How are other team leaders adapting to the new soldiers coming in?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 23:56:47 -0400

Every time I get a new soldier (I hate to say it) but they seem to be less intelligent and more lazy. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 12:40 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 May 2018 00:40:29 -0400

As old as the Army itself...some NCO said it about you. These new soldiers will say it about their new soldiers in 5 years. Just uphold the correct standards correctly, and things seem to work out.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 12:54 AM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 May 2018 00:54:20 -0400

This and some lack of discipline.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made May 1 at 2018 1:01 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Tue, 01 May 2018 01:01:13 -0400

Now I am willing to bet you think this is just an issue in the Army. It's not. I bought a fast casual restaurant a couple of years ago and my employees were primarily 17-23 years old. When I first started I too looked at them using myself as a lens or a base standard. Over time though (a few months) they developed and adapted and some started to take initiative without being told. I found that some of them were so good I could use them as team leads.......teaching the next batch of new hires. So my theory it is human nature to look at others this way and use yourself with 3-5 years of experience as a measuring stick BUT you have to be more realistic. Just to give you a few humorous real life examples of what I had to go through with new employees in the 17-23 year old age group......read on. This was in the past two years and fairly recent.

Had one of them come running up to me while I was in the stockroom doing inventory that the restaurant dining room toilet was flooding but he fixed it by closing and locking the door so the water couldn't get out (he was 17 and obviously his Parents took care of the bathroom at home). I had another 19 year old young lady when I asked her to start washing dishes tell me with a straight face as I was showing her how to fill the three sinks properly.........I would have to show her how to wash dishes because she never washed a dish before (I wanted to laugh but as you know some Parents do everything for their kids). Another guy, thought he had a great idea of using the french fryer for also cooking bacon because his Mom did that at home (yes we had Muslim customers). That incident pissed me off because I had to drain the oil and replace the filter and oil and listen to customers complain about not having french fries available and that I was incompetent. So in my case I did not have a Cadre of Drill Sergeants to pre-train these people for 4-6 months. Even if I did, some of that inexperience would still slip through because a Drill Sergant can't train everyone 100%. My favorite was a newly hired 17 year old telling a customer to go F himself, because he made a derogatory comment about his football team......I had to take a quick break there because I was laughing about it and you should have seen the look on the customers face. So the Assistant Manager, steped in and handled that one for me. Anyways, not in the Army now and was never a NCO but I can say your experience probably is not unique and you have to be patient and give people more time to develop.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 8:09 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 May 2018 08:09:15 -0400

It’s been a problem Army wide. The biggest problem that came out of the survey of new trainees from NCOs and Commanders was the new asoldiers lack of discipline and laziness. They’re in the process of redesigning BCT. Last I heard they were going to add and additional three weeks to add not DNC and PT.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 9:01 AM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 May 2018 09:01:33 -0400

In my experience I have had good luck not changing my approach with new, young Soldiers. Hold them accountable, make them EARN everything and the sense of accomplishment they get from earning your respect will be all they need. Its a different time in the country compared to when I was growing up and I'm sure my youth was very different from yours. Kids don't have the same opportunities to excel as I did, not many kids can get a job at 13 and have the chance achieve something worth having. They are given everything so most things have no actual value to them. Just my two cents from my time as a Platoon Sergeant. Good luck, don't give up on them, they will replace you someday and, hopefully you can teach them to do a better job than you did.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 1 at 2018 11:06 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 May 2018 11:06:45 -0400

So, it has been a very long time since I have been in your shoes, but the problems, as I remember them, were very similar, and the simple answer is that the team leaders don't adapt, the new Soldiers have to adapt. As long as you are setting and enforcing the standards there should be no issue, and if the new Soldiers can't comply then there are ways to get them to, and if that fails then they go home, plain and simple.

Response by SGT Tony Clifford made May 1 at 2018 12:44 PM

SGT Tony Clifford — Tue, 01 May 2018 12:44:22 -0400

This isn't new. Old soldiers always see the new troops as shitbags. Basic training doesn't teach new soldiers much. It's your job to get these troops up to the standard. Remember, at one point you knew nothing either. Another thing to think about is whether or not you carry yourself in a way that tells soldiers to listen to you. You're not allowed to show weakness or they will see it. Good luck.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 1 at 2018 1:26 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 01 May 2018 13:26:59 -0400

I believe the current generation is less mature than those from the 70s-90s because of the inordinate amount of time spent on their phones and other multi-media. Therefore, much of their experiences are internet and phone based.

Response by SP5 Norman McGill made May 1 at 2018 3:47 PM

SP5 Norman McGill — Tue, 01 May 2018 15:47:41 -0400

CPL Boyd a new recruit has to pass an intellegence test to get in the service so at least your new guys ought to have a decent level of intelligence. What you do with that is up to you and the rest of the team. You and your team must show him that you are one for all and all for one and if he wants to stay with you he needs to get with the program. It will take a few weeks but after that if he doesn't come around look to yourself and then the other team members and see if there's something there that needs correction. We don't have any choice of who we get so we just have to make the best of it.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made May 1 at 2018 3:49 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Tue, 01 May 2018 15:49:57 -0400

Everyone has said this from the beginning of the military. It’s up to the leaders to exercise leadership and set the tone and the example. Some willl respond to that and become the Soldiers you want. Some won’t and you either have to spend more time to groom them or allow them to seek employment in the civilian world. What many leaders fail to recognize is while they made the rank, it doesn’t make them perfect and more than likely someone said the very same thing about them when they were green.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made May 1 at 2018 6:39 PM

SGT Philip Roncari — Tue, 01 May 2018 18:39:14 -0400

As you probably noted from the previous responses to your post it’s the same old story, we all tell ourselves when we were in ,how tough it was ,and how we learned our skills quickly ,funny how I remember my old platoon Sergeant (a Korean War vet) saying exactly what you have posted ,that was in 1965,as an NCO your mission is to train,instruct and lead ,good luck CPL Cullen Boyd

Response by SGT Tony Long made May 1 at 2018 9:19 PM

SGT Tony Long — Tue, 01 May 2018 21:19:50 -0400

You as a team leader must set the standards. Take the time and effort to mold them into a cohesive unit.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made May 2 at 2018 10:06 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 02 May 2018 22:06:22 -0400

I’ve noticed that it’s hit and miss. Some new solders hit the ground running, while others get a deer in the headlights look when asked to do something simple.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 9 at 2018 10:38 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 May 2018 22:38:49 -0400

To me it not only seems like that, but the last few guys that came out of training didn’t even know how to preform a good majority of their duty tasks.

Response by CPT Daniel Cox made Jun 7 at 2020 9:42 PM

CPT Daniel Cox — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 21:42:17 -0400

My question, two years later, is do you still feel the same way about the dumb and lazy ones of two years ago and the fresh faces you see today?

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Apr 18 at 2021 2:21 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:21:29 -0400

The Soldiers who enlisted in 1775 said the same thing abut the Soldiers who enlisted in 1776. Thinking "the new guys suck" is a military tradition as old as time.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 18 at 2021 6:16 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 18:16:48 -0400

Yeah that's what the generation before mine said about my generation - and it goes on and on and on. You're about a rank or two away from saying "back in my day..."

Oh damn it another resurrected dead thread. SMDH.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Sep 21 at 2021 8:02 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:02:27 -0400

It's always weird seeing some young E-5 talking about "the new Soldiers coming in" like they aren't the new Soldiers coming in ;o)

Sigh...Between this and all the LT's looking 12, I think this means I'm old.