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

I served 15 months in Iraq as a BN S2 and my award for that duty was an ARCOM. I also got an ARCOM for an exercise that lasted two weeks. I think we should have different levels of ARCOMs or have an additional award. The issue overall is that the standards are based on the signing authority. I have seen some give them away like candy and some that are very conservative in doing so. Maybe having a few more that are restricted in how they are awarded may help.

Awards; a touchy subject. About 99% of the awards I have received were for doing my job and moving on to a new unit. Did I deserve them? Only the person that recommended and approved the award can answer that. Me, personally I was just doing my job, no better or worse than anyone else. I think the Army has lost its way with just why we give someone an award. I will give you a true example of what I mean: A couple of Soldiers I know had helped a car crash victim escape a vehicle that they were trapped in that eventually exploded. They without regard to their safety saw another person in need of help and fast, they survived and thanks to their action no one died. What do you think they deserved? An AAM, ARCOM, MSM, LSM, or Soldiers Medal. I personally believe that a Soldiers Medal was the appropriate award for this, they saved a mans life. They were put in for a ARCOM. Make sense...not to me. It seems we are trying to give everybody the self-worth that they should already have. I do not need and I believe there are a lot of other Soldiers that believe this as well, an award does not prove who I am or state what I have done or will do. Awards do not make the person mean anything, it is the person that gives the award value. Like it or not, do not judge what others have done and what they have received for it, worry about yourself. The 1SG receiving the award did her job and she was recognized for it. The real question is why did this become so news worthy.

I disagree with her getting an ARCOM for doing her job, the only ARCOM I received was for filling an E-7 slot while an newly pinned E-5, and the Unit was De-activating. This award just shows there is some Politics going on in her unit. As far calling out inappropriate behavior, or slander towards the military or in a chain of command, yes, by all means do that. Every company you go into outside of the military will hold you accountable for what you say about the company, in some cases will terminate you. But, giving yourself an ARCOM for doing so, is just plain politics

Did anyone see the screen shots of what she said to the soldiers in private messages? She didn't use tact or military bearing to save her life.

Others do it all the time. Should we also give awards for waking up on time and going to PT when you're supposed to? She's an NCO and should be doing it anyway.

I agree with the principle of her argument but I disagree with her methods. Her leadership style is her own and we shouldn't try to find fault with that, as we all have our own style. A long, long time ago my first squad leader told me that you can learn something from every leader, even if it's what not to do.

I think the whole point of them giving her an Award and advertising it is to motivate others to stamp out SHARP incidents at the lowest level of any form. I think most of us who saw this and commented the way we did is we missed the total picture, and never thought about the 2nd, 3rd & 4th order effects of what she actually did and how that would affect the Military as a whole. It has less to do with her being a 1SG and doing only "what we are suppose to do anyway" but it has to do with what she did and the extra miles she took to get her point across.

Let's get real for a second. Most of us E8's (or whatever Rank) would have saw those comments and either ignored them and muttered something under our breath about how stupid they were and their COC needs to teach them better OR we would have posted a sly comment to them and went back and forth with them. But exactly how many of us would have went the distance and contacted each person to further explain our position and how it lined up with the Army Values? How many of us would have went the distance to teach coach and mentor in that fashion to each person who made those offensive comments? I'm going to tell you now, NOT MANY because somewhere along the way in the Army, between fighting wars and being in and out of rotations preparing to go to war, we have lost our way to not only Teach Coach and Mentor Troops but also ensure our Troops know and understand the Army Values, what they mean to us as a Fighting Force and what they should mean to each Soldier. The Army Values is part of the Army SHARP Program so if you don't understand or know them, how can you know exactly what the SHARP Program is all about??

I'm old school Army as well, and I WOULD HAVE NEVER blasted out and criticised anyone in an Army Forum or any Forum, especially someone in a position like her's, especially to someone who out-Ranked me and ESPECIALLY where others could read it! If I had choice words I think a simple email would have worked just fine. But once again, today's Troop are a lot different and won't hesitate not one second to give anyone a piece of their mind, regardless of their Rank. Therefore I believe the Army Values and Leadership has fallen by the waste side.

With all that being said, I think recognizing her is to give others an Example of "what right looks like" and we should do the right thing regardless of the work we have to put in to do it. And to also ensure the right message gets to the Soldiers. This was sorta like "corrective training". And even after she reached each Soldier, she still reported them to the Army SHARP, I say HOOHAH. Because I think she understood that this issue was bigger than just her and those folks she emailed. If those folks thought that way and they wear the Uniform then we do have a problem as a whole. Just think about all the folks they influence.

I get what the point was in awarding the ARCOM. The leadership wants to encourage other leaders extend there leadership to more than just duty hours (which has unfortunately become the norm). However, they just set a new, LOW standard for what is considered "above and beyond" for an impact award. In my opinion, what this senior NCO (who is also apart of a command team) did is nothing more than what her duty position as a 1SG or NCO calls for on a daily basis. It is not award worthy, just day-to-day business for a leader charged to uphold the Army values and enforce them in others. If I were the LTG, I maybe would have privately awarded her a coin in the presence of the CSM because she did affect change in other units with her follow through---maybe "bulletized" it on her eval. But, that would be the most! No citations for enforcing standards. That's like me getting an award for providing food, clothing, and shelter to my children---I'm suppose to do that--it's not note worthy....

Although I haven't completely read through what she did, I do agree with her actions about correcting inappropriate comments on social media, however, hopefully it was done in an appropriate manner.  I don't think the Army should have recognized her with an ARCOM for doing her job.  It sets a new precedent for awards.

I got a paper cut while OCONUS. Jeez, it hurt and burned so bad. Can I get a Purple Heart?

It makes me sick to see people get awards for doing nothing.

Seems about par for the course for what the Army wants soldiers to do to get an ARCOM.... ARCOMS for all!

Isn't that part of doing your job?! This should not be award worthy. Instead that is what the fitness performance reports are for. She did her job but it was not above and beyond the call of duty.

I have a hard enough time pushing ARCOM's up the chain of command for real accomplishments; not for doing what a First Sergeant should be doing. I wonder if she looked at her ERB and saw a lack of awards compared to her peers when it comes to the promotion board.

Medic for a Scout PLT in Afghanistan for a year. Every single Joe in our battalion(1/503) received a AAM for their deployment. She got a ARCOM for THIS? Outrageous.

Not sure how this was above and beyond the responsibility of any good NCO.

ARCOM for calling out SM's conduct? Every sarge in the Army should get one.

We all know that some of the things we see on social media sites (dare I say most of the things we see), not true or real or accurate. I myself sometimes use social media to blow off steam. My only problem with the whole thing is the uniforms worn in the profile pictures. While being proud to wear the uniform, if you're going to post things like that, perhaps they should have set up secondary profiles, so as not to give the military a "bloody nose".

If this merits an ARCOM, are we going to start handing out AAMs to junior enlisted for keeping their nose clean on social media? Or for 'inspirational posts'? Last I checked, such decorations are reserved for something a little more significant than social media. This is a PR action for the SHARP program, I'm betting.

This is ridiculous!! Are you kidding me, an ARCOM for using social media to scold soldiers? What has the Army turned into? Is this equivalent to doing something meritorious in theater? I think not...