How has not deploying affected your career?

2014-12-30T09:46:38-05:00

I have been a Reservist my entire career, and just as a product of circumstance, I have never deployed. I have volunteered, but I have not persistently pursued the opportunity, thinking that (at the time) volunteering would be enough given my MOS. I have trained many soldiers to do my job so they could deploy with their units, but those in my unit with the same MOS have never been called up to deploy.

So, the question is: how has this affected your career? Are you seen differently as a leader? Has it been more difficult to promote?

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 10:50 AM

2014-12-30T10:50:50-05:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, "I feel you," as they say. These days, on the active side, there's definitely a divide between those who have deployed and those who have not. I retired in 2006, but I still feel that divide, because I still work for the Army. I only deployed one time - on a UN peacekeeping mission - so I was pretty much on the other side of the divide. Fortunately, the fact that I did not deploy to the Middle East did not negatively affect my career, at least not that I know of. This was mostly before just about everybody on the active side has/had deployed over the past ten or twelve years.

I'm sure not having deployed is a "discriminator" on promotion boards on the active side. I can't speak to the Reserves or National Guard, but I would think that at the very least deployment would be seen as a plus when it comes to promotions in those components as well.

For what it's worth ...

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 11:01 AM

2014-12-30T11:01:16-05:00

I recently volunteered and went on a deployment outside my MOS so I wouldn't get put in that spot. I honestly don't think less of a soldier who hasn't deployed, especially as I have seen how hard it's been the last few years for Guard soldiers to get a deployment. Depending on your MOS, it can be pert near impossible. If I know a soldier has had an opportunity to deploy and "dodged" it, that's completely different.
I have a hard time seeing how a lack of a deployment would negatively affect your career. For many troops coming in within the last couple years, there will simply be no opportunity to deploy. It won't be too long, and you won't stand out. Even in my home unit, I think there are more soldiers who haven't deployed than have.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 9:36 PM

2014-12-30T21:36:29-05:00

Don't feel bad. I've shuffled around to so many units, I have missed deployment orders by weeks. I decided to end my roller coaster in 2007, and volunteered to for the only godforsaken tour open: Bosnia.
Nope. I got the Mexican border. It was awesome, if I don't count the suck, which I didn't embrace.
I have wished that I deployed overseas, but I was never in a position to do so. Before 9/11, many junior NCOs had never had a combat deployment, post Gulf War.
Never had anyone berate me over it, certainly. Just keep doing what you're doing and concentrate on the present, rather than where everybody else has been, because no leader has been broken because of where they haven't been...but what they are doing now.
Heads up.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 10:28 PM

2014-12-30T22:28:37-05:00

I used to think that not being deployed was negative, especially the time following the surge in 2007. It got to the point where soldiers looked at your sleeve before they looked at your rank, and that kind of pissed me off. I even volunteered for a mission and was not selected.

But now, with half those I see wearing slick sleeves, I don't worry about it any more . I do wish I could wear a patch for my 27 days in Desert Storm

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 11:18 PM

2014-12-30T23:18:26-05:00

I am active duty at a constantly deployed infantry division, however my battalion was specifically removed from the last deployment causing many of the lower enlisted soldiers to ETS with no deployments. We are scheduled for one in the summer but it will be the first for this infantry battalion since 2009-2010 OIF.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2014 2:10 PM

2014-12-31T14:10:03-05:00

I take it as a case by case basis SGT. I've met and worked with outstanding soldiers, NCO's and Officers with no deployment, that would deploy in a heart beat if they had to. But just like you, they just hadn't gotten the chance to do it. I've also had the bad luck of working with the so called "deployment dodgers". Those I do not respect, I will respect their rank but will never respect them as a person. I was in your same situation for a while, volunteered twice to deploy and got told no. The third deployment I volunteered for, I finally got it, and I went to Afghanistan. I had a SSG tell me something that I will never forget for the rest of my life, and after that day, I lost the little respect I had for him at that moment. His words were, and I quote:
"I can't respect a soldier that volunteers to deploy to go to war. You can die out there and is stupid of your part."
This same NCO, tried to get MEB (Med Boarded) just so he didn't have to deploy to a Non Combat deployment. Needless to say, the CO changed his P3 profile to a P2 and made him deploy.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2014 3:55 PM

2014-12-31T15:55:13-05:00

A soldier's time in service has an effect on my opinion of the combat patch or lack there of. However if you were in for the last ten or fifteen years and don't have a combat patch there is a pretty high bar to get over.

An E8 or higher without a patch has an extremely high bar. Most don't come anywhere near passing it.

Personally I would retire E8s and 9s without a deployment and O4s and higher. During 2006-2009 in my state you could walk into the unit ask to deploy and there would be a 00F MOS slot somewhere. We just retired a guy who kept transferring and extending for a little short of five years.

So when I see that bare sleeve on a senior leader the question in my head is, "Why didn't you go?"

The excuses sound like "I would have joined the army but..." lines from civilians.

The remainder of this comment would really have to run down the road of wartime army vs peacetime army and the differences in standards.

Note: I also support tanker boots, green t-shirts for combat vehicle MOSs, officers wearing branch insignia and the recreation of tech rank for skill sets that do not require leadership but should be paid better. Also the shredding of berets for anyone who does not jump out of an airplane, has to be the dumbest piece of head gear ever.

Response by COL William Oseles made Sep 27 at 2016 4:14 PM

2016-09-27T16:14:26-04:00

It is not just the soldiers but also the promotion and schools selection boards.
And if you are not up for a medical separation board I am sure the RIF boards are also looking at it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2016 5:50 PM

2016-09-27T17:50:33-04:00

It doesn't anymore sadly... your deployment points doesn't even count towards your promotion packet.

Response by SPC James Anderson made Sep 27 at 2016 6:57 PM

2016-09-27T18:57:19-04:00

Biggest bitch of my military career right here! Iowa farm kid, joined the Army to serve my Nation and see the world. Four years of active duty gets me stationed in fucking Kansas. Wow what a change from Iowa! Three years of Iowa National Guard, volunteer for a Kosovo deployment, to many people have volunteered, first 15 people on the list get dropped, i think my name was 2nd! Enlisted in the guard 2 months after my company went to Iraq, so I was about the only guy without a combat patch. Then the guard was looking for people to get out, I had some nagging neck injuries I was dealing with so I took the early out cause nothing was in the books for a deployment for at least 2 years. Sign my release papers and a fricken month later my company comes up for an Afghanistan deployment. So 7 years of service and I have some awesome NTC stories to tell my kids about. Felt like a total failure for not having any type of deployment.

Response by PFC Sheila Harrison made Sep 28 at 2016 5:36 AM

2016-09-28T05:36:09-04:00

Would you believe the ones we overlook for seeing the dead are the x ray techs? I talked with a guy one day who explained it to me this way, if someone is hurt, killed, blown apart, whatever, they all have to be Xrayed.if not for anything else but for the coroners report. This guy didn't see one minute of combat but all the death passed in front of his eyes. Good guys, bad guys, our guys, your guys. All of it.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2016 9:30 AM

2016-09-28T09:30:11-04:00

I've been active duty for almost 5 years, in a transportation company (I'm a mechanic) and now I am being med boarded. My unit was scheduled to deploy 3 times to Afghanistan and once to Liberia, but we never went anywhere. We did all the training, JRTC and NTC rotations, but always when it was time to load the connex, we never did... looking at it now, and probably for the rest of my life, it will be my biggest regret is not having deployed.

Response by SGT Robert K. made Sep 28 at 2016 11:14 AM

2016-09-28T11:14:32-04:00

Seems like a double edge sword, I have met, dealt with and served with some great soldiers who have never deployed, and some who have deployed. But I also have met, dealt with and served with some "not so great" soldiers. one of the stupidest thinks I heard was from an E-6 in the S-1 who said she couldn't wait to get her "varsity patch". Really - this isn't high school - "grow up"

Response by MSG Dan Castaneda made Sep 30 at 2016 12:50 PM

2016-09-30T12:50:41-04:00

I'm not really sure how the National Guard or Reserves work. But from an Active Duty point of view, if you have been in the Army since before both wars started and you have not deployed into either theater, you are hiding. I heard the last Sergeant Major's Academy had something like 20% non deployed sergeant majors graduate. How does this happen? Some folks just aint in it for the right reason, I guess????

Response by SGT Matt Winters made Oct 2 at 2016 9:48 AM

2016-10-02T09:48:16-04:00

I am no longer in. Not getting deployed was one of the reasons I got out. I did the 6 year term and got out. I volunteered for numerous deployments and never got to go. I have also had 5 deployments get canceled. One or two of them a month before pre mob. It got really frustrating. I tried so hard to go. Then there are people getting deployed as soon as they get to their units. I figured once I became a no it would be a little easier to get a deployment, but that had no effect.