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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/
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/
Posted in these groups: 
Morale
Morale
Edited 11 y ago
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 21
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"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
We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we can now do anything with nothing."
-Anonymous
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Capt Richard I P.
Sgt Matthew Johnson there's lots of quotes out there with bad sourcing that people will tell you were said by one famous person or another to make them more powerful. My most disappointing orphaned quote was by Archilocus: "In combat we do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training." No good sourcing for that one, but it is still a very pithy and true quote. If you're interested in tagging someone by name add an "@" tag before typing their name, before I learned how I would type their full name also like you did above. It gives you extra 'points' and more importantly sends the person you tagged a notification so you can call peoples' attention to posts you want them to read.
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Capt Richard I P.
SP5 Jeffrey Hurd that was one of the attributions. Citations point to a specific source document or verifying observers, and appear to be lacking for this quote-for both of its attributions- (hence its attribution to multiple people.)
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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
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
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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_/
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.
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CSM Michael J. Uhlig
Capt Richard I P. & SSG Walthers, the CSA did not say more with less, he said we will do less with less....General Kelly said something similar as well where he said "he stated that he would not ask SOUTHCOM personnel to do more with less, but rather tell his subordinates what they cannot do with the budget reduction."
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Capt Richard I P.
CSM Michael J. Uhlig I completely mis-read the quote, I apologize. I'm glad Gen Odierno and Gen Kelly are on the same page on this one!
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CPT (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see), Sir, I think you just hit at one of the biggest differences between the 18th and19th century American military, and its engagements, and today - Clear objectives and gauges of success. We can not fight "terrorism" until it no longer exists. There is no set Taliban structure that could ideally "surrender." I think our disillusionment and "adriftness" comes from not seeing an overall measurable goal.
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CSM Michael J. Uhlig
And the obvious disadvantage we have when fighting an insurgency CPT (Join to see) is that we are not fighting a conventional force that wears a uniform....but, will we ever really see that type opponent again? Very powerful statement in your last sentence!
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America's Army Real Heroes: Gerald Wolford
Sergeant First Class, Gerald Wolford describes his adventures as a U.S. Soldier and how loyalty and respect are just another comon bond Soldiers earn in toda...
Great article, sir. Thanks for pointing it out to the RallyPoint community. To my surprise, I saw some videos of CPT (Join to see) 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.
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.
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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.
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.
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LTC Jason Strickland
MAJ (Join to see) - great insight and analysis. Let's hope we can take this "force adrift" and get it refocused on the things that matter, to include some of what you mentioned!
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MAJ (Join to see)
I agree 100%. These are topics (not necessarily ones that I mentioned) that we need to encourage members of this forum to participate in. We need service members to let us know what is going on, and why that is so. Keep posting those articles.
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CW4 Larry Curtis
Gloom, despair, and agony on me...for crying out loud. And it doesn't help much that there is a growing sentiment in our civilian population that our military is too fat and financially burdensome on our national budget. But despite how the picture looks now, we've always been faced with feast and famine, it's just that the famine may have been much better than today's feasting when I was serving. :/
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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
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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.
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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.
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.
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