How Many Soldiers Are Turning Down Battalion Command?

Lt. Col. Alfred Francis (center) hands the battalion flag to Col. Welton Chase Jr., 1st Signal Brigade commander, transfering command of 304th Signal Battalion to Lt. Col. Arvesta Roberson II during the Change of Command ceremony held in the Camp Stanley Physical Fitness Center July 8. Photo credit Pfc. Kim, Tae Hoon

Yep, My Buddies Are Turning Down Battalion Command -- The Best Defense/Foreign Policy

In response to my request yesterday (in the Dubik item about cracks in the Army) for more information on declination of command, I got this note from a smart officer I knew in Iraq:

I don't have any hard stats for you, but at least 4 relatively close friends of mine have declined battalion command. I believe all were due to the cumulative and anticipated stress on their families. Most officers I know seem willing to do two or three tours; but somewhere at two years or more deployed, the pressure from being a non-participant in family life leads to some very hard choices between duty to the nation and duty to the family. Not that it is necessarily our job, but it's not easy to run the world with 10 Army divisions and the Marine Corps.

Read more ....

My Comment: When you are young .... long deployments are manageable. Middle age and over .... not so easy. When I was in my 20s and 30s .... I had no problems being away from home for more than a year or two .... today .... at 50 .... I shudder at the thought.

The comments for this article at Foreign Policy are a must read .... and I suspect that this is a bigger issue than what many are letting onto.