Posted on Dec 23, 2018
Is it normal to get a negative counseling when you attend a voluntary training?
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Some of the NCO leadership hold what the consider informal voluntary trainings that help with professional development of junior enlisted. Things range from mock boards, to military knowledge study sessions, to Rick marches. I’ve noticed that my NCOIC has a tendency to give soldiers that don’t perform well at these trainings negative counseling statements. An example of this would be a solider was counseled for disrespecting a NCO. The soldier wasn’t blatantly disrespectful or acting up. His infraction was that during his mock board he was nervous and started fidgeting and kept breaking eye contact when speaking to the board members. His counseling stated that behavior like that will not be tolerated and that if it persists UCMJ action could be taken against the soldier. Another example would be we were holding a ruck and I informed my first line that I wouldn’t be at the ruck as it was pouring rain and I was still getting over a bad case of step. My NCOIC said he wants to counsel me for failing to show up when we were told it is a voluntary training.
Is it normal for NCOs to use circumstances like that to counseling soldiers for violating punitive articles in an environment that was explicitly presented as training, voluntary, and to help with professional development.
Is it normal for NCOs to use circumstances like that to counseling soldiers for violating punitive articles in an environment that was explicitly presented as training, voluntary, and to help with professional development.
Counseling
Training
Professional Development
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 12
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It seems like there should be more to this story. What your describing sounds irrational at best. You may be in a situation where you're being "strongly encouraged" to attend the training, even if it's not "mandatory."
The bottom line is that your NCO leadership has the freedom to counsel you as they see fit. This is because counseling is not and should not be punitive. In the worst case scenarios counseling statements are used to establish a pattern of misconduct and support administrative actions. I understand your frustration, but you don't really have a lot of recourse with a counseling statement. Your next step would probably be engaging your next level of leadership and asking them to explain why you were counseled.
The bottom line is that your NCO leadership has the freedom to counsel you as they see fit. This is because counseling is not and should not be punitive. In the worst case scenarios counseling statements are used to establish a pattern of misconduct and support administrative actions. I understand your frustration, but you don't really have a lot of recourse with a counseling statement. Your next step would probably be engaging your next level of leadership and asking them to explain why you were counseled.
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Most of the junior enlisted soldiers have never been to a board or have never been required to answer military knowledge questions in front of a board of NCOs, so they are nervous and trip up.
So, I understand counseling soldiers as a developmental tool to help us improve. Putting it on paper helps keep track of things we can work on.
It starts to feel like something else though when a soldiers nervousness during a mock board (ie; fidgeting and not keeping eye contact as cited in multiple counselings) is grounds to counsel for behavior that is disrespectful to an NCO. I know counselings aren’t punitive but disrespecting an NCO is and it’s offsetting that he is using counselings from voluntary training event as a way to, what feels like, weaponize someone being nervous.
It very much feels like our NCOIC is doing that; counseling us to create a pattern misbehavior, when the cited misbehavior is nerves at a training event.
So, I understand counseling soldiers as a developmental tool to help us improve. Putting it on paper helps keep track of things we can work on.
It starts to feel like something else though when a soldiers nervousness during a mock board (ie; fidgeting and not keeping eye contact as cited in multiple counselings) is grounds to counsel for behavior that is disrespectful to an NCO. I know counselings aren’t punitive but disrespecting an NCO is and it’s offsetting that he is using counselings from voluntary training event as a way to, what feels like, weaponize someone being nervous.
It very much feels like our NCOIC is doing that; counseling us to create a pattern misbehavior, when the cited misbehavior is nerves at a training event.
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Thanks for all feedback. The counseling’s just felt punitive. Even though I know they are not.
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