The discussion of dwindling Standards; are senior ranks the worst offenders?

2015-01-03T11:50:36-05:00

I keep hearing about how we need to step up and make more corrections and to enforce our standards. Especially we NCOs. However, the ones I hear crying loudest about standards are also the ones who cry when corrected and seem to be the Senior NCOs and Officers. Case in point: As a range OIC not long ago, I had a SFC walk onto my range with his fleece jacket unzipped to his belly button. Since this is a training environment, we don't want to send the wrong message to Joe the student so I am very particular about how they view me as their primary instructor and my support staff and SMEs. That being said, I went to the SFC's peer on the range (not a student) and asked him if he would be so kind as to request the SFC zip up his jacket. An hour later, upon returning to my range, the SFC was still out of regs. This time I waited for all the students to leave the vicinity, brought the SFC to the side and respectfully asked him to zip his jacket past the name tape. At which point SFC "went ape shit" tried staring me down, getting in my face, berating me in front of my civilian role players and started in on how he had joined the army in 1975, wasn't going to be corrected by some piss ant little SSG and that I don't know anything about cold weather environments and on and on and on going so far as to dismiss me on my own range. On a separate occasion (school house environment) I again expressed to a different SFC that he unroll the cuffs on his blouse (this habit of turning the cuffs in on themselves still baffles me even after 4 deployments). He looked at me and asked me where in the reg it said it was unauthorized and if I could show him he would correct it. EVENTHOUGH he knew for a fact it was against Regs and rather than correct it he was a d-bag and refused to correct. These are just two examples. Don't get me started with shower shoes/flip flops (I've had an Officer actually tell me he didn't know this was a rule), tank tops and underclothes showing in the chow halls. So I ask... Is this indicative of the senior ranks now? Does rank make you exempt from the rules? Why bother with courtesy patrols (usually populated with e4s-e6s so far in my experience) if SMs will just hide behind their rank? Where did we get this idea that only junior enlisted is subject to correction?

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jan 3 at 2015 1:17 PM

2015-01-03T13:17:07-05:00

I will not minimize your direct observation or experiences but I am going to make a broad statement here that I'd one of the two is what's happening:

1. This is not typical performance across the spectrum of the military

2. I am seeing standards held and enforced in my presence and leaders are doing their own thing when they are not being supervised.

I try to remain positive and optimistic in every situation however, a unit where the senior leadership is not present/involved creates an environment where the mid-level leadership can start to go rogue. There was a great book written on a subject that is worth a read "Black Hearts". This is where there was leadership failure which led to a platoon basically going rogue - this is the Platoon PFC Green was assigned to, he was one of the Soldier that was found guilty of raping and killing the 14 year-old girl in Mahmudiyah, Iraq...not to be morbid but the book is a good read to exhibit how a lack of leadership presence (and standards) sets the conditions where some mid/senior leadership stop living by/enforcing standards....so my point is this: either this is an anomaly (these leaders don't maintain presence/don't care) or these leaders are showing standards in front of seniors and doing their own thing when the senior leaders are not around.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 3 at 2015 2:15 PM

2015-01-03T14:15:04-05:00

Excellent post, SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member. I can't add much (or anything) to what CSM Michael J. Uhlig and SFC John Gates wrote. I will say that you're absolutely right. Standards are standards and they're for everyone, not just the lower ranks.

There's a story (I assume it's true) about a young Army guard at a check point somewhere in CONUS. His instructions were to allow ONLY the personnel on a list he was provided to enter the area he was guarding. Up pulled a GO's car, and the guard stopped it. The GO was not on the list, so the guard refused the GO entry into the area. The GO protested, but the guard stood his ground. The end of the story was that the guard was commended (by the GO, I think) once all the facts were known and the GO understood that the guard was following orders and had the intestinal fortitude to refuse a GO entry into the area.

It may be an urban legend, but it's a good story even if it is. Standards are for everyone, all ranks.

Response by SFC Dr. Joseph Finck, BS, MA, DSS made Jan 3 at 2015 2:21 PM

2015-01-03T14:21:59-05:00

SFC(P) Private RallyPoint Member Keep fighting the good fight NCO. I never minded being corrected as a Soldier, NCO, or SNCO. It is what we do. We (you now as I am retired) are the standard bearer. You did the right thing. The only way to create change is to do what is right, as you have done.

That said, the Army I retired from did not have many occurrences, in my experience, of blatant acts of this nature. There are always exceptions. But from where I sit, an NCO or SNCO who is corrected in a professional manner should be grateful. I spot corrected a Colonel pertaining to his nametape and his US Army being reversed. He made the change and thanked me, relating he dressed quickly and made an error and was glad it was caught before he met with the Division Commander.

The NCO Creed starts with "No one is more professional than I..." Keep being professional and bearing our standard.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Jan 4 at 2015 12:26 PM

2015-01-04T12:26:33-05:00

Some thoughts:
- Is this indicative of senior ranks now? I do not think so but there are bad apples at every rank. The question is if what you describe is the exception or the rule. My personal TTP if/when a junior makes a correction on me is to say thank you and make the correction since the person is trying to help me by ensuring I don't look like a dumb ass if front of other Soldiers. For example, I saw an NCO tell a LTG that his name tape and US Army were reversed right before a leader photo. The LTG responded exactly as I described above. Better to say thank you and make the correction than to have a unit photo taken where the officer was obviously wearing his stuff wrong.
- Does rank make one exempt from the rules. Absolutely not. Standards are standards because they apply to everyone.
- Do the right thing thing at all times. You can control this. You can not control how others respond to a professional and discrete correction.