Posted on Aug 18, 2017
What do you say to a Soldier who wants to post to sites like WTF Army?
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Soldiers now use social media more then ever, typically if you visit several platforms you can see Soldiers posting about their units both negative and positive. In the instance focusing on the negative post what would you say to a Soldier that wants to post or "put his leadership on blast". Consider are the Soldier perspective on having the feeling no one cares to listen to the Commanders policy.
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Posted >1 y ago
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I was in when social media like FB was just created (2007) and there wern't as many guidlines on it back then, today especially with all of the blue falcons I'd just tell my Marines to delete their profiles for as long as they have a government job, way too much bullshit
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There are occasions where I could see a SM at any level feeling like they've barked up all the trees and aren't getting any results. In which case the only option is to go outside the normal avenues. Fear of reprisal may be a legitimate issue too. Taking up your issue with a Facebook page like USAWTFM could feel like your only avenue due to the anonymity. Those folks are USUALLY pretty good about investigating any allegations that are handed to them and many very important people within the service see it. If you don't think the SMA Dailey or Gen Milley don't follow it, I've got some beachfront property in Nebraska for sale..
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LTC Jason Mackay
Just using RP as a litmus test I find that people have barked up all the trees and nothing happened because they were wrong to start with. I also am troubled that young soldiers would rather play anonymous social media roulette for advice rather than actually engage in a difficult IRL interpersonal exchange withe their own unit to fix a problem.
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SPC (Join to see)
LTC Jason Mackay - I like to think I can go to my leadership about problems Sir, but I've listened to guys talk and I believe that some feel they can't go to their leadership. I've seen NCO's that, and keep in mind my lack of experience, make me wonder if they should be an NCO. I haven't had too much experience with Officers so no real opinion there.
I think maybe there is a lack of trust or a belief that the COC might not do anything or brush it off so Soldiers find other avenues to vent or ask for advice. Maybe it's a failure in communication, I don't know.
I think maybe there is a lack of trust or a belief that the COC might not do anything or brush it off so Soldiers find other avenues to vent or ask for advice. Maybe it's a failure in communication, I don't know.
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LTC Jason Mackay
SPC (Join to see) - well if you intentionally cut out the chain and legitimate avenues, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that nothing will happen. 90 % of fixes reside in the Company or Battalion, and most certainly begin there.
. Again, why would you trust anonymous people on the internet for advice instead of a live flesh and blood person in front of you. My profile says I am a post command LTC (and I am), but who knows? I could be some loser has been/never was living in his mom's basement who never served a day in his life. Especially with all these unverified anonymous profiles. They could be the very people who were rodded off the range by the Army for being incompetent loser junior leaders. We don't know.
I think it is absolutely a failure in communication, moreover, a failure in the ability to communicate. These conversations, over time, not one and done are not happening because it takes more than 140 characters and there are no emojis. Our attention span is sitcom length. All problems and a heart warming message is delivered in 20 minutes with 10 minutes of commercial breaks. Sometimes there is no happy ending. People have lost their ability to relate in person.
People often look at their chain of command as their first line leader, SL, and their PSG. Maybe they talk about a 1SG. There are other leaders. Go seek them out. Get your facts straight. Write down your points before you go. Do some research. After all, it is your career.
What I challenge leaders to do, is when you get a young Joe asking for help, crack a regulation. Show them what you are talking about. Today's E1 is tomorrow's Sergeants. I endeavor to quote directly in references so people understand and it's not some hip shoot.
Your window into the Army is your ARNG unit. Other units in your state may be different. Other ARNG units will be different. AD units will be different. The disadvantage for you is you have to wait out leaders until your COC and key leaders/staff change out. For AD guys it is one PCS away.
. Again, why would you trust anonymous people on the internet for advice instead of a live flesh and blood person in front of you. My profile says I am a post command LTC (and I am), but who knows? I could be some loser has been/never was living in his mom's basement who never served a day in his life. Especially with all these unverified anonymous profiles. They could be the very people who were rodded off the range by the Army for being incompetent loser junior leaders. We don't know.
I think it is absolutely a failure in communication, moreover, a failure in the ability to communicate. These conversations, over time, not one and done are not happening because it takes more than 140 characters and there are no emojis. Our attention span is sitcom length. All problems and a heart warming message is delivered in 20 minutes with 10 minutes of commercial breaks. Sometimes there is no happy ending. People have lost their ability to relate in person.
People often look at their chain of command as their first line leader, SL, and their PSG. Maybe they talk about a 1SG. There are other leaders. Go seek them out. Get your facts straight. Write down your points before you go. Do some research. After all, it is your career.
What I challenge leaders to do, is when you get a young Joe asking for help, crack a regulation. Show them what you are talking about. Today's E1 is tomorrow's Sergeants. I endeavor to quote directly in references so people understand and it's not some hip shoot.
Your window into the Army is your ARNG unit. Other units in your state may be different. Other ARNG units will be different. AD units will be different. The disadvantage for you is you have to wait out leaders until your COC and key leaders/staff change out. For AD guys it is one PCS away.
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You can do anything in the world you want.....once. It will have consequences. The Army has been very clear about social media and Soldier responsibility in using it. If you have a legit issue there is the open door policy, IG, EO, and engaging a member of congress. Those are protected activities. Separate personal butt hurt from actual regulatory/policy issues.
For interactions that happen to somebody else, you may not know all the details. Those seeking sympathy/assistance may only selectively convey what they want to be conveyed And not what actually went down....example theUSAF NCO that was allegedly separated for being 5 minutes late to a meeting. Everything must pass the sniff test. The NTC rotation where they allegedly starved on USAWTF moments. There are NTC safeguards with OCs to prevent this and no one was in danger.
For interactions that happen to somebody else, you may not know all the details. Those seeking sympathy/assistance may only selectively convey what they want to be conveyed And not what actually went down....example theUSAF NCO that was allegedly separated for being 5 minutes late to a meeting. Everything must pass the sniff test. The NTC rotation where they allegedly starved on USAWTF moments. There are NTC safeguards with OCs to prevent this and no one was in danger.
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