Where do we draw the line in which we should take action versus wait for the inaction of others when it comes to critical missions?

2020-08-09T12:52:57-04:00

ALCON:

As of this morning, a COL of a downtrace unit received a message from the ENT at a location in which he is scheduled to assist with 6 major head and neck cases. The ENT mentioned to the COL that he would have to reschedule the patients if he was not on a flight by 1300 as he would not have any other individuals to assist with the surgeries. The COL had a flight scheduled in DTS for yesterday; however, the Exception to Policy (ETP) for travel had not been approved -- meaning his DTS would not be approved. As such, the COL was still waiting on our higher to take action and approve the ETP as of 1030 this morning. Here is where I have concerns and take issue with the way this has been handled: The scheduled head and neck cases are predicated on the presence and successful arrival of this COL in a mission which I would personally deem critical. If I were the COL, I would have left yesterday during the scheduled flight and pushed for the DTS to be approved with the condition of adding the ETP later on the back end of the mission. The inaction of the higher echelon, as well as lack of sound judgement concerns me. Individuals occupying positions in which they are not qualified (whether S1, S3, or whomever the approval authority is in this case) or failure to understand the timeliness of their actions is also problematic. They had been approving ETPs for random travel requests that have not been this critical in nature. In this situation, they have been taking their time, which is of the essence. This COL's skillsets are needed to potentially save lives or improve the quality of life for the individuals in need of surgical care. Why is it so difficult to push a button and input the pin for a CAC signature that takes less than a minute? This is a no brainer, and yet the MDMP being utilized is not logical or even remotely close to being acceptable. We need to do better for our Soldiers and not keep them waiting last minute when it comes to these situations. Thoughts and opinions are welcomed.

Very Respectfully,
CPT Edward Krohn, MBA

Response by CSM Michael Chavaree made Aug 9 at 2020 1:04 PM

2020-08-09T13:04:04-04:00

I dont believe your tickets are officially purchased until it is authorized by the approving authority, so just leaving may not have worked.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 9 at 2020 1:11 PM

2020-08-09T13:11:40-04:00

What is ETP?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 9 at 2020 3:49 PM

2020-08-09T15:49:00-04:00

Your question really comes down to who is going to threaten their career to approve the COL trip? I probably would, I have 18+ years and unless I get a court martial I will be allowed to retire. But for others with families, what are they risking? When I was a young E4/E5 I knew I could risk getting demoted and make it back so I took those kinds of risks all the time. I had a flagrant disregard and cavalier attitude that got me in a lot of trouble helping out others. But for anyone over 10 years and hoping to get promoted again, that's a lot to risk.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 9 at 2020 5:11 PM

2020-08-09T17:11:44-04:00

As a former BN ODTA, I came across this similar issue that you're having. I was in a MI BN and we're sending people to different locations in support of different operations. I only needed to go through two people. What I did was I would talk to my BN commander and explained to him the situation and received a green light from the commander. I then talked to my BN AO and had him ready to sign the DTS authorization as soon as it came up. If the AO was not available to sign, I would get a verbal confirmation from the AO and call the ticketing office to go ahead and issue the ticket to the traveler. It cut down so many bureaucratic processes and increased a quick turn around.
Idk why the COL would have to wait on people. All he needs is to make one phone call to the brigade/battalion commander and things would magically happen.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Aug 10 at 2020 5:45 AM

2020-08-10T05:45:28-04:00

A Col. ? Not taking action on his own to demand a response, having full access to the next Col. within the COC, if that didn’t work then why did he not call the General? While I understand your concerns, the fault (in part) for all that you site regarding quality of life and saving lives falls squarely on the Col. His inaction in this case with S level staff members is worrisome. Col’s Wield a lot of authority and power.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Aug 10 at 2020 4:56 PM

2020-08-10T16:56:03-04:00

Pick up the phone in a case like this and talk to the approving authority. He or she will hopefully understand everything you put in this post and give approval.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2020 1:14 PM

2020-08-11T13:14:25-04:00

After I have exhausted my avenues of the desired action would I start to consider sticking my neck out. I did have one such instance where a soldier had a head neck injury at a CSTX event. Medical kept kicking him back to us, and wouldn't send him to the local civilian hospital. I had the bright idea of putting him in a HUMVEE and escort him to the civilian hospital myself. However, that would required leaving the exercise area myself against orders to stay in the training area.

What we ended up doing was just keep sending the soldier back until a medical professional stamped the right form we needed to get him to the civilian hospital. That usually seems to be the SOP in the military if you don't get an action you want. Just get in line again with someone different with the approval authority you want.

Response by LtCol Robert Quinter made Aug 12 at 2020 10:20 AM

2020-08-12T10:20:24-04:00

I've found that many senior officers direct involvement in resolving situations like this may need a refresher concerning which direction to go for a fix. You're familiar with the situation, fix it.