Enlisted soldiers who opt not to reenlist or extend their tours in order to deploy with their units could be subject to early separation. Under an expansion of the service’s Enlisted Involuntary Early Separation Program, the Army can separate soldiers who choose not to deploy, and open up spaces in those units for soldiers who do intend to deploy. Army Human Resources Command officials adopted the change to bolster readiness, they said. The change is not intended as a force-reduction tool. The change will be implemented in three phases, and affect soldiers with more than three but fewer than six years’ total service. Determining which soldiers would be affected will hinge upon the latest arrival dates in theater of those soldiers’ units, and the relationship between those dates and soldiers’ estimated dates of separation. More information is available online at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/doc/36616926, and https://www.hrc.army.mil/Milper/12-165.
