Reintegrating the Sr. Specialist Essay Example

“In the Army, we have talented officers and weak ones. The same is true for the corps of noncommissioned officers. But unlike officer career paths, sergeants come into the service as a follower to develop and eventually earn their NCO stripes and supervisory roles over other troops. Regardless of ambitions and abilities, sergeants assume leadership jobs after a period, reenlistments, promotion boards, combat experience, schooling, and promotion point accrual.” (Hardy, 2015). Resurrecting the Sr. Specialist ranks will allow for increased opportunities for those who want to be promoted into leadership roles. With the current promotion system, once a soldier meets a certain TIS and TIG they must appear before a promotion board. This current system is forcing countless soldiers into leadership positions even though this may not be what their personal goals are. Incorporating the Sr. Specialist ranks will open NCO positions for those who truly want to be promoted as well as those who want to be leaders of soldiers. For example, say you as a leader have a soldier who expresses they enjoy their job, however they may not want to pursue a leadership role. Resurrecting the Sr. Specialist rank will allow the soldier as well as their first line leader to develop a career path tailored to them specifically. This situation and its solution provide the soldier a sense of clarity and stability in what they are expected to do as far as their short- and long-term goals.

By reintroducing the Sr. Specialist ranks, retention rates will increase. This will be because soldiers will have a sense of job satisfaction and fulfillment. Many soldiers find themselves leaving the service because they have been promoted into leadership positions. Soldiers are afforded little to no time at all with working within the area of expertise. Becoming an NCO is more than a title. Once those stripes have been placed onto your chest, you are introduced to even more roles and responsibilities outside of your actual MOS. This can be an administrative task and even extra duties such as a SHARP EOL.  As stated by Brad Henry, “The purpose was to provide advancement opportunities to soldiers without awarding sergeant stripes and encumbering troops with noncommissioned officer leadership responsibilities. If he or she didn’t want to be a sergeant, or frankly couldn’t do the job, then they could continue, benefit from increasing pay grades due to time in service and performance and stick to the job they wanted to do without promotion into management.” (Henry, 2015). These factors lead to numerous soldiers choosing to ETS. We as the United States Army, are an all-volunteer force. Let’s ensure that those who are technical experts within their respective fields, stay within our ranks. 

A benefit that will stem from reincorporating the Sr. Specialist ranks would be the Army’s ability to evaluate soldiers more effectively within the Army’s Talent Management Scope. Having separate pools divided between SME’s and NCOs who have been able to be evaluated by their commands, provides our Army’s talent managers to better select and assign each soldier for their next assignment. Having this capability mitigates the issues we see with organizations not having the proper personnel to execute and accomplish their unit mission. This not only allows for better unit preparedness but also develops a stronger and more cohesive fighting force. As our nation possibly prepares for a possible war ahead of us between Russia, it is imperative that we have our soldiers equipped as well as assigned according to what we need. 

Everyone loves money, and with the integration of the Sr. Specialist ranks the Army can provide better incentives for NCOs as well as the Sr. Specialist. For example, Sr. Specialists that pursue and obtain certifications within their field can have the opportunity to earn bonuses for holding specific technical certs. This not only helps increase the soldier’s knowledge but also promotes them to want to gain certifications. Also, at times the Army has seen that soldiers who may gain certs see their pay could be more within the private sector. Providing pay incentives will increase the likelihood they will stay within our ranks. NCOs will also benefit from this because they could also be offered pay incentives for assuming extra roles and schools in the same way as recruiters receive pay incentives (special pay). As stated before, who doesn’t enjoy an increase in pay? Resurrecting the Sr. Specialist would help open more avenues in which our service members can earn more for their knowledge and commitment. 

As the world’s greatest fighting force, we as the United States have always strived for greatness. Let us not hesitate to resurrect the ranks of the Sr. Specialist ranks. It is time to encourage and implement a great rank structure we once had. A system that ensured we were staying technically and tactically competent. Incorporating the Sr. Specialist again will provide our forces with enhanced career development, pay incentives, and an opportunity to ensure we are filling our ranks with the best of the best who want to continue to serve. The Sr. Specialist rank structure should be reintegrated within the Army. It provides those who may not want to be in leadership roles, a chance to flourish as subject matter experts within their respective military occupation specialty. Time is of the essence, let us not hesitate to ensure that we are and will continue to be the world’s finest Army.