Discussion board response

When discussing workforce and personnel management along with the concept of how to manage, I think that there is a significant difference between the active force and the reserve force. I have been a National Guard Soldier for my entire career. There is a massive difference between states regarding how they operate the force to the needs of the organization and implement strategies and training to meet the mission. The state of Vermont (VT) has historically had a difficult task of manning the force for many reasons, so the tactics the Vermont guard employs are going to be different than let’s say the state of Connecticut or any other state that has little issue with strength. 

When we look at one of the core competencies of Human Resources (HR) is manning the force and the Subordinate vital functions that are Personnel readiness management, Personnel accountability, Strength reports, Retention operations, and Personnel information management (Department of the Army, 2014). The two I am most familiar with are Personnel readiness and Retention operations. I am sure that VT is not alone in its struggles of achieving a force that has 100% in the medical readiness of its Soldiers. A large part of VT's plan to combat this issue is mandatory once a year Soldier Readiness Program (SRP). In the last decade, VT has transformed from a heavy mechanized state to an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), so in one aspect, this was appealing to some on the recruiting side, but it has been detrimental to the retention side. VT can't recruit its way out of low numbers; it must retain the Soldiers it has.

Retaining soldiers that the government has spent years investing in is critical to the future success of the force. We, as SGM/CSM's, are a significant part of this process. It's our job as future or current SGM's and CSM's to keep our finger on the pulse of our organization and help develop good hard, realistic training to keep our soldiers engaged. A part of my strategy as a new SGM is to make sure I always thank my staff and the soldiers in my BN for the hard work they put in and the sacrifices they and their families make.  

Contract support and improving organizational culture. When within the United States' borders, we need to look no further than organizations like the Family Readiness Group (FRG) and other military family programs. Working with these groups is an excellent way for SGM's and CSM's to know the status of their formations and their families. As all leaders know or better know if the Soldier feels like we as an organization don't support their family, they won't be in our formation for long. The amount of Contract support the government employs to fill support rolls down range is astonishing and unprecedented in modern history, The operational contract support (OCS) capabilities seem to be endless ((Dunigan et al., 2017)