Should Soldiers be acknowledged when leaving a unit?

SFC (Join to see)
That is regrettable, and would never happen on my watch.
What would happen:
I would acknowledge you in formation, say a few words about your contributions and wishing you well in your future endeavors, and invite you to say something to the group, if you'd like.
I would also invite you and any others who would like to partake to the local watering hole to swap stories and toast to your success.
If feasible, you would receive an appropriate award for your service on your last day.

It is disappointing to me that we can let a Soldier go with so little fanfare.

SFC (Join to see)

The unit itself may not recognize your contributions upon leaving their ranks, but if you know you did your job and did it well then IMO you should be proud of what you have done. I would much rather have a few friends offer to buy me a round than to have an entire unit have to stand there gawking at me while some well meaning officer rambles on about me. After all, how well does your COC know you personally? Just my opinion.

I know how you feel. This happened to me when I left my first unit. The CoC that I had previously worked with while deployed had already left, my PCS award did not happen because the new BN CDR felt that my AAM from deployment was sufficient enough. I was a SPC when all this happened. I hate to say it, but it was really shitty of my unit to do that to me. Like my situation, your situation is due to poor leadership.

I think they should it hurts a little when you leave without even a handshake. I spent almost six years at my first duty station. I did 4 deployments with them. When i transfred i did not even get a goodbye from my leadership. It kind of sucked i think part might of been we just got off deployment a month or so ago. But it felt like i left there as the red headed step child.

I would have felt extremely disappointed in my leaders all the way to the TOP. That is not what you do for Soldiers that have a been a part of your team for that long and I would guess very productive or you would have moved on sooner. Even if its an acknowledgement in form of the formation it is some one showing that they care and appreciate what you did for the team while you were there.

Thank you for what you did and hopefully the next unit is better,

I've mentioned this before.

I had a Gunny who had a philosophy.

At a minimum everyone should get a Letter of Appreciation. Your presence made things easier. You were either a Performer which meant you accomplished more than the average person, and made things easier on everyone else, and therefore should be recognized. Or... You weren't... and you were assigned "your fair share" of crap details, which let the Performers accomplish MORE with their time. In other words, you were a Team Player, and "constantly took one for the team" and deserve to be recognized for your efforts.

I can't fault him for his logic, and have always tried to emulate that piece of philosophy.

I feel your pain. When I PCS'd from my engineer unit to Germany, the company did nada.....but my friends had a few beers waiting for me

I personally think it is very important. We all leave the service at some point and that honorable service should be recognized. Although, I would have preferred being ignored to the slap in the face I got. I was put in for a MSM for my 9 years of service but it ended up getting downgraded to a COA. I would have rather got nothing at all. I did tear it up and throw it in the trash which made me feel a little better lol.

Not Good. That is how I would have felt. Your First Sergeant dropped the ball on this one. In my honest opinion, all Soldier departures need to be acknowledged. If you are ETSing or PCSing, a plaque or end of tour award may/might be in order. If a Soldier is being Chaptered out or going to his just rewards as the result of a Courts Martial, then the unit needs to know that as well. Soldiers leaving a unit need to be acknowledged, cut and dried.

SGT,
Be the silent mentor.
I was apart of an HRS.... Won't name names... And a buddy made SSG and said thank you to everyoneeeeeee but me...really like 50+ people.. Lol I was like wtf.. My own soldier got caught up in the moment.. It happens, it sucks but you know who you are and what you did to make that unit better!

Be happy that you know that you made a impact on everyone in that unit and that your hard work and dedication has made the unit that much better! for what it's worth ide follow you in battle