A session on how the Marine Corps might do better at retaining good young officers

By Chris Mondloch


Best Defense guest
columnist

Wrapping
up 13 years of fighting in Afghanistan this year, the U.S. military will surely
face many challenges in the near future. Transitioning to a peacetime force,
large-scale personnel cuts, advancing technologies, and the growing debate over
women's role in combat all signify the ever-changing nature of the armed
forces. On a recent morning, the Reserve Officers Association turned to an
important yet often overlooked group -- company-grade officers -- to discuss
their perspective on the emerging trends and challenges facing the military
today.

The
discussion panel consisted of three Marine Corps officers who recently separated
from the Corps as either first lieutenants or captains. All three had combat
experience in Afghanistan and enjoyed serving their country -- yet decided
against making a career out of the Marines. One main area of concern among the
three men is the military's failure to retain competent officers after their
initial service obligations are filled. The notion that certain officers are
"too educated" or "too good" to remain in the military -- the Marine Corps,
specifically -- is a problem, according to panelist Ben Luxenberg.

Over
all else, the Marine Corps values leadership and decisiveness in its officers. Luxenberg
said that those officers who proved to be competent leaders who could "make the
trains run on time" were targeted for retention over top intellectual achievers
after their first term of service. The lack of innovative thinkers will
continue to create problems by perpetuating the notion that the military is not
a place for intellectually-minded individuals. According to Luxenberg, the term
"the best and the brightest," often used to describe the corps of young Marine
officers, should actually be split: "the best or the brightest."

Joe
Tate, an infantry officer with two deployments to Helmand Province, said he
benefitted greatly from his Marine Corps leadership training but, after
multiple combat tours and the additional rigors of the infantry, he felt the
need to transition out of the military. One way to retain and revitalize young
officers is through education and diversification. Ensuring that four- or
five-year officers are afforded the opportunity to seek higher education and
diversify their military resumes could offset rigorous initial tours of duty.

Andrew
Tuttle, an intelligence officer who has been doing management consulting since
he left the Marines in 2011, called for the military to overhaul its personnel
management system. According to Tuttle, we live in the most fluid labor market
ever, and the military needs to adapt. Instead of advancing along with the
private sector, the military's management techniques remain archaic. For
example, officers are often assigned to new duties based on numbers and
availability, without taking individual talents into account.

There
is no doubt that junior officers, being the future leaders of the U.S.
military, are an important group to target for policymakers looking to improve
the administration of the armed forces at this critical time. Retaining the
"best and the brightest" -- whether they are cut from the leadership cloth or
destined to become innovative staff officers -- is essential to ensuring the
smooth operation of a peacetime military.

As
a Marine myself, I agree that retention is a problem. On both the officer and
enlisted side, I have seen too many intellectually-minded men and women who
felt like the Marine Corps was not the right place for them when they finished
their first term. Instead, less-cerebral "type-A" individuals have thrived and
renewed their contracts, creating a disparity between bright junior Marines and
their intellectually deficient senior leadership. Although I would say this is
more of an issue on the enlisted side, I think it is of vital importance for
the Marine Corps, and the military as a whole, to reverse this trend of the
true "best and brightest" officers moving on after their first four or five
years, because this is a perpetuating cycle. I can attest to the major
challenges that the military faces today. We are going to need a combination of
strong commanders and bright young staff officers to navigate through the
changes that lie ahead.

Chris Mondloch served
as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Marine Corps for five years, including
a deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2012. He recently received his
Bachelor's Degree from George Mason University.