Why are so many NCOs afraid to hold Soldiers to the standard?

I have a few responses:

1. They were not held to that standard or worse yet they do not hold themselves to that standard and often fail that standard (ie: ht/wt, regulation boots, etc.).

2. They do not read and therefore do not know the regulations.

3. They have no backing from higher to enforce the standard and are sometimes cut at the knees when higher allows the Soldiers to not perform to standard, higher does not support them when they try to enforce (ie: they do not take rank away or article 15, etc. for failure to obey order etc.).

4. Nobody else is doing it so why should I?

5. How can I enforce it if the 1SG or CSM or ..... does not meet the standards. How many leaders do you know that do not meet ht/wt or pass an APFT? We have all had a bad day or a bad tape/height where we were shorted an inch or something of the sort. However, there are leaders who never passed in years and yet are allowed to be in leadership roles. It is hard to enforce ht/wt when your 1SG or CSM is 100 lbs overweight. Try explaining that to Joe.

I think that in some cases it's a matter of people being accustom to a more lax environment overseas where standards aren't quite so strictly enforced. In other cases I think it has to do with being afraid of hurting someone's poor little feels and getting slapped by the mighty hand of EO.

Also, I've seen a number of cases where a lower enlisted screws up and gets verbally corrected and then said lower enlisted goes and cries to the 1SG or CO and the correcting NCO gets his/her butt handed to them and the lower enlisted in the wrong walks free and clear.

It's plain and simple. Some NCOs are afraid of being NCOs. They want the pay but not the additional responsibility. NCOs set and enforce standards. PERIOD! Every on-the-spot correction should be made and standards should be enforced without question.

I just think soldiers just get out of hand. By no means am  I perfect, but I make corrections when needed.  Im a SSG currently deployed, and I can't tell you how many times I go to make a correction to one of these jokers with his hands in his pockets, and he's talking to another SSG, and SFC who all have their hands in their pockets looking crazy. This is just one example of many, but I just think we need to get back to basics on this. If you wanna look like a douche, go join the Air Force.

They have not been properly trained.  

As far as I can see it, most of the problems holding NCOs to standards could be traced back to one person. That is the CO of the unit. I was stationed in a MP unit, that certain NCOs and/or enlisted were the CO's favorites, and to do anything to those people was professional suicide even for the First Sergeant. I had a E4 that was extremely disobedient, and disrespectful but since he was one of the CO's favorites, he was untouchable. The CO wanted to rewrite the E4's performance Eval because it was unfavorable. I respectfully refused. I seriously doubt that the eval ever left the CO's office though. 

At risk of getting up on a political soap box, I'd have to chalk it up to Hollywood and politics and liberal agendas making us so much more of a peaceful, politically correct, non-confrontational country that people are afraid of that confrontation that happens when one person has to call another out on something wrong.

I understand that standards have to be met but I want to believe that we all have a job to do while at work and I think nco's focus on job training and job standards more than if my nails are a little to long that day. Does it really matter! I think they need to revamp some of these ridiculous standards anyway

In my opinion,many NCOs would rather seem like the "cool" or "laid back" sergeant, rather than the hardcore "super hooah" type. In the end when we NCOs fail to uphold the standards and enforce discipline we are not only hurting ourselves, but our soldiers as future leaders, and really the army as a whole.