How would you react to an E2 who "smart mouths" you in formation?

had this happen one time in 26 years! i put his ass on "Auto-Scuff" and the problem never repeated itself.

I would kill him and bring the two individuals that the Private spends his time with on an island hopping campaign as well as my direct line supervisor! If the private refused to comply I would then have him watch as I killed his teammates on an island, if the Private does not come to the aide of their teammates step it up. I would then get the rest of the squad or platoon and kill them all, while the private watches! Now the trick here is to not order the private after the second time, because now you need to see as well as have the rest of your soldiers see if the Private will just let them die or not! The last important thing is if the Private asked to join them do not let them do it right away, you need to get them to plead with you but not beg and you need to have them tell you why they want or need to join the team! Also do not forget to continuously tell the team they are suffering because the Private to you good to do the same work as them! The Private is more important than they are! The Private sees themself above the rest of them and would not want to bring themself down to the teams level to save them from any pain or discomfort let alone save any of their lives if they have the chance!!!!

Spanking

This is just me. I’m not an nco yet but I am an E4 promotable, in my mos you are responsible for subordinates due to how small our mos is and a lack of actual E5s. I have been put in this exact same situation. “Private does this sound like a fucking suggestion ? If you don’t take your ass downstairs and do XYZ you will have alot more to worry about than a fucking counseling“. this also is dependent on the soldier. No two soldiers are the same. You have to know your soldiers. Some soldiers you have to pull aside and see what’s going on. Yes we signed a contract but we are all human. Sometimes people go through shit and you as a leader may have to adjust fire

Dude: That's an automatic Article 15, no questions asked. Insubordination. Live and learn.

Whenever I was assigned to a leadership position in a new company I would get all the soldiers together and tell them what they could expect from me and what I expected from them, followed by a Q & A session. I would dismiss the soldiers, with the exception of the Sqd and Tm Ldrs. I would inform them that I held them to a higher standard, expected more from them and have their back, right or wrong and if they were wrong, I would let them know about it. If they have been or are mistreating any SMS, they needed to stop or I would smoke them like a bad cigar. I did have one new soldier try me in formation,bso I stopped what I was doing, got in the SMS face, reached in my left breast pocket, pulled out a card and read the SM his of his Article 31 rights under the UCMJ. I remember his eyes getting big, especially when I asked him if he understood his rights. His attitude changed and when I asked him if he had any problem with doing what was required of him he said "No Sergeant", will there be any further problems or questions with what I say in the future, "No Sergeant". I nipped it in the bud right then and there. I had no problems with any of the SMS assigned under me and word got out that I was a no nonsense/bullshit NCO and I had no problems with any soldiers within the company. However, different situations require different approaches.

Whenever I arrived to a new company and placed in a leadership position I always had a sit down with the soldiers assigned under me. I always told them what they could expect from me and exactly what I expected from them, followed by a Q & A session. I would them dismiss the soldiers to do their daily work assignments, with the exception of Sqd and Tm Ldrs. I would tell them that my expectations of them were a lot higher and I would smoke them like a bad cigar if I ever found out that they had/are mistreating one of our soldiers. I remember this happening to me when I was an E-6 Plt. Sgt. I stopped what I was saying, approached the SM, reached in my left breast pocket, pulled out my Article 31 card and read them their right under the UCMJ. Scared, I would rather say scared shirtless. This showed everyone that I was a no nonsense NCO. After that face to face, word got out that I took no bullshit and I never had a problem with anyone in my platoon or out of my platoon within the company. However, different situations require different approaches.

I learned early you don't talk back to a sgt at a E2 level

Choke the little bastard

A little time in the brig or stockade would take care of that problem. You can't have a mutiny among the troops. You let them get away with it, then the rest of the troops will become slackers. What you do has to be fast and quick to nip it in the bud.