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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.
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.
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 14
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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.
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.
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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.)
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.)
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
PO2 (Join to see) Great story about Energy drinks...good thing that you don't, the high dose of electrolytes and caffeine and sugar throw your heart into arrhythmia...not something you want. I certainly had some details that sucked...but nothing is worse than sitting around with nothing to do...I always wanted to do something over nothing.
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Davis Jr. you just have to pick the middle of the road don't you....I suppose a middle of the road troop is perfectly possible. So describe yourself in regards to the subject. A team player,..........
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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.
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.
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