Similar to the E-2 question, how would you react to a young 2LT who is being unprofessional with a strong sense of entitlement?

If you are junior in paygrade, you make a respectful correction. If he (or she) blows you off, you can pass it up your chain to whoever cares. If you are senior, you can make a more demanding address, but should still be courteous and not made with a scene. (Praise in public, punish in private) I have never understood however, why some believe that things like uniform infractions are fair game to dump all other Army regulations. There is always THAT GUY who is springloaded to jump into people's faces. Courtesy costs nothing.

Story time...

Taji Iraq, a few years ago, I was in the gym with a few fellow Warrant Officers. While using the bench, a soldier approached us, identified himself as a SFC, and asked if we were NCOs. We replied that we are Warrant Officers. He then asks "how can we let him... (pointing to a comrade) get away with that?" We were confused. I asked whether my fellow pilot was demonstrating poor form with his dumbell flys, and the NCO started getting heated over the black socks my CW3 companion was wearing. He wasn't polite or courteous about it. We acknowledged the uniform infraction, thanked the NCO for his attention to detail, and that we'd be making sure he didn't come to the gym again with black socks for the next two weeks (until then SMA Dailey finalizes the official uniform change.) Dropping all custom, courtesy, and respect... the NCO demanded my friend leave the gym immediately and "fix his sh*t." To avoid a scene, my teammate exited stage right and the NCO walked away with a big cocky grin on his face. Was my friend wrong? Yes. Did the "on the spot correction" need to get hostile... in a gym... in a combat zone? I say No. Was the NCO out of line with his "display?" Oh yeah!!!

So, I stewed on it for 10 minutes grinding my teeth through our last set until I decided it was time to make an "on the spot correction" to the "on the spot correction." I meandered back to where NCO Socks was finishing his gluteal stretch and asked him if he knew what AR 600-25 was. He gave me the blank stare and blinked. In a polite and informative tone, I explained to the Senior NCO that AR 600-25 is the regulation where we derive a lot of our customs and courtesies. When we had identified ourselves as Warrant Officers (and senior Warrants at that), his tone got inappropriate. Just as "out of order" as my friend's socks were that day, so was the way he addressed our group. I asked him to in the future when administering on the spot corrections, to please "fix his sh*t."

This begs a question. What poses greater damage to good military order and discipline? Deployed Black Hawk pilots with incorrect sock color in the gym or Senior NCOs that can't speak to Senior Officers in a respectful tone?

Everyone hates 2LTs. 2LTs hate 2LTs. But if we believe in good military order and discipline, we don't sacrifice our respect for each other to be uniform martyrs. If a 2LT is wearing headphones in the commissary, you are well within your right to inform the officer of his inappropriate headgear indoors. If he is disrespectful and indignant, then in my humble opinion, his attitude is a bigger infraction than the headset. That's definitely worth addressing. But I have never been impressed by stories of NCOs giving some idiot officer a piece of their mind while tossing courtesy in the garbage can. That's not being a good NCO.

If I approached this 2LT and he was unprofessional, I would continue to follow him and remain professional, but would in a very loud voice, continue to remind him of his uniform discrepancy. Eventually someone who outranks both of us would find us and step in. I would then explain the situation and if I received a reprimand for my actions, so be it, but GMA gives us all the right to make those on-the-spot corrections. Before I sewed my name tapes on, I walked into the shoppette and I heard a very timid voice say "1SG" like three or four times and I finally turned around and saw a young female PV2 standing there and she proceeded to inform me that I had two U.S. Army name tapes on. Talked about embarrassed but I thanked her for squaring me away and I walked out of the shoppette and got my name tapes sewn on that day.

Well I can say, when I was in Afghanistan I had a 1LT, good guy did his job, but one day walking back from the DFAC, an CSM stopped him and asked him where is eye protection was, his answer to the CSM was I don't wear it. He kept right on walking, but unfortunately for LT the CSM was accompanied by a LTC, who them came up and asked the LT to "unf**K" himself and apologize to his CSM for not listening when he was making an on the spot adjustment. I am sure there has to be an officer of higher rank that would love to correct that 2LT.