The Wall Street Journal-20080205-O Captain- My Captain- Where Art Thou Gone-

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O Captain! My Captain! Where Art Thou Gone?

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Your article "Army Effort to Retain Captains Falls Short of Goal" (Jan. 26) illustrates an acute weakness affecting all ranks that is largely a creation of our own misallocation of resources.

By a stroke of good luck, I work in a field that seldom deploys its soldiers for more than nine months. Our goal is usually six-month rotations, and some units have it down to 90-day rotations utilizing team systems. What has this accomplished? We can have families. We stay connected with our communities back home. We stay in the Army longer. And, most importantly, we are better focused for the mission at hand. Burn-out is avoided. I would be happy to do 90-day rotations for the rest of my career.

What is the opportunity cost for these short rotations? Transportation costs are higher. As always, our decisions come down to money. The military neither wants the headache of frequent rotations nor the expense. This mindset is understandable. However, it causes high costs elsewhere, particularly in retention. Not only does it cost more to keep people, but the quality of those who do stay will be lower. Please understand, most of us in uniform don't get out because we are deployed to war zones, live in tents, eat field rations or suffer the usual deprivations of military life. If we get out, it is usually because the cost to our families and lives is too great.

If a professional, effective and sustainable force is the desired goal for this war and those in the future, shorter rotations are an expensive but necessary change.

Damon Cussen

Sgt. First Class

5th Civil Affairs/Psychological

Operations Battalion

Fort Bragg, N.C.