Why nobody wants to be a battalion commander in the Army Reserve
Opinion by Mischa Arnold - Yesterday 9:15 AM
On July 11, the U.S. Army Reserve’s official website published an article about an active-duty lieutenant colonel taking command of a Reserve Military Police Battalion. The article’s upbeat tone disguises the real reason the Army Reserve has been unable to fill these billets with Army Reserve officers.
While the active-duty Army has implemented an intense four-day assessment to determine an officer’s fitness for command, the Army Reserve cannot get enough officers to volunteer for command, to fill the billets they do have.
Over a five-year period, 110 command positions could not be filled because the Army Reserve lacked willing commanders. The shortage of willing commanders has become so acute in the Army Reserve that O5 command is no longer an opt-in board to be considered for command, but opt-out board, meaning that lieutenant colonels and majors who are up for promotion who do not wish to command must proactively go into the system and state that they do not wish to be considered for command. This opt-out command selection process is a kind of “shadow conscription” for battalion commanders. Officers who aren’t engaged enough to know they are on a command board or understand the system may suddenly find themselves in command of a reserve battalion when they weren’t expecting it. Not really the way you want to be selecting your leaders. Spend some time with and speak to soldiers who have served under commanders selected in this manner; you will find the level of engagement and competency from these leaders is what you might expect.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-nobody-wants-to-be-a-battalion-commander-in-the-army-reserve/ar-AAUeLIf?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f15bdfba6200457b88d1a0b8c1af6ed2
