Marines may soon need to conduct significantly less permanent change of station moves as the Corps looks to improve retention.
The Corps is overhauling its manpower system to focus on creating an older more experience Marine Corps.
To do that, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger knows he must make it easier for Marines to have a successful family life and successful career.
“Beginning in 2022, monitors will seek to keep Marines and their families in the same geographic duty station as long as opportunities for career growth exist,” Berger said in the Talent Management 2030 document. “In other words, monitors will make more regular use of Permanent Change of Assignment (PCA) orders, rather than PCS orders.”
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The reduction of PCS moves also will have a tactical benefit, Berger argued.
Roughly 25,000 Marines undertake a permanent change of station every year, causing unit proficiency to decrease as Marines spend time preparing for or adjusting to a move rather than training.
The Marine Corps is still working out the best way to reduce moves while ensuring that the Corps fills all of its manpower positions.
Berger also noted that Marines likely will not be allowed to spend their entire career at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
This is an excerpt from “19 Things Marines Need To Know For 2022,” in the January print edition of Marine Corps Times.