Why don't you have a KD ACOM?

I like analysis. It's one of those things I happen to be good at.

So in this post I'm going to sort through my thoughts and emotions on why -- according to the most recent promotion stats -- the Army would be wrong to think I'm not good enough to be a major. It's going to come off as a whiny, immature tantrum, but for now that's where I'm at. After that's out of the way, we'll look at things from a more mature perspective.

But first....

None of it's my fault. Everyone else is wrong. Everything's so unfair.

1. The battalion commander and a brigade commander who offered me command left within two months. By the time I assumed command, both echelons were "under new management." The new leaders had never interviewed me, they didn't select me, and I knew nothing about them. Of course, being absolutely new to the position, I doubt I made made a good first impression.
2. Being new to the battalion couldn't have helped, especially given that I was commanding a headquarters company, and as a first command. I actually had to PCS from Korea's Area III to Area IV in order to take command, and even that was rushed. I wasn't even on my own personnel roster for the first few weeks.
3. I didn't get a chance to attend the Company Commander/First Sergeant course prior to taking command, which was a violation of AR 350-1 §3-39a(2). The lack of training contributed to the supply problems I experienced.
4. My first brigade commander didn't do any senior rater counseling, so it was hard to know what his priorities were or where I stood. When I asked my battalion commander for an appointment after six months, he said, "I don't think he'll want to see you."
5. After my first evaluation, the battalion transferred brigades. However, my second brigade commander didn't do any counseling either. When it came time for my evaluation, he only had a senior rater profile of 3, meaning he didn't have space in his profile to give me a "top block" evaluation.
6. My battalion commander never made time for the initial command inspection, as stipulated in AR 1-201 §3-3c(1). As a result, I didn't understand what his priorities were. Nor did he explain his expectations in the required quarterly counselings.
7. My battalion commander felt it was his job to "identify future battalion commanders," which I didn't want to be. I wanted to pursue a different career path, which put me at a disadvantage in my evaluations.
8. During my first six weeks of command, I was gone for four. Three days after taking command, I started the Company Commanders/First Sergeants course in Seoul. After that, I had one week to move my family. And two weeks after that, I was sent to fill a tasking as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise.
9. Normally, if you can't get a top block evaluation in your first command, the branch manager will send you to another location where you can do a second command (like recruiting). However, moving immediately after finishing command to come to Hawaii left me with no opportunities for that. And having just PCSed here, the branch manager refused to move me again so soon.
10. My predecessor lost accountability of $72,000 worth of property, but because the battalion commander and brigade commander both moved a month before he came out of command, those property losses weren't reflected on his evaluation and he got a top block. When I came out of command, there was no need for an investigation into property loss (I had everything accounted for), but that apparently didn't count for much.
11. The Army has its priorities wrong. Instead of looking at box checks, they should look at the whole person. I speak four foreign languages, have an MBA, and wrote a book as a captain. I had no lost property investigations, no Inspector General or Equal Opportunity complaints against me, no "bad paperwork," and once went five months without a serious incident. How am I not valuable?

And yet, the Army's right.

1. As General Curtis LeMay put it, "I have neither the time nor the inclination to differentiate between the incompetent and the merely unfortunate." Army boards are the same way. Given that the Army treats everyone as an interchangeable part with equal merit, it's an Army officer's job to figure out how to be lucky. These days, the Army can't afford to keep people who are either unlucky or incapable.
2. I joined the Army in 2008 during the Global War on Terrorism surge, when recruiting standards were lower. In a sense, I've been on borrowed time my whole Army career. Since I wouldn't have gotten in without the surge anyway, it's no dishonor to be released. After all, this is similar to what happened in 1945. I came in when needed, and now that I'm not, it's time to leave.
3. There are more egregious examples of human resource mismanagement. I work with a YG2008 aviation officer who was a Kiowa pilot (which the Active Army no longer uses), but hasn't been on flight status and hasn't been retrained. These situations are unfortunate, but they happen to all kinds of people.
4. The Army doesn't need linguists, analysts, or authors. The Army needs leaders.
5. If the Army doesn't need me, that's great. It means it has so many other great leaders already. Our country's in good hands.
6. The Army has already fulfilled every promise it's made to me. It has already paid off my student loans, allowed me to earn Post 9-11 G.I. Bill benefits for my kids, and treated me more than generously as an employer. (When my wife got sick in 2010, it delayed my deployment for six weeks so I could take care of my family.) Continued employment for 20 years has never been a promise to anyone.

Besides, there are bright sides to getting out.

• I might be getting medically retired anyway, given my health issues.
• I just bought a house in Hawaii -- something I wouldn't have dreamed I'd be able to do when I lived here 15 years ago. Now I'll have the choice to stay here if I want.
• The Army's run out of things to promise me. It's a good time to find something new.
• The Army doesn't have a way to recognize or reward special talents. (It didn't send me to Korea because I spoke Korean; they sent me because they had spaces and I wanted to go.) Moving on will allow me to find a job that can better utilize my skills.
• If I were to stay in the Army, there's no guarantee I could get what I want -- to be a Foreign Area Officer focused on East Asia. Not even my Korean-American friend (and FAO) could manage that, and he speaks Korean better than me. The Army's a strange place.
• And with my medical situation, I'll qualify for a 10 point veteran's preference. Bonus!
• It sure takes the pressure off for the rest of the time I'm in. Things are a little stressful right now because of the exercise, but my job is not hard these days.

When I consider everything, I think it's a good time to move on. I'm in a way better position in life than I was 10 years ago, but I think there are even better opportunities going forward.