ARCOM for calling out inappropriate use in Social Media. Appropriate or not?

It is an abuse of senior leadership that has plagued the military for years, after retiring from the Marine Corps and seeing first hand a Navy Corpsman putting the life of other before himself and to hear a Colonel say that no enlisted can act braver than the officer in charge of the operation then see the officer put in for a silver star and the navy corpsman put in for a navy commendation I have no problem believing that a senior officer would sign off on a award for a senior enlisted do troll the internet during work hours just to find ways to keep the lower enlisted in lined.

I wish there was an I'm not sure option.

SMA supports the actions from the 1SG. I do also. Was it "ARCOM" worthy? Personally I don't think so. Was it the right thing to do to engage those Soldiers? Absolutely.

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/enlisted/2015/01/09/sma-chandler-defends-moerk/21464883/

I got an AAM a combat deployment. Makes me sick.

I think no.

Awarding a medal seems a bit much to me. I'm a Marine, and while we have a lot of possible awards/medals/ribbons we can earn, it certainly seems to take much MORE to earn them than this.

I'm not busting on the Army here, I have respect for all of our men and women in uniform, but my understanding is that the Army does have a LOT of medals that are given out, such as throwing a grenade in boot camp. If that is the case, perhaps the mentality is to give awards more liberally in the Army to help boost morale and encourage that behavior.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Compleatly undeserved, Compleatly deminishes what an award is supposed to mean.

This is the most redicoulous things I have ever seen, makes me want to tear up my Impact ARCOM I got down range for what I did during a mascal. I wish she would join RP, but then again, she might report us all for hazing and get another ARCOM

Granted, she DID NOT have to contact the offending Soldier's Co CDRs and 1SGs as per SHARP doctrine, yet there is such thing as "Professional Courtesy"...

Obviously she failed to control the professional attitude of the offensive bloggers, hence started using her rank and minor offensive language to reinforce her correction (standard procedure in the Army). As things went from bad to worst, she took the time to identify the Soldiers and once again, correct them...and yet again she failed.

So, did she attempt to contact the offensive Soldiers' Chain of Command and NCO Support Channel BEFORE making the decision to contact the Army SHARP Director? If not...why?
Didn't she have faith on her fellow SNCOs, 1SGs, SGMs and CSMs? The local SHARP program?

Or were her feelings so deeply hurt (and I'm not saying this on a demeaning way as we ALL have feelings) that she decided to take this all the way to the top, knowing the SHARP Director would not let this slide due to the current climate of sexism in the service?

I'm 100% sure that once she became an NCO she appreciated been able to be the first one to handle situations before the "higher ups" got involved, which sadly, is a courtesy she did not provide to the others...and was rewarded for.

So I wonder, now that she is a 1SG, what if the roles reverse and she finds herself at the wrong end of the sword due to a fellow NCO reporting an "unruly" Soldier in her unit to her "higher ups"...will she be "upset" at that NCO? Will she point out not receiving "Professional Courtesy"?

So...did she deserved recognition for her actions correcting the Soldiers? Yes. She upheld the values. Was the recognition deserving of an ARCOM? No. She did not allow other SNCOs to "do their job" by making assumptions about the quality of their SHARP program based on "unruly" Soldiers PERSONAL comments..and no doubt her hurt personal feelings contributed.

SFC (Join to see) No award. She did what she should have done, but was seemingly unprofessional doing it. One act of unprofessionalism does not beget another especially by a 1SG.

This article makes me glad I deactivated my Facebook accounts. I don't post unprofessional comments, but I do utilize my voice when it comes to certain issues. As a retiree I have no rank, but don't need the consternation.

As a SSG, I bet if I went over her head with an issue like this with soldiers I would have been standing in front of her desk in her office with my own 4856, not a 638.

Now I know its been said more than once and for the life of me why was this not handled at the lowest level? I know when I was in and a PSG we taught our subordinate leaders that most things can be handled at the lowest level i.e. TL then SL and then if needed the PSG/PL.

I wonder how she would feel if Soldiers of her unit started taking problems directly to the CSM/BDE CDR or even the Post level, probably wouldn't feel to happy about it. But has it been posted or can it be found somewhere what the video in question was and what the soldiers said to her that was so offensive?

And just playing devils advocate here: how did she know the soldiers in question were actually the ones making comments on social media. (As a side not if you have never done a facebook search for yourself, you should try it sometime. I found 5 accounts with photos of me..who were not me it was crazy!)

Glad I retired when I did!

I didn't even get an ARCOM for a 9 month deployment.

Yes, she was doing what she should have done and is expected of her, however, it is nowhere near worthy of a medal. I knew many people who went to help with Katrina and Ike who received Achievement medals or nothing at all, (depends on your rank in the AF if you qualify for an award), so how would what she did be considered greater than what they did?

Not worthy of an ARCOM. Nope nope.

Where does it end? Is she going to come over and check my closet to make sure it is inspection ready. The stupid comment in this article totally discredited this article, IMO. She could of said, what you are saying online is stupid, but calling her troops stupid, well didn't justify any type of an award . I hope the 1st Sgt I know are more focused on training and morale within a unit.

Uh how did that online conversation go? I'm a 1SG, that comment and picture violates SHARP. What is your unit and phone number, I am calling your commander tomorrow.

It burns me to see things like 1SG gets ARCOM for trolling. She (1SG Moerk) didn't get the award for trolling, she infact got the award for enforcing standards and going above and beyone to inform uniformed personel on those standards. Trolling is what the other Soldiers did after she confronted the Soldiers who were not adhering to Army Policies. 1SG Moerk did what GOOD leaders do, face adversity head on, not because she wanted an award but because it was the right thing to do. 1SG Moerk did an outstanding job and is very deserving of her award!

I think that the 1SG's actions were wrong and unnecessary. Here intent was good. Those soldiers were out of hand and she did the right by correcting them, but the way she handled the situation I think was wrong. No need to CC the higher ups in SHARP for something that could've easily been handled at the lowest level. That just shows to junior soldiers that if they mess up, their leaders, the ones that are supposed to mentor us and we should look up to, instead of correcting us and making us better soldiers and better future leaders, they simply just ruin our careers and throw us under the bus and not bother helping us.

As for the ARCOM, pure politics. I'm sure she didn't put herself for the ARCOM.

An ARCOM is definitely not warranted in this situation. She was doing her job, nothing more, nothing less by correcting soldiers whose actions are not in keeping with the Army values and decorum expected of a US Service Member. However, in her corrections, she made comments that act as a discredit to her professionalism. In calling individuals "stupid" and "asshat", she essentially sank to their level in an attempt to do what was right, which in my mind discredits the action.

I could see her getting a coin and a pat on the back, but an ARCOM? She was doing what an NCO should be doing-enforcing the standards, nothing more.