Posted on Jan 7, 2016
CPT Russell Pitre
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I just saw this video and felt like I was watching a multi-car accident on the interstate. It just got worse as it went on. What made it so bad as this was a SGT. The Safety was professional as he could be. Hats off to him. When I heard her say "I'm not Active Duty" I would have kicked her off the range. I am glad the Safety told her that she was a soldier and that he was a reservist too. If I was her CO I would have do everything I could to reduce her. But I think if you have a NCO like this in your unit the unit itself has a lot of issues in the first place. What kills me also is that she has a combat patch.

What would you have if you were the Safety?

Just so you know that you know it is believed that they Safety was a SSG just the same as was the soldier trying to load the mag.

https://www.facebook.com/Theseniorspecialist/videos/ [login to see] 43848/?fref=nf
Edited >1 y ago
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SFC Jim Ruether
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I would jump on his stuff and ask him what kind of magazines does he read anyway? Oh we're talking about the other kind of magazine huh?

Well I was a Range Safety NCO and was the Marksmanship coordinator for many years in my unit so I feel that it isn't the soldiers lack of knowledge necessarily but the lack of proper training. We would go through each weapon that was being fired whether it was an individual or crew served weapon in the classroom weeks before we live fired. Its to important not to do it as lives can be lost through a stupid mistake made by someone unfamiliar to the weapon being fired. Soldiers ETS out of a unit and new soldier unfamiliar to that weapon system are now tasked to fill that weapon slot. So before you bust some Staff Sergeant down to PFC maybe you should take a good hard look at the training in your Battalion and thank God this incident came to light before anything serious happened. I would use this as a training tool to make sure everyone is familiar with a weapon before walking out on the range. Big failure for the Training NCO's in my mind and it needs to be fixed.
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PFC Mobile Gun System (Mgs) Gunner
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I'd just show him how and try to be as professional as possible but it would be very hard not to double face palm.
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SGT Jim Arnold
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bummer !! I missed out on the show
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MAJ Albert McCaig
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Edited 8 y ago
There is a very real training gap in her unit and her chain of command. Yes, the SGT has some responsibility but so does her entire chain of command up to at least battalion level.
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PO1 Donald Hammond
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Is this right up there with Sailors who don't know how to swim?
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SFC Collection Manager
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This has got to be a joke, no one is this stupid.
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CPT Russell Pitre
CPT Russell Pitre
>1 y
It is a new Army.
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SSG John Bacon
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What is even more sad is she has an 18th Airborne Corps Combat Patch. She requires some remedial training and an attitude adjustment. The I'm just a Reservist crap does not fly.
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CPT Russell Pitre
CPT Russell Pitre
>1 y
I have a feeling that she was attached to some part of it. There is no way she was actually in the 18th ABC.
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SFC Marcus Belt
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Conduct training. Soldiers do what they've been trained to do. This is the cornerstone of our profession. I get paid to lead and train Soldiers, and this particular NCO has given me the opportunity to do so.
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CPT Russell Pitre
CPT Russell Pitre
>1 y
Do you think it is a little late in the game for this? This is a soldier task. Even civilians know how to do this. Don't you think it would adversely affect how their soldiers view them.
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SFC Marcus Belt
SFC Marcus Belt
>1 y
It's not even in the game yet. Everything we do before we deploy is practice time. Practice time is where I sort this out.

My Soldiers and NCOs will also know that I'm not going to berate or belittle them for a training deficiency; I'm going to correct it and move on, and my NCOs will know that I'll expect the same from them.

Consider an alternative COA; I trash this NCO in front of everyone, or attempt to reduce her grade. It's a Reserve unit at a range, which usually means deployment cycle training; she'll have a funky attitude, or figure out a way not to deploy, leaving the rest of the unit shorthanded.

No: assuming all other aspects of the SGT's performance are at least adequate, then I've got to prepare the people I've got for the tasks we've got to accomplish.
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MSgt Cyber Transport Systems
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I can barely understand what you just wrote.
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SCPO Martin Synakowski
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I would train them, even if it took hours to get it right. There is no substitute for safety on the range.
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CPT Russell Pitre
CPT Russell Pitre
>1 y
you are right. I am just curious how she was even an NCO.
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