Adjutant General CorpsAdjutant General Corps
The Adjutant General's Corps is a Combat Service Support branch of the Army. Our mission is to help build and sustain combat readiness through planning, operating, and managing all military personnel activities, which include the following functions: Personnel Services, Personnel Strength Management, Personnel Management, Automation, Automation, Band Operations, and Postal Operations. Various headquarters -- from battalion and separate brigade to division, Army headquarters, major commands, and Department of the Army -- require astute, innovative officers to plan, develop, and operate personnel management systems in support of the organization or headquarters in peacetime as well as a combat environment. Officers of the Adjutant General's Corps meet this requirement.
The proud lineage of the Adjutant General's Corps dates back nearly as far as the Army which it has honorably served for over 200 years. On June 16, 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Horatio Gates, a former British Army major, as the first Adjutant General and commissioned him in the grade of Brigadier General. With that appointment, the second oldest existing branch of the Army received its birthright.
Horatio Gates is honored as the forefather of the Adjutant General's Corps. Historically, he was the second officer to receive a commission in the Continental Army (George Washington was the first). General Gates' primary duty was to serve as key advisor and principal assistant to General Washington. Horatio Gates proved himself to be an able assistant as well as a brilliant field commander. Under his leadership, the Continental Army won the Battle of Saratoga--considered by many to be the most critical battle of the Revolutionary War. Following his strategic victory over the British, the Congress awarded General Gates our country's highest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal.
During the War of 1812, Adjutant Generals proved themselves to be officers of exceptional character, judgment, and combat prowess. Two men in particular who served as the Adjutant General during this period rose to prominence. Alexander Macomb is noted for repulsing the British in the Battle of Plattsburg and later becoming the Commanding General of the Army. The famous explorer Zebulon Pike was killed in battle while leading the victorious assault on York, Canada.
With the appointment of Brevet Brigadier General Roger Jones in 1825, the office began its climb in importance to the Army. During his tenure, General Jones molded the office of the Adjutant General into the central bureau of the War Department. Adjutants General became the only officers invested with the authority to speak for the commander.
Recognizing this, the Army began appointing West Point graduates almost exclusively as Adjutants General from 1839 through the early 1900's. The first two graduates so appointed, Samuel Cooper and Lorenzo Thomas, served with distinction as Adjutants General during the Civil War. Cooper served the South, and Thomas served the North.
By the onset of the Spanish-American War, The Adjutant General's Office had evolved as the central coordinating bureau in the Army. Strengthening military organization has been the legacy of the Adjutants General from one era to another. Major General William H. Carter, under the able direction of Secretary of War Elihu Root, bolstered that legacy by designing the modern general staff. The relationships between The Adjutant General's Department and this newly-organized general staff took several years of refinement as some functions were transferred and others were duplicated.
Traditionally, Adjutant General's Corps officers were charged with most of the non-supply functions of the staff as we know them today. Their focus has been primarily centered around records, and as such, they have historically been given the responsibility for developing Army personnel and administrative policies and programs.
Through the years, functions developed by the Adjutant General have evolved into independent staff agencies. The Inspector General, The Provost Marshal, The Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, and the Chief of Military History all owe their foundations to The Adjutants General of the past. For more than 200 years the mission of the Adjutant General's Corps has remained constant and clear: to assist the commander in war and peace, and be the vanguard of personnel support to the Army. Today, through the relentless dedication of our soldiers, the Corps continues to develop new and better means of providing quality service support. Our pride in the past is only surpassed by our optimism for the future. We are prepared to DEFEND and SERVE!
As a Adjutant General's Corps officer, you will be a leader and a manager. You will have a variety of challenging assignments where you will use your technical knowledge, tactical skills, managerial and leadership abilities and a lot of common sense to accomplish your mission.
As an Adjutant General's Corps officer, you could be assigned to the position of strength management officer. Strength management officers are responsible for reporting the personnel status of a unit to the commander. Commanders need this information to ensure unit readiness. As a strength management officer, you are also responsible for requisitioning replacements to ensure the unit has enough trained personnel to perform the unit's mission in both war and peace.
Officers who serve in Personnel Management plan, develop, and direct personnel systems which support and implement programs concerning the personnel life cycle. Included are personnel reassignments, reenlistments, promotions, eliminations, and awards and decorations. These officers command personnel service companies (PSC) or assist in commanding. Adjutant General's Corps officers also serve as Adjutants/S1s of battalions and brigades, and G1s of divisions.
Today's Army is fast paced and highly technical. As an AG officer, you will learn how to use automated computer systems such as the Standard Installation Division Personnel System (SIDPERS). Also, you will receive training on the Tactical Army Combat Service Support Computer System (TACCS) use to provide information on personnel and report unit status during wartime operations.
Recruiting is vital to maintaining a strong quality force in the Army. As an AG officer you may be assigned to command a recruiting company. AG officers also hold positions as Adjutants or operations officers at recruiting battalions or brigades.
Officers in the area of recruiting are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring quality men and women are enlisted in the Army. They must ensure that people coming into the Army have the aptitude and are physically and mentally fit for military service.
The United States Army Bands Program is one of the largest single employers of musicians in the world. It consists of 123 bands: 48 Active Army, 56 Army National Guard, and 19 Army Reserve bands. Army Bands are stationed throughout the world with the largest concentration in the continental United States. While the majority of our bands have 40 band members (one Warrant Officer Bandmaster and 39 enlisted musicians), the size varies from 250 (The United States Army Band) to our 13-space detachment in Belgium. The Army Bands Program is continually seeking highly qualified musicians to serve in its many organizations. For acceptance into the program, successful performance of an audition is required. AG Officers in the field of Army Bands can serve as Band Commanders and Band Staff Officers.
One of the most critical AG wartime functions is postal operations. Timely delivery of mail to soldiers and their families is crucial to sustaining morale and fighting capability. This has proven true in every conflict, from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm. The AG Corps operates Army Post Offices in overseas locations from Korea to Germany to Turkey. As a new AG lieutenant, you will be trained at the Interservice Postal Training Activity at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Your duties in postal will be both technically complex and physically challenging. You may be assigned as a Custodian of Postal Effects (COPE), or the officer in charge of auditing all stamp, money order, and postage meter sales to ensure total accountability. You may also be assigned as a operations officer at a large postal facility, ensuring that all mail coming into your overseas location is sorted to the right place. At some small facilities, you may be assigned as a postal platoon leader, in charge of 22 soldiers and all postal functions. As a Postal Officer, your leadership ability and attention to detail will be tested, but the payoff in increased morale and effectiveness of the soldiers you support is worth the effort.
The Adjutant General Mission is GLOBAL!
Every Army installation has Adjutant General's Corps officers and your assignment possibilities are worldwide. Your skills cover a large part of the support mission: anywhere soldiers are assigned there are job opportunities for you. Some skills, such as postal operations, are generally overseas. Other skills, such as band operations, are obviously limited in the number of posts available for assignment.
All of your skills are essential throughout the Army, throughout the world. Most Adjutant General's Corps officers are concentrated in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Germany, and Korea. However, they can be found in various areas of the world to include Europe, the Far East, Central America, and Southwest Asia.
Non-branch detailed Adjutant General's Corps officers attend the AG Officer Basic Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. This 13-week course provides new AG lieutenants with the military leadership and technical skills necessary for them to perform duties in their initial assignments. Your attendance at the Adjutant General's Officer Basic Course (AGOBC) will prepare you to function effectively as an officer in the United States Army and as a member of the Adjutant General's Corps.
The course is mentally and physically demanding. You will follow a strict
course curriculum involving classes in the areas of Combined Arms Training,
Field Training Exercises, Command Post Exercises, Military Skills, Professional
Development and Personnel Management Systems. You will also receive instruction
on the latest in automated personnel systems. In addition to the course
curriculum, you must serve in a leadership position within the class. These
positions include squad and platoon leader, administrative officer, and supply
officer. Other leadership positions include physical fitness officer, and
command positions during Field Training and Command Post Exercises. Physical
training and conditioning are areas of great emphasis in the Adjutant General's
Corps. You will participate in a structured physical training program five times
a week. All AGOBC students must pass the final of three Army Physical Fitness
Tests (APFT).
