When you hear of a Soldier being referred to as a "problem child" do you avoid, intervene, or chime in?

Awesome. I've seen too often when the Soldier becomes ostracized and treated like they're contagious rather than attempts at intervening and assisting.

I agree. I also believe if there was ever a study on backgrounds of Soldiers it would show that many who join are misfits so to speak and when the army becomes seen more as your family than your physical family from upbringing, a lot of varying emotional baggage can emerge and it's not the end of the world but there is no doubt that there are a lot of skills that should be developed throughout our youth that are no longer emphasized. Thus, we get a lot of people, male and female, with mommy and daddy issues and with that comes the inability to interpret authority accurately. It's really interesting to see how many things from our upbringing are continued as adults within our subconscious. I'm not saying we need to get everyone therapy, I'm saying the problem child's issues tend to stem from behavior that was responded to with an expected result; you're right they need to be properly motivated and I believe redirected. I feel like if more of the resilience courses are taught to new trainees we are taking the first steps to creating more self aware and mature Soldiers who will begin to apply a new perspective on stressors and In return a healthier response. Win win!

Thank you! I respect your view, as well. I believe we need to take the time to address what can be done that will create a change of heart, leading to a change in thought, and ultimately a change in behavior. Punitive measures these day have little to no effect on anything beyond temporary change; change that is short lived and done in a spirit of bitterness rather than remorse. Is there regret? Yes, but this, too, isn't on the right target, rather it is regret of being caught, being in that unit, befriending whomever, but majority of the time it's not significant enough to create a respect towards improving ones behavior and character. Sad, but true.

You should use the benefit of rank and authority to bring up these things, create a ripple effect of an idea... It has to start with awareness; then understanding; then solution ideas; then implementation in hopes of change

I can only affect those who work for me. There is only so much a STAFF LTC can do. Rest assured I will do my best to work through any issues on my team.