Posted on Jan 22, 2019
Can soldiers be forced to go to college or threatened with being counseled?
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is this allowed? forcing an entire squad to go to college or else they will be counseled and be revoked days off to work
Posted in these groups: 
College
College
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 14
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Wow! Looks like the author of this little memo needs to go to college because they cannot write in complete sentences. In fact this is written at about a 3rd grade level.
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MSgt Michael Smith
SGT Joseph Gunderson - Why the fuck is this 'supervisor' communicating policy via text message? It sounds like he/she needs some professional military education.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
MSgt Michael Smith - This supervisor is disseminating information and that has been done via text for many years now. In fact, sending out information via text protects the leader and the soldier because it creates a written history of what was said. In many cases texts can be reviewed to ensure there was no misunderstanding or to prove that someone misspoke or misunderstood.
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MSgt Michael Smith
He needs to communicate better. The text is vague, grammatically incorrect, and autocratic, in addition to probably being an unlawful order. The first thing they teach you in NCO Leadership school is that professional writing is EVERYTHING. They tell you that because it is true. If you are going to put forth a policy like this you need to be able to communicate it correctly, if for no other reason than to avoid it being critiqued in a forum such as this. This text message is actually quite ironic. it emphasizes the importance of higher education to professional development while being very poorly written.
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For the question you posed, absolutely not. Can you be counseled monthly? Yes, you should be counseled on the importance of self development and furthering your education. You should not be punished for not taking college though. The part about bringing you in on the third day off for training is against any regulation or policy I have ever seen, especially if it has nothing to do with the transgression, which in this case does not even exist.
Use your chain of command for what they are designed to do. Talk with your PSG and tell him what your SL counseled you on. If he doesn’t fix it or there is retribution from the SL, take it further up the chain until someone resolves it. Another avenue if that does not work is to talk to the IG. I would highly encourage you to speak with the chain of command first and give them an opportunity to correct the situation.
Use your chain of command for what they are designed to do. Talk with your PSG and tell him what your SL counseled you on. If he doesn’t fix it or there is retribution from the SL, take it further up the chain until someone resolves it. Another avenue if that does not work is to talk to the IG. I would highly encourage you to speak with the chain of command first and give them an opportunity to correct the situation.
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I've never heard of this.. It is hard telling a soldier "Any branch" You must attend college. No way while I was active duty doing a job with those hours and juggling a household of kids I would have time for college. But if your COC is giving you the time to actually do the work during work hours that is actually pretty amazing. I tried back in 03 with tuition assistance after the 3rd week I couldn't keep up. But if my COC actually gave me time to do the work I might of accomplished it back then. But I would take that up with JAG because I wouldn't even know the regulation to look under to see if a COC can force you to do college. It's not a mandatory school like NCO academy so I'm not sure.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Read what I sent in above, I'd appreciate your thoughts, so far as possible, I realize, as I'd said, I might not be agreed with, however, I'd appreciate knowing if those here might either agree and/or disagree with me, certainly, by all means.
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