Lanterna Rally

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Published: 2007

Total Pages: 132

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In 1998, the Army shifted its senior enlisted force from a fixed enlistment contract system to indefinite reenlistment. The stated intention was to recognize senior NCOs as career soldiers and thereby increase their prestige. The Army program was designed to meet this goal by eliminating the reenlistment requirement in the latter half of the NCO's career and by placing senior NCOs on the same indefinite service contract as officers. Over 90 percent of soldiers with a rank of E-6 or higher with ten or more years of service remain in the Army until retirement. The indefinite reenlistment policy requires all soldiers reaching the rank of E-6 with ten years of service to reenlist indefinitely. Their new separation date becomes either the year they are required to leave the service if not promoted or their retirement date, whichever occurs first. Soldiers may self-initiate separation if they have met all other service obligations through moves, schooling, retraining, or deployment. This program mirrors the management of officers and eliminates the need for career NCOs to repeatedly fill out reenlistment paperwork. The Army is satisfied with the program and has no plans to change it. This monograph presents the findings of the first study of the Army's program to determine whether it has met its primary goals, namely increasing the prestige of the NCO corps.