On the spot corrections in public; when is it appropriate?

I was a young PO3 in the USN. I was relaxing in a public area and removed my cover. It was a Long hot day, I had competed my daily tour and was just taking a moment for ME.

I CPO (Not in Our Squadron), approached me as I relaxed. He asked if I was stationed at Coronado, and who my Command CO/XO, and CPO were. He quickly went on to state how well I looked in my Uniform. Then asked if I had intended to purposely disrespect the Men/Women that went before me in UNIFORM, and if I didn't appreciate WHY I wore the UNIFORM, he would be glad to inform My Command, so they may instruct me in Proper protocol.

My 1st thought was to ignore his "POLITE DEMEANOR" ( we all know how a CPO can be should he be RILED), I chose instead to RESPECT the CPO for his consideration and TIME to stop and present me the OPPORTUNITY to REFLECT on my DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES as a Military NCO on my personal time in UNIFORM in PUBLIC. I represented ALL the MEN/WOMEN at that moment.

The Following Morning @ O6:45 Monday at COMMAND MUSTER... My name was called out by "THE COMMAND CPO". He informed me in-front of the COMMAND about my encounter with the CPO I had on Friday afternoon.

The COMMAND CPO then proceeded to inform me of WHO the CPO was ( who stopped to talk to me)... and how WELL RESPECTED the CPO was in the U.S. NAVY. ( Needless to say I was thankful for my decision to be RESPECTFUL/MINDFUL and Courteous to the CPO) ...

And in-case you were wondering....YES.. I still had KP for the WEEK. But I had the opportunity to GROW as a MAN in UNIFORM !

Simple...
Pull her aside, correct the gross violations, and if she gives any resistance or attitude, ask to see her ID, and contact her chain of command. This type of behavior, no matter what age or rank, is unacceptable.

I'm willing to bet she's not in the Army.

You handled it appropriately. Maybe give her a fix it or else you'll handle it with her chain of command. If a Soldier wants to make a scene in public, break contact and follow up through other means. Post locator at personnel via your chain of command, if necessary, and you should be able to get word to her chain of command.

You set the new standard when you did not make the correction. Honestly, you failed as an NCO. Not trying to be harsh, but it's the truth. You're a Soldier 24/7.

Sh was wrong going around looking all ate up like a soup sandwich smdh

whoooo fuckinngggg carrrresssss

Pull her to the side and correct her our job is not a 9-5 we are and alway will be soliders, sailor, etc. We are the eye candy for our country ppl look a us for security. Wear the uniform with honor courage and commitment, with integrity.

Should have pulled her aside, Introduced yourself, Fully Identified her/him and as I have done in the past, Make the correction and then give them the opportunity to notify their chain of command b4 I did so. Then I followed up anyway and notified the company first SGT, and Commander so THEY could handle it as well.

First of all, has it been so long since i have been in that BDU's are now the proper military dress out on the town and not your dress uniform? At any rate, as the SFC from Ft. Rucker put it, walk up, show your ID and introduce yourself, ask their name and unit and then make the correction. If nothing is done, you may contact their chain of command through the info they provided. My experience says they make the correction when their name and unit are asked for. Always lead by example!

Rangers lead the way

I would have asked her unit and spoke to her 1sgt

I'm no longer in the army but I think people who wear their uniform in public is wrong unless they have to. I use to go home and change right after I got off duty, not because I was ashamed to be in the army but that I didn't join for recognition from anyone... But if your going to wear the uniform then respect it and as an NCO I feel it's your duty to in force the rules and regs... Remember you represent the army either on or off duty...

As an nco by not correcting her you just set a new standard. She needed to be corrected.

A standard not met is a new standard set

You handled it appropriately

I'm retired and wondered the same thing. I sometimes travel for business and noticed some young Marines out of uniform at the airport. I wondered if would be appropriate to correct since I was retired. I contacted the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps who not only told me to make the correction, but to also let him know. I think that answers the question. But I also agree that the best approach is to pull the person aside. Our troops are "active" 24/7/365, so yes, they should be corrected.

You are a better man than me.. As soon as she told me that she knew she would out of Regs and rolled her eyes it would have been game on.. I would have asked her to fix herself and if she continued with her attitude from that point forward I would have requested her unit information and called her chain of command at that moment. I have pride in everything I do and boy does it get under my skin when I see Soldiers disrespect what we do my wearing our uniform any way they want whenever they want.

I had a Soldier walk into a 7/11 store with his boots untied, pants un-bloused, hanging half way down his ass, no top on just his tan t-shirt and his head gear was on but tilt up towards the sky. I politely asked him if he was in the Army and he replied yeah what does it matter to you... So, I had him step back outside and I expressed my concern of disrespect no just to the uniform but to everyone else that wears it along side of him. He stated to me that he didn't have time to deal with an overpaid policy police so I asked for his unit information. So happens I knew most of the members in his chain of command. So due to the fact that he was continuing to be disrespectful to me I called his 1SG and he met me at the 7/11 to retrieve his Soldier. Needless to say, I don't have an issue with on the spot corrections in public. On the spot corrections are a requirement in the military. It doesn't matter what branch, rank or surrounding area. If a Soldier is wrong they need to be corrected.

Your situation was difficult and wanting to correct this person's dress code is important, but doing in private usually yields better results than confronting her in public. I realize I was not there and I am sure you did the very best in the situation. I am generally speaking and certainly not wanting to accuse you of anything other than being honorable. Just trying to help base on my experiences with similar situations. Thank you for your desire to make things better.

correct response..id yourself and advise the violator of the offense. then if her attitude is belligerent ask for military id, if she refuses then she puts herself in violation of multiple UCMJ, you could turn the info. to her commanding officer....Take a stand or do not get involved.

JD

I was once given an on the spot correction. I stopped at our local mini mart in the housing area of the base. The post had put out that it was officially a no salute/no headgear zone since it was technically inside the housing area. I had my headgear on, put some stuff in the trunk and took my headgear off and put it in the trunk, as I walked to the driver's door a MSG walking in asked me if my headgear belonged on my head or in my trunk, rather than tell him about the post regulation regarding it, I apologized, retrieved my headgear and went on my way. To me it was just easier to comply no matter who was right or not. He did it in such a way that it wasn't demeaning or rude and I was certainly not looking for an incident with someone of his rank.