When the Senior Enlisted CSM of a Component repeatedly states, "We write the policy, we don't abide by it," what action would you take?

I was stationed in Germany in 2005. I always had my BDU's starched and pressed.

LCpl Martin Vincent - I can't agree with you there. One's appearance is important for self esteem. I've found over the years, and I'm 73 now, if one looks like a mess, his/her work tends to follow suit. I'm old school and always tried to look presentable....still spit shine my shoes/boots.

A sharp look has always been a benchmark of a squared away troop. When you came up with OD green or BDU, the standard was to starch and press them, even though the BDU label indicated NOT to apply starch. This habit wasn't relaxed until the ACU in 2005/6 where they were pushed as a wash-n-wear uniform, not intended to be pressed or starched at all. Having been at war for 4 years by this time, the focus was on proficiency rather than just a strack appearance. Sgt Ronald Harris, God Bless you and your generation! Thank you for your service! While it is a different look, you can still look sharp in the ACU or OCP/Multi-Cam without starch or pressing the uniform. Wash & wear doesn't mean you can look like you just crawled out of a dufflebag! Personal pride, self respect and professionalism can be demonstrated without violating the standards for the new uniforms. As Sgt Harris stated, look like a mess, work product tends to follow suit.

Geez...25 years later, and that is what is still being spewed by a Sr.Enlisted? WOW! The hours I would spend as an MP squaring away my uniforms (yes, all of them), and I wasn't allowed to dry clean mine...Ironed yes, starched...hell no!

Well said Sir!

In Germany during the '80s, Command policy was coming that prohibited smoking in government living facilities. Unit organizational offices were on the first floor and all 'barracks' were on two floors above. At the time of that assignment, I was a Senior E-5 by both rank and age and living in the barracks. The troops were in the same age group as my 20 year old son. Top came to me and asked what I thought about the policy. My reply was to ask whether this policy would apply to family housing as well. It did not because 'family' were being housed there. I then suggested that these young single troops had no family to 'fall back on' and these barracks rooms were their homes. If the policy was not going to apply to 'family housing' it should not apply to the barracks. After all, if concern was pertinent to cause of fires, or possibilities of illness, the affects would be the same, and on a larger population than in the barracks.
Apparently my opinion mattered because the local command did not implement the no smoking policy.

SFC Barbara Layman - I agree in theory but the policy is to make all government buildings non-smoking, housing has gone privatized.

MAJ (Join to see) - Privatization happened several years after this assignment. To the best of my knowledge, the privatization did not occur in OCONUS locations.

CSM Rick Mathis thank you for agreeing with me. He would have not said a word had it not been an open Forum invitation. Ironically, we were mobilized to go to Afghanistan 5 months later. Because the CSM gave him hell, the one-year Enlistment was up and he was no longer in the unit. Had the CSM left him alone, he would have stayed in our unit.

I have never met a CSM who dealt or tolerated BS.

CSM’s not only tolerate BS, a lot of them create it. The military has a long history of promoting enlisted soldiers far beyond their capabilities. Just beacause you score 300 on your PT test or meet what ever EO quotas the service may have doesn’t mean your qualified to lead.

I have personally known many great enlisted soldiers of all races and genders but saw a steady decline in the quality of the senior enlisted force when we stoped promoting the most qualified and instead focused on promotions based on meeting an arbitrary diversity quota.

Sir, I hope you said something to the CSM.