Best recommendations for boosting troop morale using rewards/recognition?

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 09:37:50 -0400

Good morning Rally Point,

The National Guard has the unique challenge of having to meet heavy workload demands within a limited time frame. Heavy op-tempo’s often lead to tired troops who often feel under appreciated due to lack of recognition or reward.
As leader I can only write so many Army Achievement Medal awards and on the end those only go so far.
What are your thoughts about reasonable rewards and recognition to build/boost morale?
Which types of rewards/recognition methods have you seen that worked well within your organization?

Response by SGT Chris Stephens made Apr 16 at 2019 9:49 AM

SGT Chris Stephens — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 09:49:09 -0400

Release them early as long as you've met the day's training objectives. Don't feel like you have to keep them around just for the sake of having them there until 5:00 or later. Of course, the commander would have to approve of this.

Response by MSG Danny Mathers made Apr 16 at 2019 11:31 AM

MSG Danny Mathers — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 11:31:58 -0400

What the hell happened to giving Slodiers 'Letters of Commendation." I guess the coins replaced them. I wrote letters that went into their 201 File (Form 1) for all my subordinates that did an outhstand job during an FTX, training exercise or an outstanding presentation during an inspection. They didn't give out medals for doing a good job. You had to do something spectacular just to get an ARCOM. The Lletters had an impact on promotions. There is no reward which the prise is pay.

Response by SGT Nicholas M. made Apr 16 at 2019 1:42 PM

SGT Nicholas M. — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:42:00 -0400

When I was a Junior Soldier, Impact AAM's were smooth offerings from the CoC regarding anything worth it. If you have a Soldier who is killing it in productivity, I would definitely recommend that for promoting R2 (Ready and Resilient) and Unit Morale etc... A blanket statement of, "Perform XYZ and you could possibly be rewarded with -insert award-" doesn't really do much to spark interest because it almost implies that you want to bait them on with hopes of reward. But I would absolutely submit awards for those that you have already identified as high quality output individuals.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Apr 16 at 2019 1:48 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:48:45 -0400

We publicly recognized Soldiers who went above and beyond at close out formation with a coin and three day pass. Each week, each company would select the Soldier who had the greatest impact on a mission they had, and the Soldiers leader would bring them up in front of the BN, tell who they were and what they had done and the impact on the mission.
It might be a mechanic that worked late to get a mission critical piece of equipment up, or a PVT that came up with an innovation to speed up a project. Nothing fancy just a heart felt public thank you for doing well.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Apr 16 at 2019 5:43 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:43:53 -0400

I had a BN CDR who carried a stack of custom printed 5x7s (ish) in his cargo pocket. One side was "pat on the back" the other was "kick in the @$$". Anytime he felt someone warranted either, he would stop on the spot and write it out and sign it, then present to the Soldier. It was worth ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, either way. Just let you know that the BC saw what you were doing, and thought it was worth recognizing, for good or ill. He gave out between 3 and 10 everyday, all ranks PVT through MAJ (The MAJs tended to get "kicked" more than "patted," PVTs got "patted" more than "kicked"). He still did coins, awards, and official memoranda as appropriate, but those little cards were just a little something extra. Things like a private having a great uniform or a SGT giving great PT. Not worthy of even a coin, really, but worthy of being noticed and encouraged. It was a GREAT idea, IMHO.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2019 10:09 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 22:09:49 -0400

Firstly, the power of a positive counseling will go further than a lot of people give it credit for. Young Soldiers earn to know their place. It takes 20 minutes to write them a counseling telling them they went above and beyond or are on the right track. Additionally, include it in their monthly counseling’s.