Army commanders can start the separation process for some non-deployable soldiers immediately

The Army is getting tough on non-deployable soldiers. These are typically soldiers with a legal or medical hold. Hopefully the Army is working with the VA for continuing medical care for soldiers discharged for medical holds.

The Army’s new non-deployable policy takes the Defense Department’s 12-month limit and chops it in half for soldiers sidelined due to administrative issues.

And if your leadership is pretty sure you can’t get on track? They can move to administratively separate you right away.



A directive signed Nov. 8 by Army Secretary Mark Esper deals specifically with administrative non-deployables, deferring regulations for those on medical or legal hold to the Defense Department standard.



“It’s the first time, actually, we’ve ever put down on a piece of paper, no kidding, this is what constitutes deployability,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Calloway, the G-1′s director of personnel management, told reporters on Nov. 13.



While 80 percent of the Army’s current non-deployables are medically sidelined, this new policy is meant to chip away at about 10,000 of them who can’t deploy because they’re behind on medical exams or they’re a single parent without a family care plan in place, for example.