Posted on Jul 24, 2015
CSM Michael J. Uhlig
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A Soldier overhears a NCO talking about his favorite food (pizza) and that he is hungry but has to do a barracks check before leave for the day.

The Soldier uses a temp check to buy pizza.....while the NCO is checking the barracks, the Soldier offers the NCO pizza and the NCO eats several slices. The NCO does not offer the Soldier any money and continues checking the common areas before leaving the barracks.

A week later, the Soldier is getting counseled for bouncing a check and says the NCO insinuated he wanted some pizza....what did the NCO do that was off course, what did the Soldier do that was not advisable? What would YOU do (you are senior to both) in this scenario?
Posted in these groups: Leadership development Leadership DevelopmentLeadership abstract 007 Leadership
Edited >1 y ago
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Responses: 61
1SG Chris Wunsch
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So in the time the NCO made the statement about liking pizza, the Soldier ordered a pizza, had it delivered and offered it to the NCO. In less than a week, a notice was sent to the command about the NSF?
There are three sides to every story, the privates, the NCOs and the truth. The problem I see is yes, the NCO ate several slices of pizza, but there is little chance the Soldier ordered it for the NCO. The timeline is just off. Hold the Soldier accountable. Counsel the Soldier for NSF, teach him how to balance a checkbook and then counsel this over entitled NCO for using his position for personal gain and not offering any reimbursement.
This is a poor example of millenial Soldiers on both sides of the story.
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SGM Retired
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1SG Chris Wunsch I think you are getting to the point of the issue. We are reading about this 3rd hand, not doing the actual investigation. This sounds to me like an exercise from NCO Leadership for Dummies. There is no right answer - there are just points to be discussed and lessons, like look for the truth which may be different than any of the stories.
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SFC Civil Affairs Specialist
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CSM King,

This isnt a loan to pay a mortgage, or a "friendly" game of poker. A soldier offered to buy something relatively inexpensive, for his senior. This kind of things play out daily. SQ LDR leaves his wallet in his car, and somebody spots him. Could be his joe if its just them two. Of course you would insist on repayment, but i see no real crime here, maybe a lack of common courtesy not immediately returning the money at the earliest convenience.

The real issue is why hasnt this soldiers squad leader gave him wise counsel on proper money management. Further more, there is a bit of personal responsibility here, in that it doesn't matter your rank, your not a child and should at least have a clue whats in your bank account. This one is squarely on joe, however NCO should feel a bit shamed not having payed back.
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SGT Neil Doty
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I would say both are in the wrong one the lower enlisted shi ulcer have bounced a check thats his fault and deserves the counseling and maybe financial management class. 2nd the senior should of said he was ok and not excepted an offer from lower enlisted.
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SSG John Erny
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I was offered a slice of Pizza from the unit Idiot just before deploying, I said no. Glad I did, he was a problem the whole deployment. He was a transfer from another branch of service. Blue to green does not always work!
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MSG Intermediate Care Technician
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As the senior to both, I would have to gather more information on this one first. I would ask the NCO, in the course of the "would like some pizza" comment was the Junior Enlisted asked by the NCO to acquire the pizza for him? I would ask the Junior why he felt compelled to buy the pizza? Was Junior Enlisted just wanting to take care of the NCO and ensure that the NCO actually gets some chow? Was the Junior trying to butter up to the NCO? I would then turn and ask the NCO if they offered to chip in on the pizza after taking some slices? I would ask why the NCO did not respectfully decline the pizza and "COM"? I would also ask why the Junior was using temp checks and was not properly tracking and maintaining proper financial responsibility.

Depending on how those questions were answered, that would dictate the response from me. If, the Junior got the pizza without being asked by the NCO (whether being concerned or buttering up) that the bounced check is on them and they will face the piper for that. I would counsel the NCO that to never put themselves in that kind of situation without at least offering to recoup the Soldier at least some money for the gesture. The Juniors immediate NCO (if not the one that had the slices) would also be chatted with for not knowing or fully understanding the financial strain the Soldier is having and stress MilitaryOneSource.
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MSgt Mayo Sifford
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Much ado about nothing.
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PO1 Daniel Ladd
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The Soldier never should have ordered the pizza as he didn't have the money in his checking account to cover the cost of the pizza. The NCO never should have accepted the offer to eat the pizza. The NCO was assigned the inspection and was in the barracks on official duty and therefore should have declined the offer to eat pizza. I would counsel the NCO on his conduct and failure to conduct the official business without delay and interuption. I would also would counsel the Soldier about his decision to "float his check" and his interruption of the NCO during his "Official Inspection" of the barracks. I would also recommend to the Solder that he enroll in and attend a class in Financial Planning and Budget Management and to report back to me upon completion of the class.
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SSG Richard Stevens
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As an NCO, you do not let your soldiers buy you pizza the NCO should know better. The NCO should pay for the bounced check.
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SFC Joseph McCausland
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The NCO's statement was leading and the inference of wanting someone to buy him pizza was present; however, that doesn't constitute actions on the Soldier's part. Whether the Soldier bought the pizza because he just wanted to be nice to the NCO and "squelch" his hunger pains or did it to curie favor, either way, in this case the incident and subsequent disciplinary actions falls 100% on the Soldier.
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Sgt SHF Satellite Communications Operator-Maintainer
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That's on the junior dude lmao is this a joke lol he didn't tell him to order pizza and he surely didn't tell him to bounce a check lmao
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