Should cell phones or home phones for that matter be mandatory for Service Members?

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:18:19 -0400

In our instant gratification society (and military), what if anything can't wait until the next formation? Except in alert or rapid recall units...

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 12:31 AM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:31:59 -0400

Once you have to drive all over to hunt people down during a recall you're answer will be a resounding "YES". Besides, who doesn't have some sort of cell/home phone anymore? I also think everyone should have a driver's license before they come in as well but they don't. That's enough of a pain to deal with and I'd rather not add a phone to that, too! :)

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 12:34 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:34:08 -0400

Soldiers (E1-O10) should have to have some type of phone with voicemail* (or live in the barracks and check in occasionally if they plan to be gone a while). They should be required to check it periodically**. If the Army (to use my situation specifically as an example) requires greater connectivity it should be a) temporary*** and/or b) issued and paid for.

* or texting ability
** every couple hours or so
*** or compensated (as in Generals) :)

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 12:35 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:35:46 -0400

For the ARNG we use the everbridge system to notify of state and local emergency for mobilization through text and calls. So yes I believe it should me mandatory or issue out cheap phones just for that purpose.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 12:46 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:46:29 -0400

I guess I'm getting old, but the training schedule used to tell you where to be, in what uniform, and what to bring. Commanders could find there people just by where they were supposed to execute training. Training exemptions were by name through the 1SG and if exempted, service members came right back to their place of duty. However there was no e-mail, Powerpoint, cell phones, or exel to complicate training schedules either. I thought of this question because some service members seem to want the old ways and have the new ways built into the system. The old addage is true, you just can't have it both ways I suppose...

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 12:51 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 00:51:40 -0400

Phone/cell phone? Yes. Unwanted texting and driving up your cell phone bill? No. Remember it's a PHONE! Texting is an addition, not the mission.

Response by SPC Charles Brown made May 18 at 2015 1:00 AM

SPC Charles Brown — Mon, 18 May 2015 01:00:52 -0400

Land lines are good if you plan to go home and stay home, today it is all about instant connection and for that you need a cellphone. I miss the old days when once you got off duty you could take off and just leave a location where you will be.

Response by PFC Kyle Klofstad made May 18 at 2015 1:39 AM

PFC Kyle Klofstad — Mon, 18 May 2015 01:39:02 -0400

I firmly believe that if a unit or the military as whole makes it a requirement to have a phone, then a phone should be provided. Personally, if I'm forking out the money for a nice phone and data plan then it's going to be for personal use. CQ, staff duty, and the like have people assigned whose job (runners) is to contact people within their AO during duty hours. unless it's a life or death situation, most recalls can be avoided by handling the supposed problem during the next scheduled formation.

Response by SFC Stephen Carden made May 18 at 2015 6:07 AM

SFC Stephen Carden — Mon, 18 May 2015 06:07:28 -0400

This is a deceptively touchy issue. On one hand, I think that the Army should never REQUIRE Soldiers to spend their own money on anything "required" for duty. Even uniforms are subsidized through the annual clothing allowance (and I don't need all of the "it's not enough money" comments, I know it's not enough money). If the Army requires personnel to have a phone, then it should be prepared to issue them. HOWEVER, it is every Soldier's responsibility to be "contact-able" should an emergency arise. Someone in this thread already pointed out that most everyone has a cell phone these days. Most plans have unlimited calling and texting, with only data costing extra. I don't see the problem with using existing communications infrastructure to contact Soldiers.
The bottom line here is that living off post is a privilege. In effect, it is a daily pass issued by the Commander. If you choose to live off post, or if you have to live off post due to housing issues on post, then you should have either a cell phone or home phone in case the unit needs to contact you during an emergency. I agree that barracks personnel shouldn't be required to have a cell phone because the CQ can get to them easily. However, if barracks personnel go off post or plan to be away from the barracks for an extended amount of time, they should leave word as to where they are if they don't have a cell phone.
All of this is dependent on the unit. If you are in the green cycle brigade of the 82nd ABN DIV, then yes. If you are in the electronic maintenance platoon at Fort Lee, VA, then maybe it's not as important except in cases of natural disaster or extenuating circumstances on post (like last year's active shooter).

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 6:36 AM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 06:36:49 -0400

Home phone, yes. Cell phone, hell no, unless the Army's willing to pay for it.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 6:47 AM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 06:47:43 -0400

I've always been of the opinion that if an employer, or the gov't, or whoever, is going to require you to have a certain thing, then they must provide you with that thing. Fortunately, basically everyone has cell phones already anyhow, so the taxpayers don't have to shovel as much money as they would otherwise (still pay for the cheap phones/plans for people such as flight schedulers, First Shirt, CC, etc). To address the thread question though, yes I think we should be required to have something which allows the unit to make contact with us 24/7, especially if we're on an alert crew or the equivalent. Currently that something takes the form of a cell phone, but once upon a time pagers were all the rage....

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 18 at 2015 9:14 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Mon, 18 May 2015 09:14:41 -0400

When the USMC required me to have one, they issued me one. It was a very simple relationship. The phone was for government use only. When I had a Government CC, same deal.

They issue us anything we are required to have, from helmets, to rifles, to pagers (yes, those were a thing).

Response by SGT Bryon Sergent made May 18 at 2015 9:32 AM

SGT Bryon Sergent — Mon, 18 May 2015 09:32:23 -0400

Well when I was station at Ft, Campbell 89-92, we had something called DRF(Deployment Readiness Force) and a number. 1, 3, 9, 12, Depending on the number , if I remember correctly, you had half that time to report back to the barrack, and ready to board the plane. I can remember sitting at the barracks for a couple of months a year wishing that I could afford one of those Bag phones so that I didn't have to sit at the barrack all weekend when we had DRF 1 and 3.
So yes I think that it should be that we all have a phone. If the people that thinks that the government should have to pay for it, I agree in part. I think we should be able to claim it on our taxes and be reimbursed like the companies do for there people. As far as txting. I think it just like emails. it is impersonal and leaves a lot to desire. you can't tell what the speakers inflection is. Is this urgent, or ect..... if you take 15 mins to pound out an email or 5 min to pound out the email or txt, freaking dial the number it takes the same amount of time and all questions get answered right then and there. I will send an email or txt to my guys when info is passed to me in the form that I receive and then call then to see if they got it. I then ask if they have questions, if they do and I can't answer it then I call up and get it. Not drill morning and Joe is 15 min late because he didn't read the whole email or txt.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made May 18 at 2015 9:34 AM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Mon, 18 May 2015 09:34:47 -0400

Unless the service is playing or it, they can't mandate you have one. They can mandate however that if you have one, you must provide a contact number.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 9:40 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 09:40:47 -0400

I remember getting to Minot AFB & they "highly recommended" getting a cell phone based on how crappy it can get there. They did not mandate it, but I'm pretty sure that is only because they couldn't officially mandate it. The local dealers in the city of Minot gave hellacious deals to base personnel in order to ensure that we could afford to have a cell phone.

I don't know that they should be mandated, but "highly recommended" allows for members to have one without the service providing one - which would be one other thing that could take years of debate in Congress over which kind, what carrier, security measures, etc.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2015 10:13 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 May 2015 10:13:07 -0400

The day they "require" me to have a cell phone is the day they pay for it and the service bill!!

Response by SSG Robert Blair made May 18 at 2015 6:13 PM

SSG Robert Blair — Mon, 18 May 2015 18:13:23 -0400

Cannot mandate an expense for soldiers. You can encourage and also find the cheapest ways.
I found myself in this position as an E2. Ready to deploy and I had a wife and three kids on that pay. Cellphone was a necessary expense to me but I felt that Alert status was extremely important. I went into AT&T and said to the salesperson, "I need the cheapest phone with the cheapest plan. I am only getting this phone because I am in the Army and they need me to have a quick response method."
The salesperson said, "oh, well if it's for the Army. Then I got something for you."
I got two free phones and a military sponsored plan at a discount.
Ended up with no cost out the door and $30 a month for two phones. Hardly any minutes but enough if there was an emergency and now my wife had one in case as well.
(So something to share if it's something you're going to try and push). Food for thought

Response by PO1 Jason Taylor made May 18 at 2015 6:23 PM

PO1 Jason Taylor — Mon, 18 May 2015 18:23:28 -0400

Yes, for recall purpose.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 9:45 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 09:45:36 -0400

Phones are not a necessity. You shouldn't have to recall people if the unit had gotten prepared. In the event of an emergency the troops are to report in and ask for orders. It's the soldiers responsibility to reach back to the unit. A trend I see is commands wanting instant gratification, they want their accountability at 100% in an hour, not always possible. If you hold troops accountable to the training schedule-they hold their chain accountable too.

Flip side is coms are necessary- help out the command but mainly keep in touch with family. Keep them informed so they're not calling one source for a simple where is my husband.

Response by SSG Roger Ayscue made May 31 at 2015 12:43 AM

SSG Roger Ayscue — Sun, 31 May 2015 00:43:35 -0400

MSG Sparks, yes mandatory only so far as needed for military duty. DRF1 call out would be impossible without a telephone, troopers would be sleeping in the day room

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 31 at 2015 9:01 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 31 May 2015 21:01:35 -0400

No. Unless the Army or Military pays for it. When I first enlisted in 1998 there were no cell phones, we had answering machines or the Duty who would log it in the log book and get a hold of us if we lived in the Barracks.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Aug 18 at 2015 11:14 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 11:14:27 -0400

How did this become an issue? Are there SMs that don't have cell phones?

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 18 at 2015 11:48 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 11:48:13 -0400

Having a way to be recalled is mandatory (and should be). If you don't want to have a cell phone that doesn't bother me, but then you better have a home phone and check your messages constantly. On second thought, even dialing in to your voicemail would mean you need to use a friend's phone if you don't have one.

I changed my mind in the middle of this post. We should all just have cell phones. They aren't even any more expensive than a home phone if all you use if for is voice.