Is RallyPoint supposed to replace the chain of command and NCO support channel?

"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership"...GEN Colin Powell. It could be this very issue. What would concern me more is when we see SNCO's on here asking questions that PV2 Jones knew coming out of basic.

If they trusted their chain of command, or felt that their questions would be taken seriously, they would go to their command. I don't like blaming junior enlisted for not trusting their command. That is the command's fault.

This is quite possibly because the're scared to go to the're command because they've seen what happened to other soldiers

No it does not replace the NCO support channel or COC. But if some leaders would do the research and also answer the questions, the lower enlisted would not use this as their outlet. There are a lot of NCO's out there that do not want to help out their Soldiers at all.

"Replace"...no..."enhance"...yes.

I do not disagree with your comments about the two types of posts you see here but I do not think it is limited to just lower enlisted. I think you can expand it to posts that are truly seeking information and posts that are just rants, or self-promoting or the "angry Veteran" type posts.

RallyPoint is unique in that people can come here and get several different views of a topic outside of their Chain of Command or NCO Support Channel. Does that mean Service Members should not seek answers from these sources? No, of course they should use these powerful tools but lets face it, as Leaders we do not always have the best answer. Sure, we can research and find out, but I think it speaks loudly for the leadership potential of younger service members to try and find the answers themselves and/or to seek secondary views to an issue. I also think it forces us as leaders to do a better job and to support younger service members because I am sure the last thing a leader wants to do is come on RallyPoint and see one of their Soldiers on here talking ill of their Chain of Command or NCO Support Channel.

I'll be honest here, when I was in, if I had a resources like RP, I would have had people I could of reached out to for advice on how to improve my situation and better myself, rather than being thrown under the bus as I had, and stonewalled by my chain of command.

Actually, I remember the days when all moaning and bitching was the purview of the chaplains. Weren't we supposed to take our problems to them to have our "TS" cards punched?

Soldiers in my opinion are getting promoted to quickly and soon our ranks will feel the effects. For instance these newly promoted E-6/E-7's who have only been in the military 6-10 years have not had the ability to mold themselves or allowed themselves to be mentored by a SNCO. This failure will only lead to poor decision making, poor leadership, poor moral and you will see a military force crumble under scrutiny and scandals.

The military has become a pomp and circumstance/showmanship competition, and what I mean by this is; Soldiers are required to complete online training (SSD, ETC. and fluff their way through it (cheat)) just to get to the next rank. They also don't earn awards like past Soldiers before them, they have become an entitled Force and think everything should be given to them, much like society has become with this younger generation. Soldiers have forgotten a lot of the time honored traditions that come with wearing the military uniform. It's not about the badges or how bad ass you look in your uniform or your Oakley sunglasses. It's a privilege and honor to wear this uniform that says " US ARMY" across your chest.

In my opinion rank, awards and recognition should be earned at all levels. Too many times I have witnessed Soldiers be given awards they didn't deserve or earn but their young leadership didn't want to put in the work to truly award the correct individuals. I have witnessed too many Soldiers receive coins of excellence for no such reason at all other than they showed up in a clean uniform. Today's force and leadership need to take a long hard look at everything we do and don't do as leaders.

Don't take my opinion with hostility or bitterness. I love putting the United States Army Uniform on everyday and believe me I am not a perfect Soldier but I strive to be a great leader and earn the respect of my leadership and peers daily by putting the needs of my Soldiers, Unit, State and the United States before my own. I don't do what I love for the awards, recognition or accolades. I do this job because I value, honor and respect the past Soldiers who wore this uniform before me and want to mentor and lead the Soldiers along side me that are serving today.

Maybe because our NCO's response is to Google it. As a junior enlisted I have been told to "just Google it and figure it out yourself" many a times. As opposed to when I get on RP and am given answers with actual help and links to do more research myself on the matter. Perhaps it is because, and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, NCO's are getting complacent with their junior enlisted.

Personally, I feel there is a twofold answer here. One, the youngsters are more accustomed to relations via social media than we older folks are. It could even be said that some are more comfortable in this kind of relationship than they are in a real face to face connection. Second, lets be honest, this is far easier than actually approaching their leadership. Real hard to get your feelings hurt in here... It's not real after all.

I think you are seeing a projection of current social media culture into the military. Many of our soldiers, especially the juniors lived most of their lives in a world where the easiest option is to get answers off the social network. It makes sense that this would extend to the military.

I too get amazed sometimes that someone spends time on some topics that are easily found on the first page of a Google search. The social media habit is the only thing i can think of.

An excellent discussion topic. Asking for assistance in locating this or finding that is one thing. But I believe you've hit on a delicate point. I believe some people are seeking serious advice or looking to build support for an issue outside of their C of C. To your question, I don't think RP was designed or intended to replace command leadership. But a number of discussion postings have raised some doubt whether or not various SMs are not, in fact, using RP for that very purpose. A very unwise decision on their part. "Hey, Lieutenant, some people on a military Internet site told me to tell you to shove it where the sun don't shine!!!" Uh, huh.

No, this does not replace Chain or Support Channels. This is meant as a place to chat with fellow service members but also to augment both of the above.

Sometimes the Command is 8^ from the top down.

It took a Social Media site to call out CSM Flournoy and then the Soldiers experiences with her in previous Commands came out of the woodwork.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Id prefer the word augment...
And then ask yourself.. where is the issue?

If the Sm is unable, unwilling to ask those questions of the squad leader, section sergeant, platoon sergeant,. PL.. WHY?

Were they not taught that was proper and advisable? (Leadership failure)
Are they too scared of an abusive response? (Leadership failure)
Have they tried before and received only platitudes or nonsense response, but not actual guidance allowing them to discover a solution or reasonable help to solve the problem? (leadership failure)
Or have that had all of that handed to them and choose to not ask the question in a quest to "find the answer on there own, thus impressing the leadership of thier ability to make it happen...

Of course it's just as likely they are a dirtbag , to lazy , to inept to open a book, read a policy letter

The overall Command climate in the the Chain of Command will determine how well lower enlisted will respond to their leadership. Leaders, who do not communicate or give clear guidance and guideline will develop poor soldiers. Trust is a two way street and Leaders who take the time to follow up with their Soldiers and continue to develop and mentoring their Soldiers will understand what motivates their Soldiers. This, I believe will develop good soldiers who will not come up on SIR and Blotter Reports. A leader has to have the mindset of continually understanding human relationships and developing good interpersonal skills, which takes time and experience and personal development. Many leader's and Soldiers will always default to their last good and bad Leader's who led or did not lead by example. If good leadership is around these SM's will look at their NCO support channel in a very positive way and will want them to emulate their leaders. That's why we have SGT's Time and NCOPD to continue the development of all SM's to prepare for the next conflict or war.

No but there are many reasons I feel that drive this -

1) Using RP as a sounding board - doing research
2) Playing devil's advocate and vetting information
3) Looking to capitalize on the experience on RP
4) Complaints about poor leadership - they want to try resolve the issue without getting the CoC involved
5) There's a real underlying issue with their NCOIC or CoC
6) Jr SM's are not well informed - no such thing as a stupid question mentality.
7) Leadership allowing SM's to be lazy
8) Millennials - there's an app for that - really there is.
9) Instant gratification
10) Getting something off their chest - venting.

However regardless the SNCO or CoC needs to invest a little time and drill down to see what's really going on - is it a matter of getting the jr pointed in the right direction or holding their peers accountable to their troops. Hey I've had many LT's ask me questions - never thought of it as a hit on them though more so an opportunity to inform and train them.

RallyPoint, like ADP, Central Army Registry (CAR), etc. is a resource. Having been a PV1 trying to read a reg is like trying to read the user manual to an Atomic Plant ... in Mandarin, and it sucks if you only speak Cantonese.

REF: "lazy and not doing their own research?"
Possibly. But when I do respond I will provide the AR and the para. Depending on how convoluted the reading, I will interpret as best I can IAW the couple of days of which I served, which is pretty much what their FLL's will do anyway.

With many of the answers I've seen from other members, it's better they get the answers here than from the Private News Network.

No it should not, I have the same complaint. This site encourages going outside of the chain of command for alot of basic questions. I tend to stay away from questions that should be left for first line leadership. I also try to point the answer to lead the service member back to his unit. Many will not agree with my response but the chain of command should be the first place a service member goes for questions. I feel this site should be used as a forum to share information but in no way should replace or devalue tge chain of command. I never respond to those that are complaining. I do feel that they should be pointed in the right direction but not always given the answer and to be encouraged to use their chain of command. Great post! SFC Bradshaw

Working in JAG I get asked questions on a daily basis that should be answered by other sections. It seems if you throw the work "legal" into your question then it is for JAG to answer. It would be something like, "JAG is it legal to promote my Soldier early if he is doing a good job?" That's not a legal question, it is a G1 (personnel) question and there is a regulation that tells you the requirements for an advanced promotion. I feel too many people aren't willing to research information and therefore go straight to a source they think will help them. If lower enlisted are asking questions here then they probably feel comfortable in asking. Maybe they don't believe in their leaders or are afraid to ask in fear of looking stupid. We need to educate these individuals on where to find the answers. Though I get tired of being asked questions that are not of a legal nature I will always help those who ask me. Whether it is in the office, on the street, or here on RallyPoint, I will always attempt to help someone who has a question. I too learn from these and that in turn makes me a better leader.