thedrifter
12-06-06, 07:06 PM
December 06, 2006
DoD may offer incentives for transition team duty in Iraq
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
The Defense Department may offer incentives for service members to volunteer for the transition teams training Iraqi military forces.
Testifying Wednesday before the House Armed Services military personnel committee, a senior Pentagon personnel official said the transition team tours would be 12 months in length for both Army and Marine personnel, with about two weeks of overlap between arriving and departing units. Incentives would be offered either to encourage people to join the teams or extend their normal tours beyond one year.
“We may have a package of incentives,” said Michael Dominguez, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, as he and service personnel officials were peppered with questions from a key lawmaker about the transition teams that are being viewed as the best way for the U.S. to get Iraqi forces ready to provide internal security so that American combat forces can be withdrawn.
Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas, ranking Democrat on the personnel subcommittee and the person in line to become its chairman in January when Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives, said he has been hearing concerns from some Army personnel about their reluctance to volunteer for the transition teams because of concerns that the required tour in Iraq may not reduce their chances of being sent back on another rotation with a combat unit and because it is unclear whether volunteering will help their career.
Snyder said he also had other concerns about training and about growing a force of trainers. He said he had been told the required 55 days of training for the trainers is not being conducted in teams and in some cases was being waived entirely. Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said 55 days is “an absolute requirement,” but added it was true that some teams were not training together because of problems selecting teams and filling vacancies for people who are unable to complete training after being selected.
The requirements for being a transition team member in terms of having prior combat experience, language skills and experience appear very similar to requirements for joining special operating forces, Snyder said. “Are we creating two entities with the same skill sets?” he asked.
Dominguez said there are differences and there was no requirement that trainers be special operations forces.
Rochelle said he has heard the same concerns about trainer duty as Snyder but believed troops would be more interested when told this was a vital and high-profile mission that could have career rewards, which is when Dominguez mentioned that senior Pentagon officials were “looking hard” at an incentive package.
The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing Thursday focusing specifically on the military transition teams training host-nation forces not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan.
Ellie
DoD may offer incentives for transition team duty in Iraq
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
The Defense Department may offer incentives for service members to volunteer for the transition teams training Iraqi military forces.
Testifying Wednesday before the House Armed Services military personnel committee, a senior Pentagon personnel official said the transition team tours would be 12 months in length for both Army and Marine personnel, with about two weeks of overlap between arriving and departing units. Incentives would be offered either to encourage people to join the teams or extend their normal tours beyond one year.
“We may have a package of incentives,” said Michael Dominguez, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, as he and service personnel officials were peppered with questions from a key lawmaker about the transition teams that are being viewed as the best way for the U.S. to get Iraqi forces ready to provide internal security so that American combat forces can be withdrawn.
Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas, ranking Democrat on the personnel subcommittee and the person in line to become its chairman in January when Democrats assume control of the House of Representatives, said he has been hearing concerns from some Army personnel about their reluctance to volunteer for the transition teams because of concerns that the required tour in Iraq may not reduce their chances of being sent back on another rotation with a combat unit and because it is unclear whether volunteering will help their career.
Snyder said he also had other concerns about training and about growing a force of trainers. He said he had been told the required 55 days of training for the trainers is not being conducted in teams and in some cases was being waived entirely. Lt. Gen. Michael Rochelle, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said 55 days is “an absolute requirement,” but added it was true that some teams were not training together because of problems selecting teams and filling vacancies for people who are unable to complete training after being selected.
The requirements for being a transition team member in terms of having prior combat experience, language skills and experience appear very similar to requirements for joining special operating forces, Snyder said. “Are we creating two entities with the same skill sets?” he asked.
Dominguez said there are differences and there was no requirement that trainers be special operations forces.
Rochelle said he has heard the same concerns about trainer duty as Snyder but believed troops would be more interested when told this was a vital and high-profile mission that could have career rewards, which is when Dominguez mentioned that senior Pentagon officials were “looking hard” at an incentive package.
The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing Thursday focusing specifically on the military transition teams training host-nation forces not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan.
Ellie