Posted on Jul 23, 2015
SFC Civil Affairs Specialist
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One of the most frustrating things I see in today's military is this constant stench of avoiding any risks. If you want to do anything outside the box, it requires and act of God. This week our TM decided on cutting work early and heading out for a run to the lake, and going for a swim. We asked the CMDR and he simply said "have fun". I respect the fact he trust us to bring a small medic pac, hydration sources, and use sound judgment when swimming. Whats more, is it speaks to his ability to make decisions on the fly, improvise, think outside the norms, and trust our ability to be responsible. This rant is not directed at my unit at all, but some of the other more "conventional " units ive seen in my career

The redundant T.r.i.p.s you fill out before leave even if your driving to a local airport to catch a flight, risk assessment to take a vehicle from the Motorpool to HQ, pt belts when cutting grass in mid day all serve very little in practical sense, but are done non the less to check the block and cover ones ass. This has breed, in my opinion, a culture of scared leadership.

The point im trying to drive home is that mitigating unnecessary risks is a sound approach no one will question. However, it seems most of these layers of red tape are emplaced not for any actual risk mitigation other than leaving a paper trail. You want to mitigate risk? Have joe mow the grass for pt with his top off so doesn't collapse in the middle of the day in ft. Hood. He will break a nice sweat too. But i can already see the "but what if a.... Cuts his little arm" shpeel coming.
Posted in these groups: Leadership abstract 007 LeadershipRisk management logo Risk Management
Edited 10 y ago
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LTC Hardware Test Engineer
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last deployment: DIV CSM policy was body armor, elbow and knee pads, ACH and eye pro at all times INSIDE the wire because you never know when we might get indirect fire. The really stupid part was you had to wear a PT belt over your body armor. So, you know, a sniper could see you better at night.
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1SG Military Police
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Some of the nonsense was cut out by SecDef Mattis before he left. Commander's (top down) delegate what risk decisions that are comfortable with to what their subordinate commanders have purview over. This provides structure to hopefully curtail both the micromanager that is too risk averse to the point Soldiers are bored because of excessive limitations and the rogue agent that disregards safety to do the "really cool" stuff.
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SCPO Jason McLaughlin
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Risk aversion/mitigation has increased as a direct result of social media. There was a time when, so long as no one got killed, no one cared. Enter the age of pinning ceremony videos being posted online, and all of a sudden military traditions came under civilian scrutiny. Giving the service a black eye is a quick way to ensure an early "retirement". Now every person carries a video recorder. In todays highly-charged political climate, it is no wonder that the aversion to anything that can result in public outcry is on the rise.
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Capt Retired
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This IS NOT limited to the military. Fear of litigation drives way too many decisions.
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