Do some Army civilians believe it is fine to be rude to service members?

SSG (ret) William Martin — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:13:33 -0500

<p>We may be service members who are use to a little aggressiveness from our superiors which would be viewed as "rude" by others looking in from the outside but that comes with the nature of the job.  We deserve respect from our civilian counter parts for we give them a reason to have a job and to have a pay check.  Normally my interaction with civilians is in a customer relationship basis.  </p><p> </p><p>I myself do not tolerate rude civilians who work for the government.  I do not put up with that.  I simply get their first and last name and I go to their supervisor.  After a few weeks I follow up with a phone call.  Do not let civilians treat you or talk to you as if you were a servant.  </p>

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2013 10:19 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:19:46 -0500

SGT Martin, you are on point.  I've always commented that there is a serious lack of customer service by a great deal of DA Civilians.  It's not like you have the option of going somewhere else to get better service.  I'd rather hang out at the DMV than CIF.

Response by SPC Corbin Doades made Nov 9 at 2013 10:31 AM

SPC Corbin Doades — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 10:31:58 -0500

9 out of 10 civilians I have dealt with while I was in were rude. They treated all the lower ranking soldiers (E5 and below) like we were criminals. I never imagined being treated like this while serving.

Response by CPT Laurie H. made Nov 9 at 2013 11:16 AM

CPT Laurie H. — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:16:33 -0500

I find that DA Civilians respond like most other people, in a comparable manner to how they are treated. Many who are initially disrepectful and impatient toward servicemembers behave that way because they have recieved similar treatment. Bridging that gap and getting to the root of misunderstanding on an individual basis can serve wonders for fostering a mutually beneficial professional relationship.<div><br></div><div>There will always be individuals who are rude to whomever they are working with, but for the most part we all just have treat eachother like humans. They deserve our respect as much as we deserve theirs. </div>

Response by SSG Mark Ives made Apr 14 at 2014 3:23 PM

SSG Mark Ives — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:23:15 -0400

While I was assigned to the MI School at Ft Devens, MA while going to 98J AIT as a SGT, I had to go to Finance for TDY payments since my school was of limited duration. Some of the DA civilians in Finance acted as if it was their money that was being paid out to you. It was almost preferable to forego the payments and rough it financially! That was 30-some years ago, so can't comment on how they are currently.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2014 12:19 PM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 May 2014 12:19:32 -0400

It's never fine to be rude period regardless of who you are or who you are speaking to

Response by LCpl Matt P. made Jul 4 at 2014 12:11 AM

LCpl Matt P. — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:11:17 -0400

Being a Marine, forgive my "Army ignorance"...but what the HELL is an "Army civilian"?

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jul 4 at 2014 3:41 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:41:56 -0400

When I was stationed Fort Hood, my wife had a terrible experience with the appointment hotline lady. My wife told me, and I was furious. It happened when we were at the commissary. I quickly hopped on my Blackberry, and I made an ICE complain. About 5 or 10 minutes later, I receive a phone call. The very next day, that lady called my wife and she apologized. In many private sector jobs, that would lady would have been fired on the spot, no questions asked; just get your things and leave. I don't think DA civilians can be treated like that though because they have a union.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2014 11:13 PM

LT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 23:13:22 -0400

I don't think it just army, its more of the personality of the individual. I've met civilians who were awesome and some that were not. On the other hand, I've seen service members who are completely rude to Civilians, so I don't think Civilians as a whole think it is fine, I think more on an individual level.

Response by LCpl Matt P. made Jul 5 at 2014 11:52 AM

LCpl Matt P. — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 11:52:03 -0400

SSG Mike Angelo, guess I was lucky enough to not have to deal with or meet any of them!

Response by SSG Santos Alvarado made Jul 6 at 2014 1:57 AM

SSG Santos Alvarado — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 01:57:53 -0400

I am an Army Civilian for 20 yrs and Army Retired, in question the boats goes both ways. Some of them can be rude at times, but that's because maybe the Military is being rude to them. I have seen it both ways, it just the military respect is a two way street.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 23 at 2015 3:25 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 03:25:38 -0400

My complete thoughts on this subject can be found here-> "I Don’t Care If You’re Ungrateful" https://warriorcitizen.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/i-dont-care-if-youre-ungrateful/

I Don’t Care If You’re Ungrateful

I joined the United States Army in 2004, I was 34 years old not some punk kid fresh out of High School. Consequently, I took my Oath of Enlistment with full knowledge and comprehension of what it m...

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2015 11:39 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:39:45 -0400

This all depends on where you work and what that person does. I'll say that I generally had that attitude until I worked in the higher levels of HQ's and now on the HQDA staff. There are lifelong DA Civilians who run significant portions of the military and who have improtant positions in the Army across the service. As the Army has become smaller, we rely on DA civilians to do more and more in the administration and sometimes leadership of portions of the Army. To compound the situation, Army personnel (active duty) only spend 2-3 years in a position before moving on. Most DA civlians do not. They become experts in their small portion of the Army, or in the case of some SES, over large portions of the Army and are very influential. Now...if we are talking about the guy handing out basketballs at the gym, there's no reason for a bad attitude. Walking around "the building" however, you never know if someone in a suit is running the coke machine accounts or if they are a deputy director for "fill in the blank," carrying the weight of a 2-3 star general in the halls of the Pentagon.

Response by SPC James Burkett II made Aug 28 at 2015 6:11 AM

SPC James Burkett II — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 06:11:48 -0400

SSG (ret) William Martin Sadly they get ruder with the less rank you have on your chest as well.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Aug 28 at 2015 11:21 AM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 11:21:28 -0400

I have made many complaints of civilian employees, contracted and government employees. In many of my complaints I have recommended termination of employment. I have ruined the days of many civilians by making swift complaints to their superiors. I have caused some civilians to grab their things and go home earlier because my complaint caused them so much stress. I know how to work the system. I stay calm and polite while the civilians become stupid and unprofessional. Government civilians are lucky they have unions. Contracted civilians are not so lucky. I have no heart if civilians become terminated. If I am rude to a civilian or Soldier during my performance of LE duties, I can face serious consequences regardless of rank. One thing is for sure, people who I complain about never forget my face. They know I don't take anyone's BS, but I will do my best to take care of SMs and civilians.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 28 at 2015 12:42 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:42:58 -0400

It would piss me off to no end when I would go to some office and they are rude, and look at me like I am some bothersome person. Knowing this feeling, I told my Finance Detachment to give world class service and to treat every soldier as a hero. It was simple, and I knew my soldiers were giving a smile and offering the best finance service possible.

Response by SGT Scott Bell made Sep 4 at 2015 6:48 AM

SGT Scott Bell — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 06:48:22 -0400

yes

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 4 at 2015 9:38 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 21:38:38 -0400

I think my combat arms experience help to guide the finance detachment I inherited. I told them to treat each person as a hero as they might actually become one, or worse yet, never come back. We will give world class support. The unit became great at customer service.

Response by SFC Jerry Staten made Sep 7 at 2015 1:21 PM

SFC Jerry Staten — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 13:21:23 -0400

you have to realize that most of the Civilian work force are Veterans who have done 20 yrs and young soldiers come in there with attitudes or a sense of entitlement and expect to be catered too, Ive been on both sides of the fence, and you will be also

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 7 at 2015 4:00 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 16:00:19 -0400

Some of them act like they are God's gift to the military. Others act just hate their jobs and the world and take it out on anyone they can.