Memo: Army has only half the senior captains it needs

Although the rank of Captain is often associated with being in charge of a company, it is also often the 'entry level' rank of professionals, such as doctors.

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, stretched thin by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has only half of the senior captains it needs and will offer money and other incentives to keep those officers, according to a memo obtained by Reuters on Monday.

The number of senior captains, or captains closest to promotion, stands at just 51 percent of the Army's requirements, according to a memo from Col. George Lockwood, director of officer personnel management at the Army's Human Resources Command...

Previous decisions to promote officers more quickly to meet targets for Army majors -- the rank above captain -- also had hurt the number of junior officers available, he said.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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