Posted on Apr 12, 2022
Why isn't there a cap on an Army MOS?
Suspended Profile
7.16K
34
8
Posted in these groups: 
MOS
88N: Transportation Management Coordinator
88M: Motor Transport Operator
88H: Cargo Specialist
MOS 88N: Transportation Management Coordinator 88M: Motor Transport Operator 88H: Cargo Specialist
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
We have caps. Lots of them.
If your MOS is too full we will reclass you out of it whether you like it or not. Especially when we "discontinue" or merge an MOS.
If it's too full we will make them Precision Retention and tell you to reclass or get out. We also won't let people into the MOS during Reclass.
Strengths are predicted years out. Budgets are prepared, planned, submitted, and approved about 5 years out. Budgets determine class sizes, NDAA determines Army size which determines how many of any MOS have class sets in a year. Class seats are authorized at least one to two years ahead of time. That means that class seats that Recruiters are selling to recruits come from wild ass guestimates from three years ago.
Initial Term Soldiers are a fickle bunch. You guys can't commit to a phone plan that lasts three years, so nobody in the Pentagon can accurately predict how many Initial Term Soldiers of any MOS will stay, go, or reclass at the end of their contract.
E5 and above, the Army can cap just by not promoting more people into the MOS. E4 and below, Recruiters will fill the class seats with whatever pretty, sparkly thing they can get an 18 year old high school graduate to jump at. That sparkly thing may be an overstrength dead end MOS, but that Recruiter has to make mission.
Why does that Recruiter have to make mission? Because the Number One mission of the Army is to have an Army at it's designated end strength. Whether people are in the right MOS or not, if we don't make end strength, we have failed the mission Congress gave us. The second mission of the Army is to have the right amount of people in those MOS's. You have to have enough people before you can put them in the right spot.
So, that's why the Army continues to put new privates into over strength MOS's.
If your MOS is too full we will reclass you out of it whether you like it or not. Especially when we "discontinue" or merge an MOS.
If it's too full we will make them Precision Retention and tell you to reclass or get out. We also won't let people into the MOS during Reclass.
Strengths are predicted years out. Budgets are prepared, planned, submitted, and approved about 5 years out. Budgets determine class sizes, NDAA determines Army size which determines how many of any MOS have class sets in a year. Class seats are authorized at least one to two years ahead of time. That means that class seats that Recruiters are selling to recruits come from wild ass guestimates from three years ago.
Initial Term Soldiers are a fickle bunch. You guys can't commit to a phone plan that lasts three years, so nobody in the Pentagon can accurately predict how many Initial Term Soldiers of any MOS will stay, go, or reclass at the end of their contract.
E5 and above, the Army can cap just by not promoting more people into the MOS. E4 and below, Recruiters will fill the class seats with whatever pretty, sparkly thing they can get an 18 year old high school graduate to jump at. That sparkly thing may be an overstrength dead end MOS, but that Recruiter has to make mission.
Why does that Recruiter have to make mission? Because the Number One mission of the Army is to have an Army at it's designated end strength. Whether people are in the right MOS or not, if we don't make end strength, we have failed the mission Congress gave us. The second mission of the Army is to have the right amount of people in those MOS's. You have to have enough people before you can put them in the right spot.
So, that's why the Army continues to put new privates into over strength MOS's.
Look there are caps on many if not all MOS's, based on the projected needs of the service, that's why recruits see their options for MOS's change almost by the day. Even for re-enlisting, you may get cut if your MOS is over. The Army does have some exceptions- 82nd and XVIII ABC were authorized to stay at 110% strength, due to accidents, injuries and conflicts.
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google
Ever throw something away, remember you needed it then only find out the garbage truck had already come and gone?
About a year later, while still waiting for a decision on TLAT, the company was notified that they were being redesignated and realigned. They were moving from the Infantry Battalion, to the neighboring Tank Battalion are were about to become a tank company. Everyone in the unit held an Infantry MOS (except a couple of support guys), no reclass training was provided, they were just changed from 11B to 19E.
This time they did receive the equipment -- brand new M60A3 tanks with thermal sights. The Active Army division that they were roundout for still had the older M60A3 tanks with passive sights so they weren't much help (and they didn't much care either). Meanwhile the Armor School was going to provide transition training for the rest of the tank battalion for their new M60A3 tanks, but refused to provide any training for the one company that had been infantry because they "were not transitioning." That was actually a good decision because the transition training addresses only the specific items that were different between the old and new tank, but the complete lack of support from the Home of Armor was a bit frustrating.
And, oh by the way, the rest of the tank battalion was prepping to be the first NG unit to take part in an active force rotation to the NTC but their new D Company wasn't going -- needless to say the Bn and Bde were focused entirely on training the rest of the battalion for the NTC.
Remember the movie Stripes where the drill sergeant gets injured and the recruits complete training entirely on there own? That's exactly what happened to this former Infantry, now-Tank Company. Everyone else went to Ft Irwin, they went to Ft Stewart and set up their own training program with some help from the two Armor NCOs at the Readiness Group.