Should Soldiers be assigned to a particular duty station or position for longer than the current average of 2-3 years (Aside from Korea)?

I hardly believe that 2-3 or 4-5 years can be considered stabilization.  I know there are plenty of folks wanting to move around a lot, but there are still some who want to stay in one place for longer than four years.  Children in school, spouses having jobs, owning property/houses and participation in the community are all reasons to stay for longer than four years.  I got it, "if you don't like it, get out".  But I disagree whole heartedly with the constant moving of families.

Most probably wont agree with me but I believe that the PCS should be voluntary. Why? One is in the acronym itself Permanent meaning "lasting or intended to last or remain unchanged indefinitely." Moving every 2-3 years would make it a TCS or Temporary Change of Station (like deployments). Additionally, how much does the Army fork over every year to move a large chunk of its force to another state--seriously, someone answer this. We're talking about budget cuts, benefit cuts, etc and yet we keep throwing large amounts of money out to move people across country and around the world. This can or cannot have the potential to destabilize families which would cost more money (AER loans, marital counseling, etc) See where I'm going? It's a volunteer force, let us decide where we want to go and when. If the service member is driven enough they can get a diverse assignment history where ever they are with the exception of the actual geographical location.

Great question. I think 4-6 years would be a reasonable time to spend on a base with a minimum of 3 years per unit assignment. I agree with LTC Labrador's example of keeping a Soldier at a base for several years and moving them around to get higher level experiences to which I can attest to. I spent 7 years at Fort Riley working as a BN Assistant S4 NCO then as BDE Assistant S4 NCO then as a Squadron S4 NCOIC.

I do agree with SSG Deiler regarding Korea since it's officially considered a hardship tour. Unless I was single or could have my family with me, I would not want to spend more than a year in Korea (which I already did) let alone any other overseas assignment. I only say that because even though I love visiting other countries, I don't want to be away from my family for an even longer period of time. Granted, if it came down to it and tour lengths were changed, I would follow orders. Just my 3.57 cents worth.