Were your 1st Sergeants available when you needed assistance?

2015-08-07T08:25:42-04:00

http://www.wikinut.com/hey-shirt...got-a-minute/17cadl5s/1d6aagsb/

Response by 1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 7 at 2015 8:26 AM

2015-08-07T08:26:32-04:00

Yes, I have always had great 1st Sgts and tried to be one myself.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Aug 7 at 2015 8:59 AM

2015-08-07T08:59:54-04:00

Not to hijack, but I instantly thought of this, which was posted last week on Terminal Lance.

http://terminallance.com/2015/07/24/terminal-lance-390-gunny-envy/

While I was in the Grunts, my First Sergeants were GREAT. In addition to everything else they did, they "stalked the halls" and checked in on us, saw how we were doing and just made sure they had a visual presence. He knew us by name, and we belonged to him, and vice versa.

When I got to Quantico, the First Sergeants weren't bad guys, but because of the base's setup our interaction with them was just "different." The only time you would interact with him was if he needed you. Generally speaking, if you needed something, there was someone "more powerful" at your immediate disposal. It wasn't that the First Sergeant wasn't willing to help, it's just that he didn't "know us." We were just names on a roster, and our interactions were so limited, we couldn't develop that same relationship. It was a product of the structure.

Again, they absolutely were "available" but available doesn't necessarily mean "approachable."

I think the comic strip highlights some of this. The Company Gunny has always had that air of approachability, whereas the First Sergeant "may" not. It's a perception vs. reality issue.

Terminal Lance - Terminal Lance #390 “Gunny Envy”

It’s not his fault that the Marines don’t like him. Gunny gets it easy, he gets to sit in his office all day and acquirecool shit for the Marines. He rarely wastes your time in formation, and when he does give a libo brief, it’s short and hilarious. First Sergeant has the dubious honor of being the company’s Green Weenie representative. No one wants to talk to him, because generally talking to him means you’re in some kind of trouble.

Response by SPC Robert Patrick made Aug 7 at 2015 9:17 AM

2015-08-07T09:17:46-04:00

I honestly did not find all of my 1st Sergeants approachable. I stuck primarily to my first line and Squad leader

Response by MSgt Stephen Council made Aug 7 at 2015 10:40 AM

2015-08-07T10:40:25-04:00

My last Firts Sergeant was a real piece of work. I do not think he was ever an airman. He had absolutely no ability to relate to the airmen. He was useless because none of them liked or trusted him. The only thing he was good for was discipline.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 7 at 2015 11:08 AM

2015-08-07T11:08:11-04:00

I know asking me a question is never a Soldier's first choice. They have tried other routes first. Often, the issue is thorny and very important to the Soldier.
I relish these talks, even the "long" ones. It is my chance to really affect a Soldier beyond being the example.
I have always maintained that I am open and available to talk to any Soldier in my formation, all the way to the bottom. I will not supplant their Chain-of-Command, but I think a REAL open door is the right way to lead.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Aug 7 at 2015 12:14 PM

2015-08-07T12:14:50-04:00

You asked so I'll give an honest if possibly unpopular response. No! While I met and worked with many outstanding 1st Sergeants, I also worked with several who were anything but outstanding, available, or approachable. I'll start by acknowledging that 1st Sergeants perform a extremely difficult and not always rewarding job. They are also forced to walk a fine line between supporting the unit commander and helping their troops. A real problem I've seen with 1st Sergeants is burn out and an issue best described by the old adage that "if all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail". In my experience, the most available shirts were always in relatively small squadrons, while those with 500+ airman (Maintenance Squadrons) were so overworked that the answer to "hey do you have a minute?" was not right now or please go see the "Under Shirt".

There were a number of times in my career when I butted heads with 1st Sergeants who were unwilling or unable to go to bat for my troops. In the 80's I had an Airman who was trying to get Air Force Aid Society assistance help to feed his family. He was turned down for a grant by the base AFAS representative and the Squadron Commander and 1st Sergeant both felt the kid had been reckless with his money (including $300 a year allotment to the AF Aid Society) and was somehow "undeserving" of help. The 1st Sergeants recommendation was that we take up a collection for the Airman in our shop, which we did. I also took him to the base IG, who got the AFAS to give the airman a grant and changed the process for how their grants were to be handed out in the future. In the 90s I had a young SSgt work for me who had not been paid his full allowances for 6 months and deserved back pay (he was living off base -w- no meal card and not getting BAS). The 1st Sergeant actually argued that he should have been looking at his LES closer and that it was his fault. While true, it did not change the fact that the Sergeant was still owed the money. Again, without the 1st Sergeants help, we forced the issue were able to get the SSgt the back pay he was owed. FYI: It turned out that the problem occurred when the orderly room failed to validate to finance that they had taken away his meal card. Oh, and there was a the 1st Sergeant at Dhahran AB at the end of the Gulf War, who refused to sign his troops release from the AOR forms (the night before their flight home) because he insisted that they paint their rooms in Khobar Towers, which were being returned to the Saudi's, who were then going to repaint the buildings...argg...but that's another story altogether.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Aug 7 at 2015 2:45 PM

2015-08-07T14:45:56-04:00

I think most soldiers are too afraid to approach their 1Sgts. When we get to the point where their assistance is needed we usually end up discussing why no one else at the lower levels could take care of it. Since leadership is not inclined to believe their are deficiencies in their NCO ranks, it seems to me that the soldier is seen as the problem and no assistance is given. If anything the system works backwards and getting assistance from the 1Sgt causes more problems. I'm sure some 1Sgts don't work this way, but from what I've seen this is usually how it goes.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2021 2:14 PM

2021-01-06T14:14:22-05:00

It says 404 Not Found. But to answer the question, sans reference and context material:

By-and-large; no. I had ONE of 7 that held a genuine concern for my family's welfare (moreso than mine). He took that extra moment about once a week to ask how the family is doing. But as far as personal issues, questions, concerns, etc., I was told, more often than not, to go ask my first line, my Section Leader, or my PSG. The problem that I had with this response was this:

In every unit I was in, minus the very first one, my first line WAS my 1SG, or --for a short period of time-- the chaplain. My PSG was always unavailable, and, as the Training Room NCO, I WAS the Section Leader, and answered directly to the 1SG. So I was most often left to seek counsel from RP, from NCOs in other Companies, or just simply working myself into the ground to try and find answers for myself.