Getting rid of non-deployables

Military service members in a non-deployable status for at least 12 straight months will be separated from service based on a draft of new Defense Department policies that are being reviewed. The draft policy memo would require services to “process members who are non-deployable for 12 consecutive months for admin or disability separation," according to a draft summary of the policy obtained by Military Times. The memo is to be followed by a DOD instruction, which will take months to complete. The new retention policy is being reviewed by the service chiefs and Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. "The goal of the policy is to further reduce the number of non-deployable service members and improve personnel readiness across the force," said Air Force Maj. Carla Gleason, a DOD spokesperson. Some 235,000 (about 11%) of the 2.1 million personnel serving on active duty, reserves or with the National Guard are currently non-deployable, according to Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell, senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford. DOD has started to target the 11 percent. About 99,000 are on a list for not having immunizations or required dental exams. Some 20,000 are non-deployable due to pregnancy, and 116,000 are non-deployable due to either short- or long-term injuries, but “very few” are combat injuries. “It's related to … doing their job or during physical training,” he said. "The 99,000 is the easy stuff,” said Troxell. All that’s required is walking over to the base dental/health clinic to get an annual exam. The draft retention policy is a result of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' direction in a July 2017 focusing on non-deployables and other factors, such as excessive training requirements” that are seen as impacting both "war-fighting readiness and force lethality." Each service now has its own policies regarding non-deployables. (Source: Air Force Times 02/12/18. Link unavailable due to Feb. 12 release date.)