America's Military: A Force Adrift

2014-12-08T08:00:51-05:00

Wow! A scathing report via a survey of 2,300 active-duty troops - from Military Times, no less - indicates the nation is failing its troops and veterans. This is a must read!
1. Morale indicators are declining in nearly every aspect of military life: lower overall job satisfaction, diminished respect for their superiors, and a declining interest in re-enlistment now compared to just five years ago.
2. Civilian support is subsiding as bonuses, pay raises and combat incentives are all fading away. Troops anticipate that it will get worse, not better.
3. Disappointment with the healthcare system - which is a HUGE perk to joining the military - continues to surge, with a majority saying they'd rather receive care at privately run facilities.

RallyPoint team, does this survey accurately portray the perspective of our active duty force?

http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2014/12/07/americas-military-a-force-adrift/18596571/

AMERICA'S MILITARY: A force adrift

A military reporting series examining troops' depressed morale as the Afghanistan war ends and budget cuts threaten pay raises and job security.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 8 at 2014 8:20 AM

2014-12-08T08:20:00-05:00

Great article, sir. Thanks for pointing it out to the RallyPoint community. To my surprise, I saw some videos of CPT Private RallyPoint Member tucked in there. (He's a RallyPoint member too, I just learned!) What do you know? I served with that man in the Army G-3, up until just a year ago. He's a "famous" GI in other regards. See this video for what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Mc3tjxRGI

The statistics at the beginning of the article tell a lot. Troops are apparently not satisfied. There have been ups and downs over the past 40 years (that I know of). My motto when it comes (/came) to this sort of thing? Soldier on. It will get better.

America's Army Real Heroes: Gerald Wolford

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Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Dec 8 at 2014 10:26 AM

2014-12-08T10:26:07-05:00

Sir, I actually saw this article as well about an hour ago and was planning on posting it for discussion. Glad to see we are on the same page on this one.

It is disappointing to see where the military is going, and I know that I had an argument on a news website about the decreasing benefits would eventually push out many of the good leaders from the military (as they can get a better deal elsewhere) and if this continues we will have a weak and depressing military.

The argument that came back was that many of the people serving do so due to a pride in their country (which ironically is why I initially joined). I have seen, with the changes in the country over the last few administrations, this is less the America that the founders envisioned and turning more towards a government run oligarchy every day. It is hard to take pride in such a system and even harder to have the pride to serve in the service for the country making these changes.

I hope that we can turn things around and bring about a strong pride in our country, and therefore a strong military again.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 8 at 2014 10:58 AM

2014-12-08T10:58:57-05:00

This is an excellent article, and the author includes some relevant, and some not so relevant factors, in his discussion. I recently completed my key and developmental time in a Brigade Combat Team, so I will leave some comments based exclusively on my experience.

We place too much emphasis on the Warrior Ethos, and not enough emphasis on the Soldier Ethos. We place such a high premium on wartime service, that we have subscribed to the practice of placing people into positions of public trust because they look good on paper, not necessarily because they have the experience to perform well in the job.

That leads to my second point. We do not really understand talent management. We determine potential for future service (read promotion) based on maintaining relevancy in the operational domain which, while critical, is not an indicator that someone is an effective organizational leader, or has the skill set to grow an organization.

We have not yet adequately defined what it is we want our future force to be able to accomplish. I was part of a Brigade Combat Team that inherited mission sets based on the Asia Pivot, but was also required to train every Mission Essential Task possible.

There is a perception that exists that our senior organizational leaders have lost connection with our organization. We recently targeted our O3-O6 population with administrative separation boards and selective early retirement boards, even though this population possesses the most operational experience, and would have been critical to grow our future force. Yet, we have not yet pursued any policies to temper the number of general and flag officers we currently have.

Many officers in the O3-O6 population are in a holding pattern so to speak, hedging their bets against future promotion and separation boards. And, the reality is, when the light begins to fade, people lose hope in their potential for future service. It is extremely difficult for service members to maintain focus when they are faced with an environment of perpetual separation boards.

This has the potential to foment mistrust among more junior members of the organization as it creates the perception that senior organizational leaders place more emphasis on self preservation, rather than pursuing a more comprehensive, balanced approach to shaping the future force.

Response by Sgt Jennifer Mohler made Dec 8 at 2014 12:59 PM

2014-12-08T12:59:47-05:00

Sadly this is likely an accurate take. When we move from war to peace operations this is always the trend. Presidents have always slashed personnel and budgets after a drawdown and the outcome is always the same. This is just one consequence.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 9 at 2014 2:29 AM

2014-12-09T02:29:25-05:00

Col Michael Grubbs Hopefully it won't get to a point where it'll be hollowed out. Here's a good report from a couple years back about and past downsizes.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42334.pdf

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 3:01 AM

2015-01-03T03:01:13-05:00

I also rather like the quotation, "The longest war in American History has officially come to a close, and many service members feel 'good riddance."

... though I wouldn't consider it the longest. I would consider that Vietnam (though yes, I know it was really a "conflict")

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 4:31 AM

2015-01-03T04:31:07-05:00

I don't really feel under paid as much as I feel un-appreciated. And that goes from the civilian populace to the government level.

I honestly feel that neither party represents us in Washington.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jan 3 at 2015 7:08 AM

2015-01-03T07:08:52-05:00

Before everyone jumps ship, understand statistics can be manipulated to tell a desired story. There are things we can do, at every level across our force to steady the force and provide some calm.

BLUF: we have to be the rock (at every level!) for our units and our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines & Coast Guardsmen, they have to understand our mission and we have to give them predictability. We have to continue to challenge our Service Members at every level and keep them involved, they all want to be part of a team and want a challenge.

Part of the predictability is to ensure our Service members do understand the reality of the situation we are in, we are trimming the force and this is something that has happened after every major war. It will become more competitive to stay in the military and if they would like to continue to serve, they must continue to execute their mission while improving themselves on the personal and professional level.

General Odierno said (in 2011) we will have to do less with less (see the link below).

We are starting to see the reality of his statements and must ensure we do the right thing for our mission, our unit and our Service Members, we gotta be the rock and the anchor that provides the predictability and continue to develop our force and challenge them with tough, realistic training, we owe that to them!

http://www.army.mil/article/67122/Army_must_prepare_to__do_less_with_less_/

Army must prepare to 'do less with less'

Looming budget cuts across the Department of Defense mean the Army must be prepared to conduct business with less funding, and the service's senior officer said this may also mean doing less.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jan 3 at 2015 9:18 AM

2015-01-03T09:18:44-05:00

"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.
We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we can now do anything with nothing."
-Anonymous

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 9:58 AM

2015-01-03T09:58:27-05:00

Underpaid? Please. Some of you haven't been around long enough to remember the lean years in the 90's, much less the late 70's, but pay has skyrocketed in the 2000's as lawmakers tripped all over themselves to show how patriotic they were by voting for bigger pay raises than the pentagon wanted. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way. I do remember. We have been here before.

More troubling is the austerity in training budgets. Our force will degrade rapidly if we can't get bullets or conduct exercises.

Underappreciated? I don't think so. You can't walk around anywhere in uniform for over a decade without people going out of their way to thank you for your service. It is a good thing, if perhaps a bit overdone.

Troops have gotten used to be able to have basically all the money they wanted to buy whiz-bangs not on their unit MTOE, train to the limits of their commander's imagination and ability to forecast, and a mission (and with it the focus) that endless operational deployments provide. It is no longer going to be the case (mercifully), but I don't think we're going to be out of a job.

Now is a time for NCOs to roll up their sleeves and execute some Sergeant's time training. It costs next to nothing, and is plenty effective at making Joe better and keeping them engaged. If they want to bellyache, they will do as they always have. But I refuse to let changing conditions dictate what I do, nor use sequestration et al as an excuse to not do my job.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 10:01 AM

2015-01-03T10:01:26-05:00

I do think that army and the military overall are in a transitional phase. That is what happens when wars stops. You have warriors that all they know is war. Some thrive in it. I do think the military is adrift to a point. You have units getting the hack and Brigades that are dissolving every few months. If you were in a company and you see some departments boxing up and closing out you aren't going to feel very secure. The battalion my unit replaced got disbanded while they were deployed. They had to send a company back early to deal with sending away all the equipment. I can tell you I am sure they feel adrift. I wouldn't want to be deployed and come back to a new set of orders.

It is no secret that many of the troops don't support the CoC. If there were open to talk about you would see a huge storm of rage but we can't. So we just go on. We have soldiers deploying to combat after the Wars are ended. Iraq was officially over and done with. It was more for a political statement than anything else. Now more and more soldiers are deploying to Iraq. Now Afghan is over. Yet we are still keeping plenty of troops there. Soldiers see war. They are still fighting. When you tell them that the war is over they will question the leadership and what they are thinking all the way to the top.

When it comes to equipment the Army is getting the shaft on this. The Army is moving to a lighter force and is even getting rid of a lot of it's Armor Brigades in favor of lighter and faster units. But the government spent way more than it had to on getting new tanks. We aren't even using the ones we have right now. We could use a next generation rifle or pistol. Maybe they could finally get that JLTV they have been talking about so long. You can't help to see this and question a few things.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 10:37 AM

2015-01-03T10:37:36-05:00

If the forces are adrift within a morale crisis, it falls directly on the leadership. Not necessarily the leaders within the military, but THE leaders. The three separate branches are doing nothing to help veterans. The ROE have been negatively altered so much, it breaks the will of those in the trenches.

They are firing good leaders and rewarding the enemy by removing, fining or imprisoning our men and women who did their jobs; while encouraging illegal immigrants to join the military with fast track citizenship. At the same time, they are releasing GTMO detainees back in to an active theater. The leaders have capitulated to terrorist demands. All you can do is step back and ask, what the f* is going on.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 10:59 AM

2015-01-03T10:59:01-05:00

Begin rant:
1. I feel everyone will always think they deserve to be paid more. Look at the fast food workers asking for $15 an hour for an entry level job that isn't designed to support a family. I do think Soldiers feel under appreciated, but when you have been at war for 13 years, our economy "crashed", and Congress can't make a decision about anything so we end up with funding cuts in areas that were only supposed to be a threat and never happen, it makes sense the rest of the country doesn't want to stand behind the troops anymore.

2. What do we have to show for our 13 years at war? We are back in Iraq, areas of Afghanistan have been retaken by terrorist, and the country in woefully in debt.

3. Civilians and politicians don't understand the physical and mental effects of being at war for so long, so veterans aren't being cared for as they should.

4. Being at war for so long has allowed people to exploit the system (military contractors, local businesses feeding off high intrest rage loans for service members, stolen valor, etc.)

With all of this going on everyone seems to have forgotten about Joane down range with a family back home, Joe back home waking up from nightmares, and new guy trying to jump into training for a mission without equipment to train on that he will be required to use down range.

I believe we have created a society of "Me". It is what can you and the country do for me, not what can I do for my country. Right now, Americans want to focus on supporting their families, not families in a foreign country.

Rant complete

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 11:31 AM

2015-01-03T11:31:51-05:00

I saw this when it came out. It was sent to every commanding officer on the post. Some of this rings true, but my issue is the headline. Are we adrift? Was the Army of 1990 adrift after the wall came down or did it continue to train? Bloody hell, I'm tired of the sob-sob-my-war-went-away BS and now I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! Yeah...got news for you...the Army that fought for the last 13 years was prepared through training for about oh...25 years. Was it totally prepared, no. Why? Because you can't be prepared for war. Doesn't happen. It's violent. It's chaotic. It's confusing. Sound like garrison life sometimes? It should. But because you aren't deploying in 12 months to actually get shot at, you pull out your hankie and blow snot bubbles into it complaining about life in general. If we were going to war in 12 months, we'd most likely be good to go. I have been doing this a while. I have never heard anyone say, "Damn, my life is predictable in the Army." We've been complaining about that since David was a private in the Army of the Lord. Also don't hear, "Damn, I get paid way too much and have too many benefits." I get it. Things are in decline. The problem is, ladies and gents that the complainers have only seen boom and bust. They haven't seen the boom afterwards. I came out of boom (first gulf), into bust (peace dividend), into boom (2001) and now into bust again (sequestration and reduction). Until you see a full cycle, you don't understand the broader picture and you're only worried about YOU...and the effects on you. Perhaps, just perhaps, we should worry about the institution first. Self sacrifice...selflessness...I've read that somewhere before. Nah...it'll come to me in a little while.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 11:49 AM

2015-01-03T11:49:56-05:00

One thing that I try to bring up when this conversation comes up among soldiers, which lately seems to be very often is; The Army goes in cycles. Yes morale is low right now, there is a lot of things that don't make sense up above us, but it's not as bad as it could be, and has been many times. I'd rather be in THIS Army, than the one that existed in the 1970s. My FIL considering enlisting in the Army in '72. His brother who 12 years in the Navy at that time told him no way. Morale in all the services was so low, he said it simply wouldn't be worth it. I'd rather be in this Army than the one that my Grandpa was in immediately post Korea. He tells me of morning roll call, where guys would "stand in" for each other. Grandpop would call "Here" for 3 or 4 buddies who were laying in their racks. Then tomorrow, one of them would return the favor. He said it was an obvious sham. Everybody was doing it. Everyone was just waiting for their contract to be up and go home.
I can't speak for the Active Component, but I think the biggest thing that could be done to boost Guard Morale, while winding down the wars, with very diminished opportunities to deploy would be to increase funding for schools. Give soldiers who are there to be soldiers, not for the remuneration, some reward.

Response by LCpl Steve Wininger made Jan 3 at 2015 12:01 PM

2015-01-03T12:01:28-05:00

I can only answer this question based on opinion. I have been out of the Marines for nearly thirty years so things are quite different now.

In my experience, bad attitudes had a greater impact on morale. Usually the bad attitudes were owned by the individual. Nothing was going to please them. Today, it seems like the attitudes are caused from the top down more than just a few disgruntled service members at the bottom.

I think this report gives an accurate depiction of a trend that should be a cause of concern for those in the Pentagon. The Pentagon is under pressure from the White House to make an impossible budget possible. We had a saying in the Marines, "Shit rolls down hill."

Everything happening in the military today has rolled down from Washington. Missing in action from Washington is the sense they care about the military. I believe this in itself is what causes so much uncertainty. Many understand that life happens, money gets tight and there has to be cuts at some point.

I did an essay several years ago about our government not supporting the troops. One of the huge morale killers in the military is the feeling that you are nothing more than a number on a balance sheet. Congress and this president, for political reasons, have been trying to gut the military for a long time.

Congress and the POTUS have made every attempt to inform the American public that cutting the military is the right thing to do, and it will not compromise national security. In all the rhetoric, I think they failed to convince those in the military.

I think the pay and benefits play a smaller role for morale than feeling like one matters. I think leaders at the lower end of the chain of command (Battalion and lower) are the military's best hope for our forces. The article mentioned a Marine captain in the reserves who used some initiatives to help booster morale. These initiatives can also help foster a spirit of unity that in itself can bring back a sense of belonging and give the service member a feeling that they matter.

The drifting in the military comes from the top down (Shit rolls down hill). This puts more responsibility on unit commanders to keep morale up and bad attitudes in check. That is a tall order considering the commanders have first keep their attitudes in check before they can successfully motivate the men and women in their commands.

It is not all bad. It is sad that our government has put the men and women in the armed forces in this position, but in the final analysis, commanders will be better, and those that overcome and adapt to the new ways will be stronger and more resilient.

Response by SP5 Michael Rathbun made Jan 3 at 2015 1:22 PM

2015-01-03T13:22:30-05:00

Several very interesting links here. I experienced one seldom mentioned "hollow force" (USAREUR during and after the Viet-Nam peak) and watched another one both personally (RVN in late 1970 until transfer to Reserve in April 1971) and later from a safe distance. Just before my DEROS, there were so few NCOs left in my unit that people in my grade were pulling CQ or SG at least once per week. Deciding not to re-up was not a big challenge.

I will note that the second worst incident during my brief military career that would have left me dead was in Germany, when I was pulling CQ in the Kaserne. To feed the MACV machine the whole theatre appeared to me to have been looted and plundered, to some extent of decent equipment, but mostly of experienced officers and NCOs.

Looking at the interesting linked items I see that, although "hollowing" is periodic, each episode is unique in its root causes and challenges. (Have a look at the history of pre-WWII US armed forces.)

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 11:53 PM

2015-01-03T23:53:48-05:00

I think the underpaid part may be a generational deal. When I was starting out (1975), we weren't making much money as a Private or even a Sergeant, but we weren't focused on that, we did what it took to get by. Since I married in 1976, that meant that my wife went to work immediately, to help with our finances.

I remember that as a PFC, I made around $400 a month (that's total -- base pay, BAH and BAS). Our rent in a trailer (cheapest place we could find to live) was $100. And the troops who came before me talked of earning less than $100 a month, back in their day.

Nowadays, it seems everybody wants to be rich, and quickly. And I'm not saying military personnel shouldn't get paid more, I'm commenting on what I see as a generational phenomenon.

Here's what I base that on: My 19-year-old daughter is attending community college. She intended to continue with school and had plans to pursue an advanced degree in psychology. Now that she's close to finishing two years of school, she wants to quit school and go out and make a lot of money. Doing what? Doesn't matter, she will probably be disappointed because she wants to be rich, and right now.

I'll bet seeing the worship of wealth for all of her 19 years on television and in our society has something to do with that mentality, that outlook on life. She's had just about nothing to do with the military, yet she feels underpaid and unsatisfied because she's not rich.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 4 at 2015 5:39 AM

2015-01-04T05:39:50-05:00

Sir,
I read the article and I think it has a little bit of traction. I would offer a couple of counter points though.
1. Morale indicators are going to be down when you are downsizing a force. People are going to be disgruntled with: getting axe, seeing their buddy getting axed, having to do more work, etc. It has been easy to re-enlist Soldiers over the last 10 years, even with us being at war it was extremely easy for the most part. You always had troops that we willing to re-enlist and so you always made mission.
2. Civilian support for the military is at a near all time high, there is no where for it to go but down. I know I was not in 25 years ago, but from the stories that I hear from my bosses and their bosses there was a huge disparity in the civilan favor with regards to pay then. Now we have leveled the playing field and in a lot of respects moved ahead of our civilian counterparts, and for a military that is subordinate to Civilian authority should the disparity truly be so far in our favor when the rest of America is in the economic straights that they are.
3. Then pay for private health care - you pay for what you get. I know it isn't the best, but it isn't the worst.

Also, the author of this article is noted in my opinion for turning something very miniscule into a larger than life story, boarders on sensational journalism.

Response by CW4 Larry Curtis made Mar 26 at 2015 7:48 AM

2015-03-26T07:48:11-04:00

I do not have the time to delve into the article and will have to come back to it later, but just reading your commentary, LTC Strickland, this seems pretty alarming. Sometimes I feel like I served in some really fat times in terms of equipment and numbers...the post-Vietnam cold war era was in full swing during my time, 1974 - 1994. But near the end of it I was witness to the beginning of all of the drawing-down and base-closures related to it...casing of colors (my last unit cased it's colors 11 months before I retired and I had to get a provisional job until I retired), etc. My last tour in Germany ended in January 1992 and we'd already seen several installations being closed there as well. The last big hurrah for USAREUR of that era was when elements of V Corps, and the entire VII Corps deployed for Operation Desert Storm. USAREUR would never be the same again after our return. I have not been staying right on top of things since I've retired, but once in a while I see and hear things which are not necessarily encouraging. I am really happy that I served when I did and had the experiences I had. And thank you, LTC Strickland for your service and leadership.

Response by Amn Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 3:19 AM

2015-09-30T03:19:56-04:00

This is a very sad situation like i said i feel our military is being reduced for the wrong reasons. We are looked at in the US with no back bone due to thee standards now given to us and basic or any trainning is being made to turn on our own people