Are junior military leaders actually using RallyPoint to gain insight and guidance?

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 15:08:55 -0400

Just trying to figure out of RallyPoint is a relevant medium to mentor junior leaders.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2019 3:39 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 15:39:47 -0400

I'm not a fan of Rally Point on the mentoring side of the house. Mostly because it's still just a social media platform. Mentoring needs a more personal touch to be truly effective. Sure some people may learn a thing or two, but it probably won't be something big enough to really change the way a person conducts themselves as a leader. At least with the Army Career Tracker there is a personal component of actually having daily contact with that person.
Secondly, there are too many posts on here that are sheer laziness from junior leaders that just didn't want to do the due diligence to figure it out themselves. Asking questions that could literally be answered within 5 minutes of opening the applicable doctrine or regulation. These people aren't looking for mentorship. They want an easy answer they don't have to work for, or hoping for some barracks lawyer to point them in some vague direction of willing ignorance.
Rally Point may provide some leaders with guidance and advice, but calling it mentorship might be a stretch.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 1 at 2019 4:26 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 16:26:15 -0400

I really wish junior soldiers would get on here and read all the "I have a RE Code of 3 or 4 and really want to come back in" posts, before they get themselves chaptered and dig that hole for themselves.

It is a good way to see what people perceive when the military happens to them. 90% of the stuff on here could be solved with a candid interpersonal conversation.

Response by CPT Ray Gilmore made Jun 1 at 2019 5:35 PM

CPT Ray Gilmore — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:35:16 -0400

I don't see much from PL's & XO's.

I see E3 and below being mouthy; and a lot of retired leaders telling them to check themselves. (Better here than to their supervisors, but UCMJ could still catch them).

A lot of foolish E5 questions, that make me shake my head.... but, they could be brand new E5's, and back in 2008-9, promotion to E5 was becoming automatic, so I dismiss it, as direct promotions, like E4 used to be.

There is a lot of experience in the user group; but it doesn't feel like a professional platform like LinkedIn yet.... and still it is more professional than Facebook.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2019 5:57 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:57:18 -0400

I don’t know about others here sir, but I value the insights shared and questions asked/answered. While there’s no replacement for “real life”, RP has helped me in my career.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 1 at 2019 7:35 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 19:35:13 -0400

There are some Lieutenants on here seeking mentorship and advice on SOPs and the like. The problem is RP is ill suited to exchange documents and files. They expect you take that off line and do a person to person exchange. That is good for that one guy, but it isn't for the next guy asking them same thing.

This is a generalization for all RP users: NO ONE looks for the answer first on RP. The search engine is terrible and many use the wrong terminology either in their post or in their search to find the previous posts. Unless one of the Graybeards or frequent users post a link, it's just out there in the ether. Unused and unknown. Frequent wheel reinvention.

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Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2019 7:51 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 19:51:05 -0400

I used Rallypoint to communicate with ANC officers and NCOs. It has been helpful.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2019 8:39 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 20:39:06 -0400

Often the hardworking junior leaders are too damn busy to be on here.
I can remember how much time Inhad as a junio NCO (before social media) and as a 2LT Platoon Leader (after social media) and there wasn't a whole lot of time.

I agree with the other comments that the search engine could use some work and document sharing is almost nonexistent.

Perhaps a RP toolbox would be a solution.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2019 9:19 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 21:19:28 -0400

To an extent.

I love RP because it's instant access to a legacy of wisdom. I come back for discussion, to learn and be challenged. And I know a comment here or a message there is uplifting to others.

I do think having the ability to message others about things is useful in the same sense as mentorship, but still vastly different. For example, asking others about Civil Affairs or advice in handling ethical challenges.

So I would say it's a supplement. I use the discussions that I develop in RP in my lessons with my mentorship chain. But, I don't encourage the average cadet to hop on RP.

For example:
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/can-military-service-members-criticize-former-presidents-at-any-level

https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/do-you-think-it-s-necessary-to-have-a-ranger-tab-if-you-truly-want-to-be-effective-and-make-a-lasting-difference-in-our-organization

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Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Jun 2 at 2019 3:25 PM

LtCol Robert Quinter — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:25:38 -0400

Mentoring, no. One liners for specific situations, maybe. The fact is that many of us have been outside the military culture for so long, we are not familiar with current regulations or expectations. While we more seasoned individuals can speak to our way of leading, we might advise some into a frame of mind that is no longer acceptable.
One thing has struck me. It seems as though many active people are ignorant of the basic rules and principles of their station and the rules of the game. Are the active leaders and staff not passing these things along?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2019 4:42 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 16:42:57 -0400

I mainly use Rallypoint as a supplemental research tool and a gathering place of anecdotes that are convenient to trending questions from the squad. Most current news articles are reposts from elsewhere, and I feel asking questions here as opposed to doing a bit more personal extensive research will wind up working against me if someone from my organization ends up going through my post history.

I don't say these things as a means of Rallypoint criticism, but rather to say that it serves as a unique niche tool that I utilize fairly often. But I fail to see a legitimate reason to be excessively active within the Rallypoint community. Maybe as a networking tool, but I have limited use for that as a TPU reservist. I recommend it verbally as part of all initial counselings along with milconnect, as they both tend to be underrated tools!

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Jun 3 at 2019 10:56 AM

LCDR Joshua Gillespie — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 10:56:26 -0400

Probably not. Sure, every once in a great while some JO might come on here with a really insightful question...and get a well-thought out, experienced answer; but more often than not, they're asking a question that's heart-breakingly easy to answer for themselves, and getting advice that may be dated, inaccurate, or the whole Happy Meal, when all they wanted was fries on the side. I think RP is what it is... a Military and Veterans' social media site where we can discuss things not normally "in bounds", and gather what knowledge we can from it. Mentorship is more personal, intentional act, and I think MSG Brandshaw hit the nail on the head.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 11 at 2019 1:29 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 13:29:36 -0400

I got a lot from reading through discussions to hunt down answers to questions I didn't feel comfortable asking my peers or superiors. At the first couple years of my officer career, I got very little mentorship, so RallyPoint was kind of like Wikipedia to me and worked as a good starting place to find the appropriate sources when I knew there was an answer somewhere, but had no idea what the relevant reg or location of the info I wanted might be.

I would suspect there's a lot of other junior officers using it much the same way I have as a research/reading resource and checking to see if someone else has already asked. Having an online forum where you can ask a dumb question or research an answer based on other's dumb questions is valuable, even if it's not the one-on-one conversation with someone who has a vested interest in your success.