scope:

Applicability.

This pamphlet applies to the Active Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated. During mobilization, procedures in this publication can be modified to support policy changes as necessary.

Purpose

This pamphlet serves primarily as a professional development guide for all officers. It does not prescribe the path of assignments or educational requirements that will guarantee success, but rather describes the full spectrum of developmental opportunities an officer can expect for a successful career. This document also serves as a mentoring tool for leaders at all levels and is an important personnel management guide for assignment officers, proponents, and Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) selection board members. Its focus is the development and career management of all officers of the United States Army. officer development for the future force should effectively balance breadth and depth of experience. All assignments are important to sustain a trained and ready Army. The out dated philosophy of "checking the block" in certain positions at every grade has encouraged officers to be more concerned about holding the "right" jobs in order to achieve "branch qualification" than about the quality of the experience gained in each job. The focus of every officer should be on bringing the Warrior Ethos to every job and every facet of their development. Officers are charged with fighting and winning America's wars. Regardless of branch or functional area (FA), they use challenging assignments at all levels to help them hone through experience what they have learned through their formal education about leading and training Soldiers. Operational factors (the constraints of time, Army requirements, positions available, and readiness) all influence the amount of time an officer will need to acquire appropriate leadership skills. Success will depend not on the number or type of positions held, but rather on the quality of duty performance in every assignment. It is tied to individual contribution, and related to the individual officer's definition of success in the profession of arms. Previously accepted conventions regarding personnel management and "branch qualification" no longer apply. Not all officers will be afforded opportunities to perform all types of duty. The types and extent of duties and assignments are articulated in the following chapters. For this publication, the term "officers" encompasses warrant officers (WOs), company grade officers and field grade officers. A warrant officer one (WO1) is commissioned upon promotion to chief warrant officer two (CW2). All officers are direct representatives of the President of the United States. Chapters relating to officer education, general promotion policies, and officer evaluation apply to all special branches as well. Specific policies applicable to the Judge Advocate General's Corps, the Chaplain Corps, and the U.S. Army Medical Department are found in chapters 39, 40, and 41, respectively. The governing regulation for this pamphlet is AR 600-3 and AR 350-1.

Officers are encouraged to read all branch and FA chapters, regardless of branch FA, military occupational specialty (MOS), or career field (CF) held, because unique and valuable lessons in Army culture and officer professional development are found in every chapter.

This pamphlet documents the second revision since the officer Personnel Management System (OPMS) XXI study of 1998 and Warrant officer Personnel Management Study (WOPMS) XXI of 2000, as well as recommendations from the Army Training and Leader Development Panel studies from 2000 to 2003. It also incorporates the changing philosophies of the Army leadership and is a continuation of the previous pamphlet rewrite. These comprehensive efforts are essential because fundamental change is required for the Army officer Corps to lead forces in the early 21st Century across the range of military operations. Current Army personnel management practices were shaped by both OPMS XXI and WOPMS XXI efforts, and are now referred to simply as OPMS. OPMS enhances the warfighting capability of the Army; provides all officers with a reasonable opportunity for success; and fulfills Army requirements with an officer corps balanced with the right grades and skills. Although a WO personnel management system has been in place since the 1970's and was further defined by the Total Warrant officer Study (TWOS) of 1986, the subsequent studies mentioned above reinforced the need for a development and career management system that provides for the career development needs of the WO segment of the officer corps. The change to better integrate WOs into the officer corps recommended in the comprehensive studies enhances the effectiveness and professionalism of the WO corps through improvements in training, development, assignment, promotion, and retention practices.