Never volunteer! Is what I was told...

2015-01-07T18:52:53-05:00

We have all been told little bits of advice from Senior NCOs or prior service vets...no I heard a lot was to never volunteer. Is this true across all the services? We're they right?
I had many awesome opportunities for schools and even short little deployments fall into my lap because of my tendency to raise my hand.
I guess for me, I'd rather volunteer and then be voluntold.
One particular scenario, in formation the Plt Sgt said raise your hands if you know how to type, so I raised my hand...this landed me six months in S1 until we got a replacement. However because I excelled in the position, I firmly believe I was chosen to go to two schools I would never have been able to go to; Airborne and Ranger...so NOT volunteering isn't always what's it's been made to be...or am I wrong. I figured this as well, my enlistment was a volunteer, I will try and get as much out of it as possible.

Do you as a leader want someone running a mission that doesn't want to be there, or would you rather have a few gung-ho team players getting the job done?

Anyone else have a similar volunteer 'positive' experience.

The lesson thst I learned from this as a leader, when you ask for a volunteer, make sure it isn't always a punishment -- reward your troops for volunteering.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 7:36 PM

2015-01-07T19:36:54-05:00

Troops come in two categories: Volunteer or Voluntold, Which are you?

Response by Sgt Martin V. made Jan 7 at 2015 8:06 PM

2015-01-07T20:06:48-05:00

In my short experience I learned that volunteering when my section leader yelled " I need X number of Marines!" would build me a reputation for getting things done and he would also tell me to get my hand down and that I volunteer enough and voluntell others.

Also, before I left for boot camp I would hear the "Don't volunteer for anything!" from people that have never served... hmmm... glad I made my own decisions.

Also, by the time I was a Corporal and had other Marines under me, I DID want to train those that wanted to learn. Granted I am an NCO and tried to train all the Marines I could with the Satcomm stuff, one or two stood out that really wanted to learn so I tried to transfer all of my knowledge to them before I EAS'd

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 8:34 PM

2015-01-07T20:34:24-05:00

I always volunteer due to the fact if the project ends up sucking I can complain all I want versus those who didn't. Plus volunteering is good on evals and makes you stand out. One fun volunteer event I went to had us working with the Philippine Navy at an orphanage. Together we helped clean up the property after a storm hit, helped redo some of the rooms, and brought toys, food, and gifts for the children. It was awesome and I wish the guys I met had Facebook but I'm pretty sure there would've been a language barrier.
Yes there were volunteer projects that sucked. Like going to the military schools on base and crushing cans. I decided right then and there to never drink an energy drink because the smell that came from them was horrendous. Never had one never will. After you have to smell all of that for 20 minutes before you go clean something else you don't tend to want it anymore. Not to mention your boots would stick to everything afterwards. (Luckily we had an awesome second class who ran the program who would hose off our boots for us afterwards.)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 10:12 PM

2015-01-07T22:12:04-05:00

I remember at least three incidents where volunteering paid off.

At Ayers Kaserne, Germany we were in formation and our PSG asked for two volunteers for a detail. I don’t know why, but a good buddy and I were quick to raise our hands. We had no idea what the detail was. It turned out that after final formation we were to be trucked to the German town of Wetzlar and have a free schnitzel dinner and all the free beer we wanted at some social event with a German infantry unit. The picture is me(right) and my buddy SPC Coventry drinking some Licher Bier with German panzer grenadiers (mech infantry).

The next time was at Fort Stewart when one company from our battalion was going to participate in operation Bright Star in Egypt. They needed to be at full strength, so I volunteered. It turned out to be a great experience. It's where I received my first AAM. I even managed a few trips into Cairo to see the pyramids and Sphinx. The picture is me on the camel at Giza Plateau.

The third time was at Baumholder, Germany. They needed a volunteer to for bus driver training. I stepped up. While some hated having the occasional extra duty of driving a bus when everyone else was off, there were many occasions when everyone else had some sort of crap duty and I drove the bus. One time most of my company was performing brigade duties, whether it was guard or brigade SDNCO runner, or some other crap, and I was tasked with taking a group of Army dependants to a German amusement park, Europa Park. I was allowed to bring my family also.

Volunteering has worked out well for me.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 10:12 PM

2015-01-07T22:12:28-05:00

Another instance:
Company Commander said he needed about 10 volunteers, I didn't have anything planned, so I raised my hand...Come to find out some professional Football team had donated some 100 tickets to the Marines at the last minute. I got to take my (ex-wife, puke, gag, choke) and got off for the rest of the day...Couldn't believe it. Some times it pays to be a winner.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 10:22 PM

2015-01-07T22:22:22-05:00

And yet another instance:
We were short Marines to go to Somalia, so they asked for a couple of volunteers from all the sections. I proceeded to volunteer with my (still best friend) and guess what?....we were tasked to fill a C-130 with equipment and vehicles for delivery to Somalia...two of us were the only ones on the plane, besides the crew...and it took a long time to get there.

There are two things Marines love...CHOW....and SLEEP. I got sick in Somalia and thought I was going to die, but we were there around the time Black Hawk Down took place. It was a good experience...however, I had some explaining to do. We were having a good-bye party at our apartment off base, and another one of our co-workers spoke out loud to my then spouse, that he wished he had volunteered like we did...I had told my then wife that we were tasked to go to Somalia...it wasn't a total lie.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 10:49 PM

2015-01-07T22:49:38-05:00

I think the "Never volunteer for anything" mentality is a left over from the draft days where soldiers, were trying to do as little as possible, finish their tour, and get home. If you were a draftee and this wasn't you, please accept my apologies.

As for me, I've volunteered for everything. In fact, I usually have tried to predict what needed to be done and do it without ever having to volunteer. During OSUT, on at least on occasion, I had a DS yell down the hall, "I need volunteers, anybody but Brainard!" It has certainly paid off. I got promoted to SGT with aprox. 3 years time in service.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 11:27 PM

2015-01-07T23:27:34-05:00

I never open my mouth about this issue at work. But it shouldn't matter what the task is or whos asking. When something needs to get done just get it done. My military career is still young. However, I did have a life before the Army and in my experience the more initiative you show and the faster you work as a team, especially when there's a bs task at hand the quicker you can go home to the family.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 11:49 PM

2015-01-07T23:49:12-05:00

That is the stupidest advice every given. Paying forward ensures humility and perspective. Even sadder when human rights are denied veterans and a closed mind towards drug users and various types of offenders. Compassion is not something one can overlook and by the Grace of God go we.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2015 11:58 PM

2015-01-07T23:58:39-05:00

We had a few nuggets of wisdom along this thread when I was in the Navy...

First and foremost was to remember that Navy stood for "Never Again Volunteer Yourself" (a point driven home to me being a Submarine "volunteer" in boot camp and not wanting to do Submarines after I washed out of Nuclear Power School and not being given the choice, even if it did work out well).
The next precious kernel was "If you do something well, chances are you'll get stuck doing it." This was followed closely by "Anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed."

All of these example are, of course, tongue in cheek...

Response by TSgt Jackie Jones made Jan 8 at 2015 1:06 AM

2015-01-08T01:06:07-05:00

I volunteered for everything. Even though my cousin who was already in told me not to. I believe because of this I gained more experience in more areas than my peer that chose not to volunteer. I was recognized for this and then asked to do things others were not. That's just the person I am n

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2015 1:19 AM

2015-01-08T01:19:20-05:00

I guess I don't understand the reasoning behind not volunteering for anything. In my experience, volunteering to do the "hard" jobs that nobody else wants to do pays off every time. You can either sit around and complain about something, or you can do something to fix it, no matter what it is.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2015 2:39 AM

2015-01-08T02:39:31-05:00

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member, I won't retype the whole post, but if you take a look at the 7-in-7 thread that's trending right now, you can see exactly why I'm with you l. Volunteer whenever you can. More often than not, it will lead to good things.

Response by SSG Christopher Parrish made Jan 8 at 2015 10:08 AM

2015-01-08T10:08:50-05:00

I actually like to volunteer for details. I am of the mindset that I enlisted to do the most I can for my country and now my state. Volunteering gives one the opportunity to sometimes learn more than they normally would, thus becoming more valuable and useful. You can also get some pretty sweet details from time to time.

As others have pointed out already, you may wind up being told that you volunteer enough and to not worry about it others will be voluntold. In my experience, this tends to happen most when the detail is not very desirable and the Sr. NCO rewards you for your previous willingness to get the job done by giving you a pass on that specific task.