page_title: Individual augmentee
section_title: Controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Individual augmentee / Controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: WASHINGTON (March 5, 2009) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West meets with Sailors who recently returned from serving an Individual Augmentee assignment during the Reserve Appreciation Day at the Pentagon Hall of Heroes. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jennifer A. Villalovos/Released)
context_page_description: An Individual augmentee is a United States military member attached to a unit as a temporary duty assignment. Individual Augmentees can be used to fill shortages or can be used when an individual with specialized knowledge or skill sets is required. As a result, Individual Augmentees can include members from an entirely different branch of service. The system was used extensively in the Iraq War, though with some criticism. By early 2007, there were an average of approximately 12,000 Navy personnel filling Army jobs in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and the Horn of Africa at any one time.
context_section_description: While the Individual Augmentee program has been in existence long before the September 11, 2001 attacks, the current use of the program has drawn controversy. 
  One reason is that the program is being used to fill Army vacancies for the sole reason of making up for lower Army recruiting numbers.
  There has also been criticism in Congress about the program due to issues of oversight and financing, as well as mission readiness.  Congress has expressed concern that the Navy, with a traditionally sea-centric role, may be spreading itself too thin (some units have up to 40% of personnel on IA duty) and in the process may lose some of its core competency in traditional seagoing warfare.  
  Members within the Navy have expressed concern about the increased focus of IA assignments, especially as to how they relate to promotions, advancement and awards, with some members interpreting new Navy instructions on the subject to mean that Individual Augmentees are to receive preferential treatment.
  Although Congress and the Department of Defense have increased the Army's troop strength authorization by 7,000, the Army and Navy have both admitted that it may take as much as five years before Individual Augmentee requirements draw down to pre-Iraq War levels.
caption: Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Rick West meeting with sailors returning from individual augmentee assignments.
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