How do Officers "protect" themselves against future reductions in force (RIF)?

2016-11-05T17:52:03-04:00

I'm just a newbie to the officer ranks (future 65B/Physical Therapist), but I like to think long term. It's always possible that RIF will affect my year group in another 5 years or so. How does one "protect" themselves? I've heard of some squared away officers getting the boot. Are there certain types of training I should try to obtain? CCC seems to be a big one but I hear it's hard to get.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2016 6:25 PM

2016-11-05T18:25:55-04:00

CPT Private RallyPoint Member don't confuse me for your assignments officer at HRC but thus far the RIF has not affected the 65 series. It affected the Nurse Corps due to force management (they let in too many) and had to reduce.
Given that our MAJ to LTC boards were under 20% last year, I think you're sitting pretty good with prior enlisted time. You can retire if you must but at least you have options. We both know CPTs who will be two time/non-select through no fault of their own - it is partially a force structure issue on our part and part two term democrat draw down in the military.
All you can do, given that you're in a MOS producing school, is finish school and see what happens. There is no one with a magic or crystal ball in the SP Corps to tell you what jobs to get. I have been assigned a couple of very unpopular duty assignments and they did turn out to be awesome for my career. The moral of that story is there is no bad duty station for a new grad and if you want to survive, you have to find a way to thrive at your duty stations.

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Nov 5 at 2016 7:10 PM

2016-11-05T19:10:31-04:00

I don't know that I can intelligently answer your question, as I am not of the medical services branches - I don't know how docs and nurses, etc get promoted.
But don't make the mistakes I made....Center of Mass OERs are not good enough and not everyone gets promoted. You have to absolutely outshine your peers, and your rater and senior rater need to see this - make sure your Senior Rater knows who you are and what you do for him/her.
As for assignments...branch isn't really your career manager, they are trying to fill slots. Stay current in your field, seek to understand your co-workers positions. Work on the personal relationships...keep in touch with your superiors and peers - you will be either calling in favors, or seeking information - all the cool opportunities want letters of recommendations.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Nov 5 at 2016 9:03 PM

2016-11-05T21:03:58-04:00

Get a shave:).

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Nov 5 at 2016 9:44 PM

2016-11-05T21:44:32-04:00

Perform well in your job, get good OERs, stay board certified, pursue your military education, and keep out of trouble. If you have the opportunity to take command, deploy, and/or take some high-visibility assignment, go for it. They will all add value to your record. Keep in mind that RIF boards are the opposite of promotion boards. Promotion boards look for officers to promote, whereas RIF boards look for officers to eliminate. Either way, always be on the good end of the distribution. Doing so will keep you well into the zone for promotions, and well away from the zone for elimination.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Nov 5 at 2016 11:35 PM

2016-11-05T23:35:06-04:00

Don't confuse the inbred cannibalization of officers the last couple years with a RIF. A formal RIF is a different animal. Saw some good advice from LTC Broom and MAJ Blake...and CSM Hayden. You can't worry about something that you can't control. The rules will be devised and applied after you have OERs in the till.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2016 6:51 AM

2016-11-06T06:51:40-05:00

Simple, do the best job you can in any job you have. Seek opportunities that challenge yourself. And most important have fun while treating everyone on with dignity and respect regardless of rank or position while enforcing standards fairly.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Nov 6 at 2016 3:44 PM

2016-11-06T15:44:03-05:00

Actually you're in a good spot. Your medical skill will be in demand for some time as folk like me need PT, Rehab, or whatever. Same as a mortician given the baby boomers are ramping up their departures. Your future is bright. So other than way too much accessions on the front end say 10 years ago, which someone mentioned the nurses had, your good work, getting greater credentials, etc. will keep you very competitive and in demand. Now if DoD and VA decide or are politically told to do things different, then that can affect force structure if the changes are beyond "glide slope" capability. The other thing you have going is your skillset isn't going to become obsolete any time soon. I saw communities get decimated by obsolescence; A-6 Bombardiers a prime example.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2016 4:17 PM

2016-11-06T16:17:13-05:00

The only control you have is to do you job and do it well.

Response by Maj Walter Kilar made Nov 8 at 2016 9:05 AM

2016-11-08T09:05:08-05:00

I will offer a generalized response that goes beyond your career field, since I believe others have sufficiently answered your question. Any officer who wants to protect themselves against a RIF needs to understand that the rules for each RIF vary across each instantiation due to different guidance from Congress and the Pentagon. The best advice is to do what you believe is best for you, regardless of whether you think it protects you from a RIF or increases chance of promotion. Senior officers that have offered me advice seem to agree that there is no way to game the system or systems (RIF, promotion, etc), especially when the rules change so often.

In the last Air Force RIF I watched many friends get involuntarily separated. One volunteered for all the hard assignments, including an extra deployment out of cycle and a remote assignment to Greenland. One earned his PhD in mathematics from Princeton by age 25. One earned a master's degree in aerospace engineering and helped design a flight safety system on the F-16 that was recently credited with saving lives. All of them were RIF'd, but only the ones who tried not to game the system for RIF protection or promotion were happy after the RIF.

Response by LTC Mark Beattie made Nov 8 at 2016 1:05 PM

2016-11-08T13:05:04-05:00

Do your job, whatever it may be, to the utmost of your ability, seek to improve yourself whenever possible through additional schools and education, maintain the highest ethics and morality, and attempt to not piss off your boss without kissing butt. Strive to get along with your contemporaries without compromising your ethics, values, and being "two faced." Lastly, pray you don't find yourself working for an asshole.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 8 at 2016 3:08 PM

2016-11-08T15:08:07-05:00

Some of the best career advice that I ever received was "seek out the tough jobs, do them well, and your career will take care of itself." It's served me well so far.

Response by LtCol William Bentley made Nov 15 at 2016 3:06 AM

2016-11-15T03:06:59-05:00

Others such as CSM Charles Hayden have spoken with more authority than I can ever do about Service and branch-specific officer professional development. But YOU should know what your MOS's specific "checkpoints" are, and know them, do them, go to them, finish them, AND LET YOUR BOSSES KNOW THAT YOU HAVE EXCEEDED THOSE STANDARDS. Manage their expectations, by exceeding them. Bosses, especially senior raters, don't always know you as well as they might, and thus you must take the opportunities to ensure that when you get the chance, get before them, give them a brief about something, ask an intelligent question in a staff meeting rather than sit in a chair against the wall while the Bull Elephants tussle in the middle. Wallflowers are not needed in the officer corps, but choose your moments, venues, and questions carefully to exude an image of a deep thinker, always paying attention, thinking ahead, asking a few carefully analyzed questions, and offering (when appropriate) to look into the issues more, sit on a board or another meeting, provide solutions, and write up the solutions in the properly approved Power Point with the fonts, colors, and spacing dictated by each Command...tedious, but you want to be a team player. And better than the guys next to you who don't/won't go the extra mile to play hard and think hard about the problems you face.

Maintain professional association and connections in your health service field, as well. Ask up front to be allowed to go to the annual conferences and training seminars in your field that a professional should want to go to. Join those associations, and ensure that your Bosses know you not only belong, but you are active in the profession...your profession in health services, and your profession in arms as a military officer. They can be bridged and aligned.

A final point: you mention you have prior-enlisted time. Thus, with a typical career path (at least a desired career path), Major is about 10 years commissioned service. Give or take. probably slowing now. Say 11 years by the time you get there. Adding your enlisted time, you should be at or over 15 years, which at least gives you the option of TERA retirement if it really comes to that.

Or you might find that outside opportunities beckon, and you leave active duty sooner than anticipated, on your own power. In which case, do not forget to transfer to the reserves, even if you remain in the IRR for the remainder of your 20 qualifying years required for reserve retirement. After and officer has met their 8-year Military Service Obligation (and for prior-service officers, their prior-enlisted time often counts toward their MSO), if you transfer to the reserves, you MUST earn at least 27 reserve retirement points per Anniversary Year (RYE year in the Army?). Since all reservists get 15 points for free, that means you need to put 1 point per month into the piggy bank for retirement to avoid the involuntary scrub to either the Standby Reserve, or total discharge. But to get maximum value, you would need at least 50 points per AY...of which 15 are freely given. The other 35 points work out to about 3 points per month. That is ONE, read again ONE, typical Army Correspondence Course booklet. Or about 9 hours of study and a test. The ACCP has literally thousands of courses. You can sign up for sister service courses too, from the Marine Corps Institute, Navy and Joint Knowledge Online, etc. AS long as they are accredited for reserve points (and most are, but some are not...caveat emptor). With 50 points per AY, you will earn qualifying years, and with your previous service combined, 20 total qualifying years will come quickly, and you can choose to retire even if you are not participating in the SELRES/TPU program, IMA, or working otherwise with a lot of active duty or reserve duty. Do NOT overlook or understimate the value of the reserve retirement. It is not nearly as potent as the 20+ years of active duty pension, but it IS the second best thing around. Far better than most civilian plans, and if you try to start a civilian career in your mid years (30's or 40's), your available time to "make up the difference" for a decent ROI on a 401K or IRA will be short, requiring much more cash infusions. Let your previous service work for you, keep your reserve retirement, and once you start drawing it you will thank yourself every day for the rest of your life because it will quite likely exceed what you will get from any other retirement plan, and knowing it is there will simplify much of your future financial planning.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2018 11:37 AM

2018-02-07T11:37:42-05:00

The truth is you cannot.
What can you do to prevent it. Meet and exceed all minimal standards (APFT, basic soldiering / shoot move and communicate, mandatory training), meet all MOS objectives and schools even if you don’t have to do CCC or ILE, getngood counseling statements OERs etc , and do extra like learn a language, a second MOS, volunteer for Airborne, Ranger, work a variety of assignments from the field to the HQ, always do the right thing, be social and kind to others (the social network matters) and pray to God for good luck.