AG Captains Career Course

By Alyssa, June 25, 2010 8:57 am

Everybody hates Human Resources, civilian or military. We affect pay, screw up promotions, and delay paperwork. Prior to joining the Adjutant General Corps (AG), I served as an Air Defense Artillery officer and vowed to never forget the frustration Army human resources caused me and my soldiers. It seemed to me the other officers I met in the human resources field dubbed themselves the “red pen of the world”. These “professionals” (I use this term LOOSELY) had no concept of what it was like outside of the office.

I put off attending the Captain’s Career Course for over six years until I realized this fall I needed the graduation certificate for promotion to Major. I walked into the class at the beginning of the month with a bias, and I’ll admit, a little smug. Two weeks with a bunch of AG paper pushers? Ugghh. Get me back with the warfighters.

Imagine my surprise when I let down my guard and hung out with a few of my classmates. Sure, there were “red pen killers” in the class, but they made up the minority. Most were just like me. Self-taught human resources soldiers just trying to pass and get back to the real Army. I met postal officers that risked their lives to deliver mail outside of the guarded bases in Iraq and human resource experts that used Army regulations as a guide to help their unit, not a road block to hinder actions.

I write this post to apologize to my classmates. Before attending the Fort Jackson course, I disassociated myself with other Army Human Resource managers. I let a few bad apples affect my view of the branch as a whole. These last two weeks erased my prejudices. The leaders I met want to influence change and improve the role of the commander’s adjutant. I’m honored now to call these fellow AG paper-pushin soldiers my friends.