Is Decreasing Morale really an Issue in the Army or are researchers focusing on the wrong issues?

2015-07-01T11:54:00-04:00

So over six years the US Army has spent close to $300 million for R2C (Ready Resilient Campaign) with the goal of boosting morale. According to a study by the Brooking Isntitute the results are unchanged. What, if any, are the issues leading to this?

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2015/06/29-iraq-afghanistan-us-military-morale-crisis?utm_campaign=Brookings+Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20009828&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8TrNeHJJ2i1x8wGqntFAJM-tAYMs-3xLehWhbDVINDSoy7rJHla0J3_IZZtsxzcP5XYeXnnXXhjLKy566JP4jbu_29zw&_hsmi=20009828

Iraq, Afghanistan, and the U.S. military’s morale “crisis”

Polls, studies, and the increasing frequency of suicide and drug abuse suggest that the U.S. Army and the military as a whole may be an institution in crisis. Raphael Cohen questions this perception, explaining that while the U.S. military has real problems, some are exaggerated and several are even improving. Cohen argues morale problems stem in part from concerns over the military’s accomplishments. The challenges...

Response by SFC Stephen King made Jul 1 at 2015 11:58 AM

2015-07-01T11:58:14-04:00

Focused on the wrong issues. Instead of a matrix on the probability of suicide use our resources to improve quality of life. Pay, Family and retirement or forced retirement

There is no way to predict one's actions. The knowledge of a person understanding they control only there thought's thereby drive their consequences which contain emotions, feel, and reactions, do, is the understanding that needs to be conveyed.

R2 is not a suicide prevention program it has that program as part of it's core.

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Jul 1 at 2015 12:04 PM

2015-07-01T12:04:38-04:00

Sir, this was a very interesting article. One thing to always remember is that the "experts" always seem to find information that supports whatever agenda they are paid to research.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 1 at 2015 1:00 PM

2015-07-01T13:00:23-04:00

I think attrition is setting in due to the long wars. The armies holistic medical approach is supposed provide magic bullets, but when a soldier has PTSD, that should be the focus.

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Jul 1 at 2015 1:15 PM

2015-07-01T13:15:06-04:00

I think it is a lot of both and the cause is (in my opinion) the leaders are too far removed from the field. Don't hire researcher to find out what is wrong, send a Senior to do a sensing session with groups of around 50 service members of each rank groups of at different posts, have a Solider ask Soldiers what makes them mad, sad, what could be done to improve the situation from the top. I know my moral issues are mostly from Congress crap, not from a lack of resiliency training.

Response by SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA made Jul 1 at 2015 1:53 PM

2015-07-01T13:53:22-04:00

Sir,
research paper aside, morale or lack thereof, it's a really simple issue to find out.
In my case, I've just arrived to my new unit, maybe 3 months ago. And the first thing I noticed was how low morale is.
Overworked soldiers, disorganized schedules, soldiers with family or personal issues are given grief when requesting time to deal with them (instead of supporting them), no training because we're always working (hence my disorganized schedule point earlier), leadership seemingly more interested about looking good (yes men) than looking out for soldiers, etc.

Granted we're not in the military for charity or to run a counseling camp, but when leaders forget that accomplishing the mission AND seeing about the welfare of our soldiers are THE 2 things that are specifically mentioned as our top priorities.

They are NOT exclusive and they are not disqualifying from each other.

Sensing sessions are there for a reason, and they should be done quarterly. Not whenever a commander is required to, or when soldiers ask for one. (Even if the request lingers in the orderly room, unread and not acted upon).

Some soldiers that go to the Aid Station or try to use the Army Medical System are sadly confronted with PA or RN eager to send soldiers back to their unit with nothing more than a Motrin.Sometimes it takes an act of congress to get a referral for a specialist, or xrays, or even an MRI. By the time an accurate diagnosis is made, the soldier is in so much pain that they resort to drinking. And we all know what happens when soldiers drink. Catch 22.

Open door policy? Good luck with that. Regulation forbids retaliation? Yeah...about that.

We're sent to the field and accordingly, our separate rats are stopped. 3 meals a day in reality amount to 2 small meals and 1 MRE. And because of the "shift distribution" some soldiers can only have 1 of those meals and the MRE. Of course the money is still taken for all 3 meals. So whats a hungry soldier to do in the field? Buy snacks from the Company fridge fund of course...so in addition to being short in money for meals that they are not getting...they have to spend their own money to buy something to eat. Makes no sense.

And now that we're gearing for a potential deployment, it's sad to see soldiers not confident that the unit they will deploy with, has their best interest in mind. The way they relay it is, "if they don't take care of us here in the US...how do we know they will take care of us there?"

Morale is low, yes it is. And it's down for a lot more than the "Pentagon" or the "academic big picture reasons".
I'm down from my soap box now sir.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 1 at 2015 6:26 PM

2015-07-01T18:26:25-04:00

I think our psyche is troubled because we assembled the best military team, and we are at a stalemate with vastly inferior teams.