Pamphlet updates career management for officers
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 24, 2005) — Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-3, Commissioned Officer Development and Career Management, has been rewritten and was released to the field electronically Oct. 21.
The updated pamphlet can viewed at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_3.pdf. It has been updated to reflect the latest changes to the Officer Personnel Management System, said Lt. Col. Dennis Harrington of the Army G1’s Officer Accessions Policy Branch. For instance, Intermediate Level Education, or ILE, has replaced the Command and General Staff Officer Course, he said.
Additional changes to the pamphlet are expected next year, Harrington said. He expects another DA Pam 600-3 to be released in fall 2006, and he said that one should include new career timelines.
The G-1 staff redefined the current pamphlet as a professional development guide for all officers based on specific guidance from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker. The pamphlet no longer prescribes a path of assignments or schools that will guarantee success, but rather describes the full spectrum of developmental opportunities an officer can expect throughout a career, Harrington said.
The revised pamphlet emphasizes the requirement for the future force leader to acquire the proper balance of “depth” and “breadth” of experience in challenging leadership positions with a focus on becoming “leader qualified,” he said.
Other specific changes in this summer’s version of DA Pam 600-3 include the following:
…� All references to Officer Development System, or ODS, have been deleted;
…� In chapter 2, the three “pillars” of leader development have been renamed the three “domains” of leader development;
…� The evolving changes of the Officer Education System, or OES, are introduced in chapter 4 as well as referenced by each of the proponents in their applicable chapters;
…� The masking of warrant officer1 evaluation reports after selection to chief warrant officer3, and second lieutenant OERs upon promotion to captain, is discussed in chapter 6;
…� The last major change is the addition of a new functional area. Pysops (FA 37) and Civil Affairs (FA 38C) are now two separate and distinct functional areas for the active component.
Human Resource Command-Alexandria, in coordination with G-1, has established a task force for the review of the entire Officer Personnel Management System. Harrington said proposed changes are focused on developing the officer corps to successfully serve in a campaign-quality, joint and expeditionary Army as well as to synchronize the OPMS with the Army’s battle rhythm.
Force Stabilization manning practices will be the cornerstone of a modular future force, and will be outlined in a new publication, currently unnumbered, replacing AR 600-83: The New Manning System – COHORT Unit Replacement System, dated Oct. 27, 1986.
Harrington noted this DA Pam 600-3 is the first revision since the OPMS XXI study of 1998 and incorporates the results of the Warrant Officer Personnel Management Study XXI of 2000 as well as recommendations from the Army Training and Leader Development panel studies from 2000 to 2004. The revised pamphlet includes the career development of warrant officers, thus superseding DA Pam 600-11, Warrant Officer Professional Development, 1996.
When fully implemented, the revised OPMS will continue to develop officers with priority to Army needs first, then to officer professional development and officer preference, officials said. They said officer development will be based on skills required, today and tomorrow, and will include the functional grouping of skills to meet Army requirements.
For additional information on the OPMS review, see the Human Resources Command Homepage at www.hrc.army.mil.
