text: Human Resources (HR) Support
  COORDINATE PERSONNEL SUPPORT
  1-35. Coordinate personnel support functions may fall under the purview of the G-1/AG and S-1; however,
  different staff officers or unit commanders at different echelons may perform them. These functions include
  command interest programs and retention operations. The following paragraphs provide a brief description
  of each subordinate key function of coordinate personnel support. Refer to chapter 5 for detailed information
  regarding each function.
  Command Interest Programs
  1-36. Commanders at all levels are responsible for the establishment and execution of their command interest
  programs. Human resources professionals can serve as a staff principal to the commander to facilitate the
  successful accomplishment of some command interest programs based on command or echelon (for example,
  Voting Assistance).
  Retention Operations
  1-37. The objective of retention operations is to improve readiness, force alignment, and maintain Army
  end-strength through the development and retention of Soldiers. While unit commanders and leaders are
  ultimately responsible for retaining Soldiers, HR professionals are charged with coordinating with career
  counselors (located at battalion and above organizations) who are technical experts in advising commanders
  on all aspects of the Army Retention Program. Human resources professionals assist career counselors in
  determining retention eligibility and options, and they assist with eligibility for special commissioning
  programs consistent with published regulations and DA directives. See AR 601-280, Army Retention
  Program, for detailed information regarding retention operations.
  SECTION II – OVERVIEW OF HR SUPPORT TO OPERATIONS
  1-38. Today’s operational environment presents more complex challenges to the Army and joint force than
  any experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army learned invaluable and enduring lessons during these
  conflicts that have culturally imprinted a generation of Army leaders and the institution for counterinsurgency
  and other stability operations. The Army and joint force are in a new era where the threat of large-scale
  combat is more likely than at any point since the end of the Cold War. To meet the challenges of this
  environment, the Army must prepare for the most lethal and challenging threat to our nation: the increasing
  likelihood of a highly contested great power conflict. This requires changes in how the Army mans, equips,
  trains, and employs the force, especially those forces at echelons above brigade.
  1-39. Large-scale combat operations occur within a complex operational environment. An operational
  environment is a composite of the conditions, circumstances, and influences that affect the employment of
  capabilities and bear on the decisions of the commander (JP 3-0). The operational environment shapes Army
  operations. The operational framework is a cognitive tool used to assist commanders and staffs in clearly
  visualizing and describing the application of combat power in time, space, purpose, and resources in the
  concept of operations (ADP 1-01).
  1-40. Human resources leaders and professionals must analyze the operational environment using a
  framework of eight interrelated operational variables: political, military, economic, social, information,
  infrastructure, physical environment, and time. Every unit and Soldier on the battlefield requires HR support.
  All HR core competencies and subordinate key functions must be able to take place during each of the Army
  strategic roles (operations to shape the operational environment, prevent conflict, prevail in large-scale
  combat, and consolidate gains). Our most critical wartime functions include––
  * Personnel accounting and strength reporting.
  * HR support to replacement operations.
  * HR support to casualty operations (reporting and tracking).
  * Postal operations.
  1-41. HR support to operations occurs in a non-stable environment beginning in the strategic support area
  and moves into the joint security area. Next, HR support to operations moves into the consolidation area