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<p>Apparently there is some conversation about people being "all in it for themselves" in the Army. Well, let me offer an alternative perspective. When you start massive cuts to our population, and loudly encourage everyone to set themselves ahead of their peers to avoid the cuts, you're going to foster a cut throat "me vs them" mentality. </p><p> </p><p> It's going to be hard not to be selfish when your reward for NOT taking care of yourself is going to be the door... Sorry, but the Army isn't in it's most ideal state right now... This is the climate we are creating.</p><p> </p><p>Welcome to The Purge.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, todays Army is pretty much "all about me", I was always told that "...you take care of your Soldiers, put their needs above yours and you'll be successful for promotion." That is a nice sentiment to tell someone, but if you as an individual live by that credo for the majority of your career, without looking out for yourself, you may find yourself left behind by those that you took care of. The last 4 years of my career, I honestly could not tell you why it was that I was not selected for promotion to MSG within the 19 series. I did the jobs I was "told" I needed to do, I trained young Soldiers and Officers, I continued my education, both civilian and military, worked in school house and operational positions above my paygrade and in the end, watched individuals that had almost half the TIS that I had get promoted over me, with less of the jobs, training and experience that I had. In the end I could only surmise that I had gotten "too old" with "too much time in" for the Army to "waste" a slot on me even though I had accomplished what the Army said I needed to accomplish to be selected. But I will end this by saying, take care of your Soldiers, but do not forget about yourself, because in todays Army, if you do not look out for #1, no one else will either!</p><p> "TREAT 'EM ROUGH!!"</p>
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SFC Michael Hasbun
Sadly this is where the Army that exists in our hearts and ideals differs from the Army that exists in our reality...
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SFC William Swartz Jr
I agree, it's to me the divide between pre-9/11 and post-9/11 Army....for the most part, I know some outstanding NCOs and Soldiers post-9/11, but sadly few and far between.
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We are all selfish in some form or another. It is a matter of how we conduct ourselves that distinguishes us from one another. The Army as a whole has always been cut-throat as you progress through the ranks. We have always had to separate ourselves from our peers in order to achieve our goals. You can still take care of soldiers and progress without having the "me vs them" mentality. Will there be individuals be cut that are steller? Yes. Will there be people that progress that probably should not? Yes. It is not a perfect system and never will be. It is still the responsibility of the individual to want to excell.
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SFC Michael Hasbun
Agreed completely. I just think a lot of younger personnel tend to be a bit naive about the military and view this kind of behavior as "wrong" or contrary to our values.
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For leaders, Commissioned Officers and Non Commissioned Officers, you cannot allow yourselves to become short sighted and selfish. There are other ways you can distinguish yourselves during this time of decreasing resources - get your education taken care, get involved in volunteering in the community, go to the competitive boards. One thing I really want to impart with you is while you are doing your best to do your duty do not forget the importance of family, do not isolate yourself or your family.
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