Posted on May 19, 2020
How do you handle it when a Soldier makes an Honest Mistake or commits an Unforgivable sin?
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Have you ever had a Soldier make a mistake, sometimes a serious mistake? What is appropriate action? Is it a slap on the wrist, corrective training, or UCMJ? How do you determine which action is appropriate?
In my opinion there are 2 categories of mistakes.
Honest Mistakes: when a Soldier makes an honest mistake, it is usually handled by corrective training. So, what is an honest mistake? It could be anything from a Soldier making a mistake during training or to failing make a formation on time due to forgetfulness or oversleeping. There are some Honest mistakes that could still get you in trouble (example: Negligent Weapons Discharge), but those should be few and far between
Unforgivable Sins: Any action that is illegal, unethical, immoral, or unsafe falls into this category. If a Soldier’s actions fall into this category, they usually knew the action was wrong before they did it. Example: inappropriate relationships, gambling with subordinates, abusing subordinates, hazing, bullying, etc. In these cases, rarely is mercy applied as this was a willful decision. In some rare cases it could be a lack of proper education on the Soldier’s part but these instances should be few and far between. In these cases there might be room to apply some level of mercy and/or forgiveness and education, depending on the situation.
So how are you handling these types of mistakes? Take some time to think through recent events and determine how you handled the issue and how you could have handled it better. I believe most issues fall into the honest mistake category…. some honest mistakes are more serious than others (example Negligent Weapons Discharge) and may require more than corrective training but only you can make that decision. If you are unsure talk to your leadership team. Do your best to be reasonable, fair, and remove emotion from the equation. Treat the Soldier the way you want to be treated within the guidelines established by the Army.
Keep in mind you and I both most likely made some serious mistakes during our career. How did our leaders handle the situation? Were they forgiving and understanding, did they show no mercy? The choice is yours and it is a balancing act.
Jut remember your decision can have unintended consequences. For example, you recommend the Soldier for a Summary Article 15 for being late. Later it is time to reenlist and the Soldier cannot reenlist because of the Article 15. Was that your intent or did you just lose a good Soldier because you failed to use corrective training when this level of intervention would have been appropriate?
Think before you act! Leadership is not easy and it is best to think through the problem, reach out to leaders you see as level headed and/or mentors. The key is to make the right decision…your decisions have both intended and unintended consequences.
In my opinion there are 2 categories of mistakes.
Honest Mistakes: when a Soldier makes an honest mistake, it is usually handled by corrective training. So, what is an honest mistake? It could be anything from a Soldier making a mistake during training or to failing make a formation on time due to forgetfulness or oversleeping. There are some Honest mistakes that could still get you in trouble (example: Negligent Weapons Discharge), but those should be few and far between
Unforgivable Sins: Any action that is illegal, unethical, immoral, or unsafe falls into this category. If a Soldier’s actions fall into this category, they usually knew the action was wrong before they did it. Example: inappropriate relationships, gambling with subordinates, abusing subordinates, hazing, bullying, etc. In these cases, rarely is mercy applied as this was a willful decision. In some rare cases it could be a lack of proper education on the Soldier’s part but these instances should be few and far between. In these cases there might be room to apply some level of mercy and/or forgiveness and education, depending on the situation.
So how are you handling these types of mistakes? Take some time to think through recent events and determine how you handled the issue and how you could have handled it better. I believe most issues fall into the honest mistake category…. some honest mistakes are more serious than others (example Negligent Weapons Discharge) and may require more than corrective training but only you can make that decision. If you are unsure talk to your leadership team. Do your best to be reasonable, fair, and remove emotion from the equation. Treat the Soldier the way you want to be treated within the guidelines established by the Army.
Keep in mind you and I both most likely made some serious mistakes during our career. How did our leaders handle the situation? Were they forgiving and understanding, did they show no mercy? The choice is yours and it is a balancing act.
Jut remember your decision can have unintended consequences. For example, you recommend the Soldier for a Summary Article 15 for being late. Later it is time to reenlist and the Soldier cannot reenlist because of the Article 15. Was that your intent or did you just lose a good Soldier because you failed to use corrective training when this level of intervention would have been appropriate?
Think before you act! Leadership is not easy and it is best to think through the problem, reach out to leaders you see as level headed and/or mentors. The key is to make the right decision…your decisions have both intended and unintended consequences.
Leadership
Corrective Training
Leadership Development
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 11
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I had a sailor stating Engineering Watch while we were in port under our own power (no shore power) overseas. Our engineering lineup required the watch to refill the head tank every so often so the generator would still run and provide power. This sailor, unfortunately, was more worried about playing a game on his laptop he brought into the watch station. Needless to say, the tank ran out of fuel, while our CO was on a host nation ship down the pier from us. Not a good look.
Since I was the Chief Engineer, I was pissed. Checked to see with the IT folks that he was actively scrolling through the game at the time we went dark. Took me a bit to calm down and realize that no one was hurt, just a little pride hurt. So, took him to mast, made him serve his punishment, and afterwords, told him he had a new slate but short rope. He screwed up, paid the price, don't let it happen again. He was a pretty darn good sailor after that...
Since I was the Chief Engineer, I was pissed. Checked to see with the IT folks that he was actively scrolling through the game at the time we went dark. Took me a bit to calm down and realize that no one was hurt, just a little pride hurt. So, took him to mast, made him serve his punishment, and afterwords, told him he had a new slate but short rope. He screwed up, paid the price, don't let it happen again. He was a pretty darn good sailor after that...
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LT Brad McInnis
CSM Mark Gerecht - Oh, I was pissed at the beginning. Took a couple of cups of coffee and walks around the ship before I came to a rational decision.
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CSM Mark Gerecht
LT Brad McInnis totally agree. It is always best to calm down before we open our mouths.
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I have 4 types of mistakes:Honest, Negligent, Lying & Cheating & Stealing, and BFs. I hate the BFs the most. I knew an E-7 who stole money from his NCO friends with a fake mutual fund scheme. Like I said I hate BFs because they are scum for hurting other soldiers. Soldiers should help each other, not prey on other soldiers. I called CID and he became an E-2. Fortunately I never had to deal with lying cheating and stealing except for that E-7. Those soldiers who made mistakes like DUIs or coming hot on a piss test knew from their NCOs I would be pissed if they came to my office and made excuses. I told the NCOs what my expectations were. Unfortunately the DUIs and hot piss test soldiers, well their fate was out of my hands, but I personally worked with them by increasing their confidence before they got chaptered. I did not want to send a broken soldier back into society, so I mentored them.
My first field problem as a Tank PL, I was walking in the field when I noticed night vision goggles on the ground from my #3 tank. I was not pleased with that, and I implemented full hands on sensitive items check before we leave an area and when we get to a new area. That could have ended that tank commander and my careers instantly.
I understood soldiers would make honest mistakes. I made honest mistakes. Most of the honest mistakes made by the soldiers were not grave. If they came up to me to mention a mistake was made I never got mad. I wanted them to come to me and be honest. I wanted them not to fear me so they can be open to me.
My first field problem as a Tank PL, I was walking in the field when I noticed night vision goggles on the ground from my #3 tank. I was not pleased with that, and I implemented full hands on sensitive items check before we leave an area and when we get to a new area. That could have ended that tank commander and my careers instantly.
I understood soldiers would make honest mistakes. I made honest mistakes. Most of the honest mistakes made by the soldiers were not grave. If they came up to me to mention a mistake was made I never got mad. I wanted them to come to me and be honest. I wanted them not to fear me so they can be open to me.
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CSM Mark Gerecht
On the spot correction is one of the best methods of enforcing standards. Applied correctly it is timely, educational, and effective.
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Purchasing a brand new sports car just to show off when they do not have the financial means to keep up with payments and have a family to feed. That would not be considered an honest mistake in my opinion. That is simple irresponsibility on their part.
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CSM Mark Gerecht
It could be an honest mistake if they are not educated on financial issues and lack maturity. Unfortunately their actions would most likely have unintended consequences that would potentially interfere with their military career. Even if the Soldier has military consequences in my opinion there needs to financial education to prevent such actions in the future and develop a plan of action for the current situation. If they have a car and family to feed, and a car payment they can't make then that is a recipe for disaster and the Soldier needs to take corrective action. This is were leadership comes in. The Soldier makes a mistake and potentially receives some type of military consequence but the problem still exits. This is were compassion, empathy, and education should drive the train. You can require the Soldier go to a financial planning class sponsored by the Army, come up with a plan of action to ensure their bills are taken care of...then you can talk with them about hard lessons you learned in your career. Hopefully this Soldier has learned a hard lesson they will not forget. Hopefully the chain of command has held them accountable in some way but shown compassion to help the Soldier overcome this obstacle and learn from their mistake. There are numerous solutions to issues like this. Leadership holds the key and the high ground. They can make a huge difference in the life and career of a Soldier, but ultimately the Soldier has to own the mistake and take corrective action. Finally leadership has to be careful. They should not tell the Soldier what do in the Plan of Action. They can guide them through the process but the Soldier has to come up with the final solution and they have to own that decision and responsibility. If the Chain of Command forces a course of action upon the Soldier and it blows up or does not produce the intended result you can bet the Soldier will turn around and blame leadership because....I did what the Chain of Command told me to do. They will blame you. Help them, guide them through the process, and let them find the course of action and own it.
I agree this process takes time, energy, and can be painful but in the end if the Soldier truly cares the results are amazing. All Leaders (everyday), have the ability to change a Soldiers life...sometimes we fail to realize that.
Just my 2 cents! Thanks for the Feedback!
I agree this process takes time, energy, and can be painful but in the end if the Soldier truly cares the results are amazing. All Leaders (everyday), have the ability to change a Soldiers life...sometimes we fail to realize that.
Just my 2 cents! Thanks for the Feedback!
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SGT Russell Chewning
CSM Mark Gerecht (Respectfully) And herein lies the issue with the question you asked.. What is a correctable mistake or an unforgiveable one depends on the point of view of the leader. The sports car example being given as an unforgiveable mistake completely ignores the inherent differences in judgement that people have. The soldier very well could have believed he could afford it. That makes him less intelligent, maybe. I think you and I are kn the same page re: that soldier. But your example of "bullying", does not take into account the ultra alpha jock who never knew any other way of interacting with peers, and is showing his respect for a fellow soldier by "bullying" them. That being said, I completely agree with your take on approaching the situation in a measured manner, taking the time to make sure the punishment fits the failure, and not just assuming the failure was malicious in nature.
Note: I do not approve of either of these, but some life experience, and a son with some level of manic depression, for whom impulsive behavior is an ongoing concern and challenge to hsi interactiins with others, has made me appreciably less hardcore on dropping the hammer on others, when i don't necessarily know the whole situation. I applaud your even handedness, CSM! I haven't been impressed with a few CSMs on here, but you are one...
Note: I do not approve of either of these, but some life experience, and a son with some level of manic depression, for whom impulsive behavior is an ongoing concern and challenge to hsi interactiins with others, has made me appreciably less hardcore on dropping the hammer on others, when i don't necessarily know the whole situation. I applaud your even handedness, CSM! I haven't been impressed with a few CSMs on here, but you are one...
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CSM Mark Gerecht
SGT Russell Chewning I sincerely appreciate your feedback. Together as leaders we have an immense responsibility to help shape, grow, and mentor the next generation of military leaders. Sometimes bullies never see their actions as bullying because that was the environment they grew up in. In this case education verse the hammer is appropriate. The earlier in the career the better.
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