Crisis of Faith in Senior Leaders; How would you address it?

2015-02-03T13:32:31-05:00

I hope RP's the type of professional forum in which senior leaders could address these issues in a candid manner. I'm particularly concerned about the case of MoH recipient CPT Swenson. What say you?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/average-soldiers-don-t-trust-their-generals-and-they-have-a-point.html

Average Soldiers Don’t Trust Their Generals and They Have a Point

A survey last year showed only 27% of the military felt senior leaders looked out for their best interests. To fix the morale crisis generals need to stop acting like politicians.

Response by CDR Michael Goldschmidt made Feb 3 at 2015 1:57 PM

2015-02-03T13:57:53-05:00

It comes as no surprise to me. When US troops are ordered to take part in unlawful combat operations and the JCS doesn't step in to refuse the C-in-C's unlawful orders until he makes them lawful by getting Congressional authorization under the Constitution's Article I and the War Powers Act, why would the troops trust their Generals and Admirals? A perfect example of this was operations over Libya and whatever SAR and SF troops we may have had on the ground. We all took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Putting career over lawfulness is neither supporting nor defending it.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Feb 3 at 2015 2:11 PM

2015-02-03T14:11:38-05:00

This statement speaks loud and clear "The services—and the Army, in particular—must look inward. There must be a desire to initiate a cultural shift that reassures service personnel that the institutions under which they serve won’t let them down, and they will receive the support—whether through legal, administrative or operational channels—that is worthy of their service. They want to know their best interests won’t be disregarded."

In my experience, senior leadership cares more about saving their own ass and serving their own interests then taking care of those under them. I wouldn't be suprised if this is what happened in Clint Lorance's case. I've heard stories that his teammates supported him until they spoke with the prosecutor. It's disgusting what some people will do to save their own skin, no matter how morally or ethically wrong it is.

My AF friend asked me an interesting question a few weeks ago, "if they aren't playing fair then you need to stop playing fair." My answer, "no, because someone has to maintain honor and integrity." I am no better than anyone else if someone else's behavior influences me to act in a way that contradicts my personal values.

The abuse of power by senior military leadership that I have directly had experience with is disgusting and makes me ashamed of those I serve with. The military is not a dictatorship, senior leaders need to be held to regulations and military standards just as much as anyone else. Lead by example, morally and ethically, because having your soldiers trust you speaks volumes over nonsensical leadership traits such as a high APFT score.

Hard to trust leaders right now when all we hear are rumors of our benefits being cut.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2015 8:18 PM

2015-02-04T20:18:07-05:00

This is unfortunate and I think this is related to the lack of leadership training at all levels.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2015 11:57 AM

2015-02-05T11:57:50-05:00

I guess things are different either 1) these days or 2) because of the long war, or maybe both.

I served 30 years of active duty and general officer actions had absolutely no effect on me, my work ethic, my morale, etc.

I've even served at fairly high levels, relatively "close" to GOs, and that did not change things. They were doing their job and I was doing mine.

It just never crossed my mind to have a crisis of confidence in my senior leaders.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Feb 5 at 2015 1:43 PM

2015-02-05T13:43:10-05:00

It should come as no surprise that the military is politicized. The military is under civilian leadership and that leadership are all politicians.

While the military claims to be apolitical, the truth of the matter is that for military leaders to become senior military leaders they have to be political and that is especially true when it comes to the general officer ranks, especially the three and four star officers. That does not mean that they cannot be effective military leaders, as well as politicians, but that take the moral courage that some simply do not display out of a desire for more rank, more power or just maintaining what they have already achieved.

I have known a great many general officers and have worked very closely with several (and lived with some in my family). Most of them desperately want to do the right thing but, more times than not, being able to do the right thing at that level requires the political clout to get it done. Contrary to what others might think, they all have bosses and they can't act unilaterally on most things and the ultimate decision-makers in the most important things that impact the most soldiers are civilian politicians.

When I was a young Lieutenant, I remember asking my dad, who was a senior Army officer, why there were so many, in my opinion, "dumb" decisions being made by our senior leadership. His answer was that the higher one gets in rank and position, the further away he gets from the troops and the realities of the impacts decisions make at the lowest levels. What seems like a good idea at the top really sucks at the ground level. He told me that, I too, would be guilty of that some day, and I probably was.

There comes a time, however, when the military leadership must stand up for what is right and put politics aside. I firmly believe that time has come in our country, but I have yet to see any real evidence of any of our senior military leaders having the moral courage to call a spade a spade and take a stand against what they know is just wrong. Those who have demonstrated an inkling to do so have been "purged" by the politicians and, even they, for the most part, have not spoken up. We need another "Revolt of the Generals" and some public "Resignation In Protest", which I personally think we will see if things continue in our country as they are.

I am certainly not calling for anything illegal or outside the Constitution of the United States. I just think it is time for our military leaders to have the moral courage to say "enough is enough" and take a public stand, fully realizing it will most likely end their careers.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2015 4:08 PM

2015-02-05T16:08:08-05:00

I won't presume to know the whole stories. Whether intentional or not, every document will reflect the bias of the writer and thus cannot be relied upon without firsthand knowledge of the incident. Take a review of the Rolling Stone article on Gen McChrystal. He was relieved for supposedly trash-talking President Obama, but it was revealed by Rolling Stone later that one of his AIDES had made the derogatory comments. That bias was very strong and went heavily against the General. Then there are those that are pretty seriously messed up, such as the Brig Gen that was accused of forcible sodomy against some of his CPT aides. Definitely a messed up situation there, but he did have action taken against him. Not all information is released in every case, so jumping to a conclusion is dangerous.

My job as I see it is to be the "Bullshit Umbrella". I protect my Soldiers from the negative aspects of the Army, and teach them to lead so that they can hopefully carry and maintain the Core Values after I'm gone. I'm not worried about the GENs at this level, simply worried about my "two up, two down" and making sure that everything that I do has the opportunity to benefit my Soldiers and make "my corner of the Army" better, and teach others to do the same. Additionally, I have the responsibility to mentor those at two levels below me to develop them into the leaders that will benefit their own troops and guide them on a positive Army career. By doing that, we are able to instill in the future leaders those values which we hold dear and hope that when the time comes that they will receive the baton, they will carry it proud and make the Army a better place.

With one million people, it is naïve to assume that we will never have bad apples. Attempting to control the actions of EVERYONE is overwhelming and will lead to burnout and negative attitudes that are detrimental to morale. Focus on the "two up, two down" and instill the values....from there it is up to that individual to determine their own fates and career path.
v/r,
CPT Butler

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 6 at 2015 10:50 AM

2015-02-06T10:50:14-05:00

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/02/05/green-beret-matt-golsteyn-silver-star-stripped-investigation/22930207/

Congressman pushes Army on why it revoked Green Beret's Silver Star

The Army, citing an investigation, has revoked the interim Silver Star from a decorated Green Beret.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2015 2:57 AM

2015-02-07T02:57:14-05:00

I don't think leaders at the general officer and above level have any effect on Soldiers at the tactical level. I believe most of them truly care for the Soldiers under their command but, I think they are so far detached from what happens on a daily basis that it's irrelevant.

One of the best encounters I ever had with a general officer was while deployed to Baghdad in 2008-2009. Then Major General Dan Bolger who was the commander of the Multi National Division - Baghdad came to my JSS. I was a 1SG at the time and he came into our little TOC and asked me directly how things were going. My commander immediately started into the pre-planned briefing we had prepared for him, he said wait a minute Captain I want to hear from the 1SG. I told him exactly how I saw things in the AO and how the company was doing as far as operationally and how the Soldiers were doing. He asked when the next patrol was and we told him in about six hours, he said he was tired and needed a cot but wake him up so he could go on the patrol. He slept in an open bay on a cot and then went out on patrol with one of our platoons. That guy was a true Soldier.

As a leader, no matter what level, you need to take care of your little piece of pie. If you do your job by taking care of Soldiers then that reflects all the way up the chain. Soldiers will feel taken care of period.

Response by SSG Sean Garcia made Feb 7 at 2015 5:12 AM

2015-02-07T05:12:11-05:00

I agree that many of the older leaders are out for themselves. No biggie
Every time I was asked to do something that I felt unsure of, I documented it. So if it came back to bite me in the behind I had proof of what happened. Some leaders may be out for themselves, and that's fine. My advice is to understand what is right and wrong and never put yourself in a situation that is questionable.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2015 5:01 PM

2015-02-09T17:01:16-05:00

Had an experience last weekend that made me think of this thread. Ran across my first 1SG. I saw him, said, "Evening First Sergeant", and made my way over to him. I'm not certain whether he remembered me or not, but he did know that I had been recently deployed and asked about my deployment. He asked why I wasn't wearing a deployment patch. I told him it was because I gave both extra multicam patches to a couple C-130 pilots who invited me to fly in the cabin with them. Around this time I glance down at his chest and realize he's been promoted to CSM since the last time I had seen him! I stammer out, "Sergeant Major, I've been calling you first sergeant." He replies, "I know, don't worry about it soldier."

My whole point in telling the story? When leaders like him get promoted, soldiers get faith in the system! Seeing him as a CSM gave me a boost in morale that I definitely needed.