Selfishness in our ranks.

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:02:17 -0400

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.   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. Welcome to The Purge.

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Mar 31 at 2014 10:20 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:20:39 -0400

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!                                             "TREAT 'EM ROUGH!!"

Response by 1SG Eric Rice made Mar 31 at 2014 10:33 AM

1SG Eric Rice — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:33:12 -0400

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.

Response by SFC Timothy Riser made Mar 31 at 2014 10:38 AM

SFC Timothy Riser — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:38:15 -0400

SSG Hashbun, I agree completely with your assessment, I have even caught myself turning into the selfish one recently and stopped helping my peers. I currently found a happy medium in which I will provide a little help to my peers but not as much as I used to.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2014 9:36 PM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 21:36:37 -0400

Staff Sergeant , I was never in the US Army, but from a Marines point of view I agree with everyone on this thread. The Corps is much smaller than the Army so you had to stand out do I personally think that is selfish no I do not, however I do think with this Purge mentality you are spot on for lack of a better way of putting it there are crappy NCO's and SNCO's, that make rank faster than other Great NC O's and SNCO's and that sucks, and then you get the boot . I wish it was the other way around our Country needs great Soldiers, Navy Personnel, Air Force Personnel, and Coast Guard personnel as well as Marines. It saddens me to see Great NCO's and Staff NCO's getting kicked to the curb when all they do is bust their butt to help others. What is wrong with this picture . I wish all the great ones the best of luck in their careers. I personally thank each and everyone of you!

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 31 at 2014 11:11 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:11:31 -0400

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.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 31 at 2014 11:35 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 23:35:17 -0400

SSG Hasbun,

I think that how a Soldier reacts to the purge depends on what stage he's at in life, his priorities and goals, and what ultimately gives him the most satisfaction. If a Soldier is supporting a family, or if this is his first career and his only source of income, then he should absolutely put more emphasis on growing his career so that he'll survive the purge.

The Army has thousands of NCOs, but your wife and kids have only one husband and father. As long as an NCO continues to take care of his Soldiers, there's nothing wrong with looking out for #1 whenever possible.