How is it determined where and when soldiers go overseas?

Question

It was explained to me by friends of mine whose parents are in the military that they are given a choice of where they want to be "abroad". Apprently this includes Hawaii.

How do they determine which soldiers will go, for example, Iraq? Especially if the soldier chooses Hawaii or something for his time abroad? There are units (not a military person, so sorry if I use the wrong terms!) that are going out for the 2nd or 3rd time. Is it based on need of the army and the specialty of the soldier?

I'm not looking for judgments about the war or Islam. I'm rather confused about the logistics of the military, that's all.

Answer 1

First of all, out of every 4 years in the military it is expected that 1 year be spent overseas or 6 months in a boat in the ocean.

Smaller units get sent as a UNIT to places such as Iraq and Kuwait, then for larger units people volunteer or get selected to go and represent that larger unit and make a smaller one out there.

For other overseas places people get to chose 3 places they would like to go to and if there is a spot for his job duty (MOS) out there then he is sent over there, if there is not they go to his second choice and so on.

Basically, where he is needed is where he is sent too. If they need a truck driver in Italy he will be sent there if they don't then he wont get sent there.

Answer 2

Parts of some of the previous answer are correct. In the Army you have a Dreamsheet which you fill out what 3 places overseas you would like to be stationed at in order of preference. You also fill out where stateside you would like to be stationed as well. When you move in the Army from station to station it is called a PCS(permanent change of station) this is only for that individual and their family if married. Now once that are assigned to a unit that unit may be sheduled to deploy. A deployment is normally a whole unit moving in mass to do something (Iraq/Afghanistan) or it could be for training or an exercise( JRTC/NTC).

The soldier's preferences are taken into account when PCSing but the overall needs of the Army are what finally decides where they go. The deployments are scheduled awhile ahead of time and are worked on a rotational basis and that is decided at "Big Army" about what unit goes where when. Another thing to realize is that if there MOS does not have a job at the post they want to go to then they cannot PCS there. The Army has something called Branch Managers that oversea a career field and soldiers can talk/email them and try to work out where they want to go as well.

Answer 3

You get sent wherever you are needed. I was a 71 Lima F5 in the U.S. Army.Which is an Administrative assistant with an additional skill identifier of Postal clerk. I did 2 tours to South Korea. In the states they don't use military people in the post offices on post. They use civilians. So when I was stationed in Georgia for 2 years I was an administrative assistant at the Battalion level for an S-3. You get sent wherever the military wants you. After so many years in the military sometimes you get to pick where you go, but that is under special circumstances. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

There are two types of overseas tours. There is PCS(Permanent Change of Station) Overseas, and Deployments.

PCS' include going to places like Hawaii, England, Germany, etc. Places that have reletively low hazards. You get overseas pay here and you get to experience another culture.

Deployments are different. Being sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, etc, you are sent over to enforce something, or participate in genocide(otherwise known as 'war'). Korea is in the middle, since the vietnam war was never really ended, there has always been tension in Korea, many view it as a deployment, and likewise as a PCS.

Now for who decides these things. PCS' are usually chosen from a 'Dreamsheet' that the military member writes down as to where he or she wants to go overseas. Deployments are decided by a thing called DTS. Being from the Air Force, I know little how the other branches work schedules, but this is how USAF does it. People are put into 'buckets' according to a schedule 2 buckets at a time are at risk of being deployed. Also, they may pull from other buckets to fill certain positions.

Anyways, deployments get very confusing when it comes to who exactly gets chosen. Being a peon of one branch limits me to knowledge about the system.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

Answer 5

there is a difference between a deployment and a PCS. PCS orders OCONUS include places like Germany, Japan, and Korea, where the US maintains a permanent military presence. a deployment can be to places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, places where we do NOT have a permanent military base. Units/commands based in Germany can be sent to Afghanistan on a deployment.

My cousin(an individual) has been to Iraq 3 times in the last three years, because every time he PCs's, it just so happens that the place he goes to is slated to deploy right after he gets there. Just luck of the draw for him.

Answer 6

OCONUS ingesting age is 21 on or off base. no count number number what the close by guidelines say. lengthy time period in the past, OCONUS bases had discretion.. they could opt for to save the ingesting age at 21 or conform to close by regulation. and rancid base changed into close by regulation no count number number what. yet because of the upward push in undesirable PR incidents( like the Marines in Oki gang raping a 12 12 months previous) all that replaced.. 21, era.

Answer 7

See, there is this room in the Pentagon with no windows. In this room they have a list of everyone in the military. All of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff get together every month in this room and pick people at random. They then throw darts at a dart board to figure out where they get to go.

Answer 8

EVERYTHING is determined by the needs of the military. Also, specialized training dictates who goes where, etc.

Answer 9

They match the skills to the needs.