Is it difficult for junior enlisted in the Army to access career counselors, financial specialists, admin personnel, etc.?

TSgt Carl Johnson — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 15:30:11 -0400

I've noticed a lot of currently serving military members asking questions on RP that should have been taken to their chain of command or a specialty office - or simply looked up in a regulation. While they are not the only ones, members of the Army seem to be much more prevalent than the other branches. I'm just curious as to whether or not this is part of a cultural difference between the different branches.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 3:57 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 15:57:59 -0400

I do not think it's a cultural difference. Sometimes it's just quite her and more convenient to ask a question and seek advice on a social media platform rather than head to a career counselor at first. However, to answer your question, junior are more than welcome to head to their career counselors office as well.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 4:08 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 16:08:51 -0400

Eh. As long as the soldier gets the answer my ego isn’t damaged if they get it from someone else. If it’s something that is clearly a chain of command issue, like “why do I have to pull staff duty” well...go pound sand kid.

If it’s “where can I find policy on xxx” we’re just a snarkier version of google for them to use.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 4:11 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 16:11:12 -0400

I cannot speak for other branches, but typically in the Army if a junior soldier needs information from outside sources, like Human Resources, career counselors, etc, they usually have to go through their first line supervisors. This is to ensure you don’t have 100 privates a day going to S1 to get HR information when it’s very possible that the experience of the chain of command could have gotten it faster based off of their prior knowledge. Asking on here is more of a sense of community and not a lack of trust in leadership. I enjoy getting on here and asking questions because I get to learn different types of leadership compared to what I’m use to.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 4:14 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 16:14:18 -0400

There are several components that contribute to this trend.

1. There is a culture of going to social media first to ask a question. It's easier then getting up and finding your FLL.

2. Search Engine algorithms point people to RP almost right away. I tested this by asking on Google : "can my squad leader keep me in my room?". A similar RP post was the first thing that was listed.

3. I imagine many times, troops hear things from barracks lawyers, or don't like what they hear from legitimate sources, and think they can find the answer they want, or at least a different opinion from the community.

I find it amusing that so many regulation questions are asked. I often cut and paste the same question into a search engine and find the regulation within less then a minute. Makes me wonder why they don't just look a bit harder. Maybe they just want the influence points (for all the good they are worth)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 5:21 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:21:10 -0400

Not at all. I am a career counselor and I see Soldiers all day long. A lot of these questions come up because RP is the Easy Button. A good example is that one of the guys in my unit posted a reclass question on here one day. I’ve talked with him several times prior about reclass jobs and he works about 200 feet from me.

The other issue is that when Soldiers go to their Personnel Admin shops they talk to a junior Soldier who may have never seen a specific situation and so they tell the Soldier that it can’t be done. Also, the Army now has all the finance people separated from the unit and the Admin Personnel have to process all the finance paperwork. So, you have S1 personnel who are 42A’s trying to answer questions that should be asked to experienced 36B’s or DFAS personnel. To make it worse, the finance section on our post isn’t actually finance either, they are more like a customer service station who receives the paperwork and sends it to DFAS. So it’s nearly impossible to talk to an actual finance person.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 5:51 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:51:24 -0400

Typically in the Army, junior enlisted don't usually get to go to the company orderly room alone. Mine has a sign that says if you're not SSG and above, get a PAC slip I think.

For S1, it depends on the S1 shop. Sometimes they want junior enlisted to have their NCO with or something from their NCO ultimately because we like to babysit in the Army. Sometimes you have people who need it...sometimes not.

I usually am in an S2 when I'm in a battalion or brigade so I know people in the other staff sections and can go straight to them.

But there are a lot of soldiers who don't ask their leadership or don't go look up a regulation before coming here. Some people may have crappy leaders but that should be the first place they ask first.

Career counselors/retention - you shouldn't need to go through a NCO to go to retention. Branch managers - I don't think I talked to my branch manager until I was a SSG.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2020 6:36 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 18:36:11 -0400

I think a lot of people come here because if they ask what they feel is a dumb question 1) their first line doesn’t know and 2) they aren’t patronized bu their chain of command or their buddies cuz honestly I’m E5 but I’ve been out of the game a little over a year and I’m getting thrown back in and I’m scrambling to relearn and try and remember all of the things I forgot and dumped after being out

Response by SSG Brian G. made Aug 3 at 2020 7:56 PM

SSG Brian G. — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 19:56:11 -0400

Nope, it is not difficult at all for a SM of any rank to access career counselors, financial specialists, admin personnel and the like. It is rather easy. There has been a change in the culture of the Army over the years and not for the better. This has to do with training mostly. Training and guidance. And drilling it into the SM's head to speak with your first line supervisor first.

Response by SGT Greg Strickland made Aug 4 at 2020 11:10 AM

SGT Greg Strickland — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 11:10:01 -0400

In my experience, it varies by command. Some commands have a climate that discourages troops from asking questions, while others are a lot better about it. Going through a supervisor before leaving work is normal and expected, of course, but some supervisors (for whatever reason, there are many both legit and not) never seem to release their soldiers in time for them to get what they need. And even if you do get released, if the resource you need to see isn't available it doesn't really help much (this seems to be a more stereotypically prevalent problem with career counselors).

For example, if the motor sergeant only releases his mechanics for lunch and COB, then they're never going to have time to get an answer. Some of those questions then wind up here and in similar places in the course of trying to find out on their own, and others just give up eventually. Or, if run over to the retention office but it's never open when you can get there, then that office can't answer your questions anyway (I had two like that, myself, had to catch the guy at PT or formation, never seemed to ever actually be in their office). Some of those you can then try to get through email these days (like retention), but others not so much (like HR).

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 4 at 2020 11:47 AM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 11:47:18 -0400

I think that despite all the technology that enables the collective knowledge of Mankind to pop into one's hands within a second or two, Soldiers get too used to asking someone else for answers that they themselves could get. The answer(s) they get may not be the correct one either, another reason to look it up yourself.

In my experience, in the Army, there is a stunning lack of initiative by leaders and junior Soldiers alike to seek out and absorb knowledge of things Army and otherwise. I am continually amazed at the lack of ability to use proper spelling and grammar, all the way up to knowing vital Army regulations, some that could either save or end one's career. Even more frightening is that this lack of knowledge is fiercely defended; it's like some jealously guard their total lack of information on certain subjects, and refuse to be instructed.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 4 at 2020 2:43 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:43:29 -0400

Statistically speaking numbers wise I don't think the Army sticks out anymore than the ratio it is larger than all the other services.

Response by SMSgt Bob Wilson made Aug 4 at 2020 3:30 PM

SMSgt Bob Wilson — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:30:47 -0400

Three reasons [1] Lazy [2] can't read and [3] scared of the chain of command. This really applies to all branches with the big reason being "LAZY". This site is good for gripes because the individual is lazy.

Response by TSgt David Holman made Aug 5 at 2020 12:05 AM

TSgt David Holman — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 00:05:13 -0400

TSgt Carl Johnson I don't think it is a lack of access to resources, some junior enlisted either might honestly not know where to turn, or are uncomfortable going to their front line supervision. It could also very well come down to they have looked for the answers locally and are either looking for confirmation, or for a way around.
In my opinion, this can be a great opportunity for younger troops to ask questions. While I have seen more than enough of the "can I wear uniform piece A with uniform B" or "why can't I wear my uniform to my graduation" type questions, being able to point a young service member in the right direction is an honor. Usually, it involves sending them back to their chain with a better idea of how to approach a situation, or with a recommended solution to offer instead of a gripe. I've been around long enough to know that not every NCO is a good leader, and not every junior enlisted member is comfortable with going to them.

Response by TSgt Carl Johnson made Aug 5 at 2020 2:12 AM

TSgt Carl Johnson — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 02:12:03 -0400

I am impressed with the insightful, respectful comments that all of you have made in response to this question. To those of you who are still serving, I believe that the future of our forces is in good hands if you can mentor those coming up behind you.