A lateral promotion

Since beginning of the month I've been in the process of moving out of the S-3 to the S-4 shop. The current S-4 is leaving the Army at the end of February, so I've seen it coming for while, though that still doesn't ease my nerves.

The exiting S-4 was been in the position the whole time they've been in Korea -- almost 21 months. That's a lot of experience and knowledge to transfer in a very short amount of time.

But wait -- you say -- a month is plenty of time to learn a new job. Yes, that's true, but a month is *not* a long time to out-process Korea and get ready for a civilian life. So even though I've got the time, the exiting S-4 does not.

Having S-4 experience is not a bad thing prior to assuming a command, but I don't like the way the transition is happening. Instead of "who would be a good candidate?" it seems more like "who can we stick with this?" It may be a staff primary position, but once in place, it can sometimes be hard to get out.

I'm reminded of this line from the "Irresponsible Captain Tylor" animation series: