|
OPMS
XXI is an evolutionary system that balances the needs of the Army with
the aspirations and developmental requirements of the officer corps. Modified
by external environmental factors, as well as doctrine, the dynamics of
force structure and leader development principles, OPMS XXI will
serve the officer corps and the Army into the 21st Century. Inherently
flexible, the system is designed to respond to a variety of doctrinal,
proponent, commander and individual initiatives to meet emerging needs.
Additionally, an annual review process ensures that OPMS continues to
adapt to changing Army requirements. This flexibility is embedded in OPMS
subsystems, which are interrelated and affected by each other’s
changes. These subsystems are:
(1)
Strength
management. The numbers of officers,
by grade and specialty,
are defined by Army requirements, law, budget and policy. The combination
of these factors results in the determination of the numbers of officers
to access, promote, develop, assign and separate. Since each of these
factors is dynamic, the number and grade of branch and functional area
officers within the inventory are also dynamic. As Army requirements
or force structure change, the officer inventory will also change and
be realigned to meet the needs of the resulting force structure.
(2)
Development.
Each branch, functional area and officer
skill proponent
has defined the appropriate mix of education, training and sequential,
progressive assignments needed by the officer corps at each grade level.
The demands of each specialty are reflected in subsequent branch and
functional area chapters as life cycle development models. The
OPMD assignment branches develop each officer’s career by using
the semodels while balancing Army requirements and policies for officer
management. To ensure the development of all officers, OPMD operates
in concert with various responsible agents in OPMS: the individual officer,
the proponents, commanders in the field and the senior Army leadership.
Officer development is a responsibility shared by all.
(3)
Evaluation.
The Army officer structure is pyramidal.
The apex
contains very few senior grades in relation to the wider base. Advancement
to increasingly responsible positions is based on relative measures
of performance and potential. The mechanism to judge the value of an
individual’s performance and potential is the OER described in
detail in chapter 6. All OPMS subsystems are affected by the evaluation
report. Promotion, Career Field designation, selection for command,
retention in service and career development opportunities are
all based on the information contained in the OER.
(4)
Centralized
selection. The hub around which all
the subsystems
revolve is centralized selection. Strength management, development
and evaluation of individual contribution occurs in the series of HQDA
and PERSCOM selection boards for retention, career status, schooling,
promotion and senior command designation. These boards employ the evaluation
reports, life cycle development models and strength requirements to
advance individuals to the next stage of development. Officers generally
flow through the centralized selection subsystem by groupings
called cohort year groups.
Central
selection perpetuates the ideals, cultural values, ethics and professional
standards of the Army by advancing and retaining only those individuals
best qualified to assume positions of greater responsibility. Centralized
selection has evolved over time to account for the impact of law, policy,
budget, officer needs and proponent vision.
Additionally,
the increasing specialization of the officer corps is
incorporated in OPMS XXI selection procedures to assure adequate
attention is given to the wide variety of career possibilities within
the personnel management system.
Return
to Officer Career Information Menu
Above
information derived from Army Pamplet 600-3
|
