Can a CO make a company wear eye protection all day to prove a point?

Mass punishment other than in recruit training environment is a no no.

Question is....did you do it? If you and others wore them then the answer must be ...Yes! A lawful order must be obeyed no mater how absurd.

Simple, if it is not illegal, immoral, or unethical, poses no threat of harm, then yes. One DI found a short curly hair on my battle's soap during inspection. We all lost our on post pass. DI could've punished my battle, but this was arguably more effective to take the pass from the whole bay.

Back in the day while I was in USAFE wing commanders would make us wear chem gear for 12+ hours to see what unit could wear it the longest. I always thought it was stupid. But I did as I was told. I kept an eye on my people and if something didn’t look right I gave them a break. It might not have been the correct thing to do but I wasn’t going to let anyone die in an exercise and for some one else’s bragging rights.

To me, this sounds like a leadership failure on his squad/PLTSGT. Why didn't this get notice upon inspection of troops from the Squad and PLT SGT? For the punishment, is fair and right to do so. However, if I was the CO, I would have a meeting with the 1SG to find out why this happen, why it did not get caught during inspection of the troops (if that happened). Inform to the 1SG that the PLT SGT and squad leader need to have additional remedial training in Leadership, setting the example for younger soldiers.

Yes, this is valid. Sometimes the mass punishment works because of peer pressure. I probably would have gone with the Solider plus, squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader all wear their eye pro because they obviously did not conduct proper PCI.

In the Marines, Code Red, would remedy that situation, and when a team member forgets a piece of equipment or decides he will Disobey an order.

Of course a commander can make that a part of the uniform of the day anytime he or she wishes, as can any other person in the chain of command.

If the CO says you are to wear your skivies on your head and walk backwards for a week, that's what you do. It's not a group vote or discussion.

Unfortunately mass reinforcement, or mass punishment, is acceptable and can be effective. As petty as the issue might be, the point was clearly made by the CO and chances are it’s making the unit wonder if they should continue to test the CO’s idea of corrective action.