
President's Volunteer Service Award are the same for all
federal employees.
There are three levels of the award for
adults, ages 25 and older. Employees receive the gold award
for 500 or more hours in any 12-month period, silver for 250
to 499 hours, and bronze for 100 to 249 hours.
Employees who are 25 and younger can receive a
gold award for 250 or more hours, silver for 175 to 249 hours,
or a bronze for 100 to 174 hours.
The President's Call to Service Award can be
awarded to any employee, regardless of age, who has performed
4,000 or more hours of volunteer service over a lifetime.
Each medal is accompanied by a personalized
certificate of achievement, a note of congratulations from the
president and a letter from the President's Council on Service
and Civic Participation.
Employees must keep a record of their
activities and hours of volunteer service. They can keep track
of their hours in a journal at home or online through the USA
Freedom Corps Record of Service. The record of service must
accompany each nomination for the President's Volunteer
Service Award.
"This isn't a push for more volunteers;
this is a recognition program for recognizing
volunteers," said Kimberly Brooks, assistant director of
WHS' labor and management employee relations division.
"It's to alert managers and employees to flexibilities
that would allow them give more volunteer service.
"We're saying that we know this is a
selfless sacrifice, and we want to be able to recognize our
volunteers," Brooks noted.
"We're asking managers to exercise some
of the flexibilities outlined in the policy, whether it be
telework, leave approval, job sharing, or part-time
work," Brooks said. "If an employee comes in and
says, 'Hey, I'd like to volunteer,' there are some things we
can do to allow them to volunteer during work hours. Or we can
make it more convenient to volunteer."
For example, she said if an employee is
teleworking, maybe he or she can quickly get to the volunteer
site rather than having to travel a long distance to get
there.
Brooks emphasized that DoD isn't approving the
type of service employees volunteer to perform. She said they
can do any type of volunteer service they choose. But, she
said, to be eligible for the President's Volunteer Service
Award, the type of service does matter. "Activities
should be national community needs in the area of youth
achievement, parks and open spaces, healthy communities,
public safety and emergency response," Brooks noted.
Activities must be unpaid and may not include
court-ordered community service. "This is strictly
something that's done on their own time," she said.
"It's not something we keep stats on. We just want
managers and employees to know that there are some tools out
there that will facilitate volunteering for our work force if
they want to do that."
Managers and supervisors may encourage
employees to become more involved in volunteer activities, but
they must stop short of coercing them to do so, Brooks
emphasized. "Then you would be dictating what they should
do on their own time," Brooks noted. "We really
shouldn't do that. If I want to leave work, go home and sit on
my sofa vs. volunteering, that should be my choice."
Biography:
Howard G.
Becker, Deputy Director, Washington Headquarters Services
