TRADOC Pam 525-3-7-01 - TRADOC - U.S. Army

TRADOC Pam 525-3-7-01challenging but rewarding way of life, and not simply in a job. The family’s responsibility in thispartnership is to support the Soldier and other unit families and to participate in building andsustaining healthy, supportive Army units and organizations. The military’s responsibility is tocreate an environment where families and family members expect a good quality of life andopportunities to realize their potential.In order to achieve this vision, the Army must establish an environment where the Soldierand the family believe it possible to be a great father, mother, husband, wife, as well as a greatSoldier. Army leaders through their knowledge, skills, abilities, and decisions will have thegreatest impact on the lives of Soldiers and their families. Leaders must also recognize that they,“…must develop the expert knowledge and abilities necessary to create both the perception andreality of caring for families and understand how they can improve their Soldiers’ and theirSoldiers’ families’ satisfaction with military life.” 172 If they fail, Soldiers both married andunmarried will be more likely to conclude being a Soldier is incompatible with family life and itis unlikely the Army will be able to raise and sustain the force required to meet the challenges ofthe future operating environment.7-6 The Tempo of Army ServiceHigh operational and personnel tempos characterized service in the Army over the lastdecade. Beginning with the 2004 Army Posture Statement, Senior Army leaders recognized thestrain this tempo placed on the Army, Soldiers, and their families. Personnel managementinitiatives to support the future Modular force promise to provide some stability, but the Armymust anticipate that Soldiers and families will continue to experience frequent deployments.Similarly, Soldiers in generating force assignments currently work long hours in support of themodular force, and in some cases, join the operating forces during the conduct of operations.Such factors will continue to stress to the force. The Army will experience this stress in differentways—in individual Soldiers and families as well as stress on the Army institution at large.Beyond operational stressors, there will be a continued need for professional education andtraining—a critical requirement in the future operating environment. If collectively, asmentioned above in the discussion of the Army family, these demands exceed the Soldier's abilityto cope and meet his obligations to family, the Army may lose the Soldier's dedicated serviceeven though he may believe it to be a rewarding life that is worthy of the Soldier’s service.Therefore, in addition to developing policies and capabilities that address the elements of thehuman dimension, it is also important to address the issue of force size to ensure that the Armyhas sufficient numbers of Soldiers and resources to meet the demands of the OPTEMPO.Developing policies and capabilities across DOTMLPF alone is insufficient if the force is toosmall to adequately meet strategic requirements, staff both the operating and generating forces,provide the opportunity for quality training and education, and have adequate reset time betweendeployments and quality of life for both Soldiers and families. Examining these dynamic andinterdependent factors determines how they should influence the size of and retention in thefuture force.162