Why does the Army appear to have a discipline issue with the lower enlisted ranks?

The major problem is guys are getting promoted at a rapid pace some guys still wet behind the ears in the Army have not even deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and they already Ssg

Just like you said, it’s not only the jr. enlisted. Unfortunately it’s not new.
Back in the early 90’s, my company had a SSG. Once he got in his car (while still in BDU’s). He would remove his cover & put on a Malcom X hat.
When his superiors would try & correct him. He would play the race card, even on the Top who was Hispanic.
So nothing got resolved.

It is adaptation to today's culture. Everyone is so easily offended and we don't want that. AR 350-6 is Trainee Leadership, and the trainee has many more rights under it than someone who has never been in TRADOC could ever understand. And the Privates are briefed on it from day one at the Reception Station. Some of it is good, some not. They cancelled end of course testing for Basic, give out a participation trophy patch in a "patching ceremony" because the Privates don't have combat patches and are jealous. What Division Commander was it that was going to forbid senior personnel from wearing combat patches because the Privates hadnt' earned one?

I can not say for sure. Its stands to reason that the government has run over the military as a whole. They have to have better training and higher physical standards in some cases. Drill instructors are not able to do there job. Sreamong is not there job. Training is.

The Army’s discipline started to slide in 2005 from what I observed personally. But so did the Marine Corps. I will never forget a bunch of marines at Fort Irwin (NTC) who decided to drink in the cantonment area and run their mouths like little kids. A SSG had to police up not just his joes, but the LT as well. It was very sad and pathetic to watch.
Generally speaking, discipline varies based on environment. Combat arms will always have more discipline than a medical unit for example, and for good reason. An E3 in a medical unit must be able to question a doctors (officer) orders and ask the why if needed. The doctor has to recognize a teaching moment vs. a PFC preventing a mistake. In combat arms, if you are told to take the hill, you take the damn hill. These behaviors affect overall discipline.

It begins with recruitment, the size of the Corps has always lent to the availability of recruits, the Corps can afford to pick and choose from the nations available population. The mere size of the Army and recruiting challenges results in waiver after waiver from the available population. Those with prior service and RE codes that are unfaivorable, young adults with backgrounds who have files sealed, etc. when you shake the tree of the Few and the Proud the pool to refill the ranks is large, when you shake that tree from an Army of many the pool is reduced.

Once in service the culture of our citizens begins to take shape within the ranks, tats, hair styles, mommy issues, the why generation and simply the why not generation. Those who did not respect their teachers, and parents will not likely respect the authority of those they do not know. Once it is evident that they are not fitting in, the process begins. Unfortunately that leads to what else culture provides, young leaders who have slid up in an environment based in questions.

These young leaders who are ill equipped based on the own moral fiber and lack of true identity, fail to coach, council and mentor in a way that is substantive. Back to the tree, the Marine tree is a bush in the grand scheme, the Army’s in essence a forest.

This had been true for decades, I entiered service in 1980, culture had both positive and negative effects, even though discipline was at a peak, there were those who failed to make the grade and were sent home in short order. The forest has deep roots, the trees before the forest will always stand tall, the saplings who fall will be either better or lesser for the ware. Society is he root cause, reshaping men and women is more challenging as society has become much more of a complex machine.

I ramble but if you read into the text, you will find that it is as it was, it is simply bigger and more complex, the issue of societal norms, Family values, and Core beliefs. Is the top 1 percent the same as it was, and who exactly is competing for them, while offering what they lack.

Thank you for your service.

The first question that comes to mind: from where did these low-rank recruits learn to be disrespectful? They had to see it occurring elsewhere & decided to emulate it. Meaning someone of higher
rank failed to enforce discipline. Oh oh......now the recruit has the green light to continue his path to eventual dishonorable discharge.
Now my next question: what favor is a soldier of higher rank doing to that recruit by failing to enforce discipline?
What I mean is: eventually that recruit will return to civilian life & there’s no company I know that’ll put up with undisciplined behavior reinforced while in the military.
So now we have an undisciplined vet with no job and probably an arrest record.
All because one individual of higher rank was too lazy to enforce discipline several years earlier. Perhaps that one moment of reinforcing discipline could have changed the life story of a former refusenik.

Lots of great comments- I agree with 99%, but I’ll offer another thought.

Is some of this the cause of the protracted GWOT? I think the lack of professionalism in the Army at the end of Vietnam was pretty well documented.
Leaders churn and burn so fast and so many were simply biding time to get out, discipline was someone else’s problem. Add in what everyone else is saying, but I think a constantly deploying force will suffer a drop in professionalism over time.

Just a thought.

Let me add my 2 cent into this, its because a lot of high ranking people think they are more of a person than say the lower enlisted and they had enough. Remarks complete

IMO because much of the NCO corps has lost its backbone. We spend way too much time coddling and "mentoring" and much less time enforcing standards. When I was a private my leaders asked me to do nothing. I was told what to do and how to do it. I get frustrated with an endless string of "why?" after giving simple, concise, and clear instructions. I once told a new private to go ask top the question of why. They returned and the private in the front leaning rest was told, "why...because I directed you to." I'm not going to answer why on the battlefield and someone's hesitation or less than full commitment may get someone or some people needlessly killed. I am sick of why.

From all the talk I have heard from my time in the Navy we had a slightly similar issue. For us the East Coast tended to be more strict, disciplined and tighter on the rules than the West Coast Navy. The same could also be said for the Big Navy (Aircraft Carriers) they tended to be more of a corporate structure and less tolerant of breaking the rules while at the same time you were just another face in the crowd. Conversely in the Small Navy ( Destoyers, Crusiers, Frigates) we where a lot less formal and a little more personal. We could be more understanding but if you stepped out of line everybody knew about. Also we had smaller groups with clear line for the chain of command which I think allowed us to handing things more directly and in house then a larger group of people like the army. CO->XO->Department head-> Specialty Officer (Main Propulsion Assistant, Damage Contol Assistant)->Division Officer. Command Master Chief (E-9)-> Departmental Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO) (E-8)-> Divison LCPO(E-7)-> Leading Petty Officer (LPO) (E-6). Also I would say that the rank culture in the Navy is vastly different. E1-3 are generally all treated as the same and you don’t have an E3 bossing and telling E1’s around and if you did people would raise an eyebrow and probably stop you. E4’s aren’t really look at too differently other than a you should know better / get your act together because you’re gonna start being in a real leadership position in the future. E5 is when hey you’re 2nd Class Petty Officer you know what needs to be done and help those bellow you get the job done. E6 your in charge now and if it’s wrong fix it. E7 you’re coming to me because something is really messed up and the Ship is gonna be affected because of it or you can’t find the 1st class.

I've served in the Active duty Marines, Army and reserves Army National Guard, Air Force, Marines. 16 years spanning 1974 to 2004. I have seen the real underbelly of the Service with murders, rapes , assaults. The crime and drug use in the Marines 1974 to 75 was rampant until they cracked down in 1976. Drug testing, dogs etc. I use to escort prisoners
.. mostly murders and worked some in a correctional facility..

It was Rampant in the Guard aswell until the DOD cracked down after the USS Nimitz crash in 1981. The Guard was relaxed and was fueled by drinking and drugs. Many troops were gang members who were given the choice jail or guard. What Mayhem that turned out to be. We had assaults and murders. The Air Force was very relaxed with no problems. The Gulf War era Guard was professional and Active Duty like. The 2003 Army was professional but with super bad behavior by women. The language and sex. Saw some assault and rape aftermath, normally dependent wives playing around at the club while husband is deployed. During my time I have seen or came across some really bad behavior by the Officer Corps. NCO's.. Normally prostitution... Adultry... Sexual harassment..etc.. my behaviour was not the best at times. Thus the CPL rank. But I would conclude that discipline is from the top down and if you give a inch.. human nature will take the mile.

Attitude and behavior reflect leadership. You could ask, “why does the Army (or military, in general) have a discipline issue with the higher enlisted and officer ranks?”

It’s not a simple question, and there isn’t one simple answer. Additionally, it’s not limited to the Army. Having worked primarily in joint environments, it was my experience that the Marines most often confused ‘discipline’ as a synonym for ‘professionalism’ or ‘respect’. However, They don’t mean the same thing. Marines were often the most unprofessional, disrespectful and ultimately, ineffective team members.

Much like headlines with higher ranking folks (across all services) acting ridiculous, headlines involving Marines doing ridiculous sh*t aren’t hard to find. From self-inflicted gutshots to mass roundups at battalion formations, to murdering Soldiers to etc etc, “Marines acting crazy” is an easy, common story to find.

The only thing that the Marines are elite at is instilling the idea in Marines that they are elite. But the Corps absolutely has a discipline issue; as much as any branch of service. They’re just more hyper focused on looking good to support the image. That stated, the Army isn’t perfect. There are a lot of valid answers to the question, and each would warrant their own paper.

A simple one is that as new generations come up in the Services, the older ones find them undisciplined. The WWI guys thought the WWII/Korea guys were undisciplined. The WWII/Korea guys thought the Vietnam guys were undisciplined. The Vietnam guys thought the Gulf war guys were undisciplined. The Gulf War guys thought the GWOT guys are undisciplined. The GWOT guys are going to think The ____ War guys are undisciplined. Etc. Just the nature of the beast. It’s kinda like why parents don’t like their kids’ music. And the Grandparents didn’t like the Parents’ music.

Another simple one is that folks are just more aware of large scale, service wide problems. 20 years ago, if a Marine in DC shot himself in the stomach or if a Soldier in Florida got arrested for drug smuggling, odds are that the average PFC Snuffy wasn’t going to hear about. But in the past few decades, things like 24 hour nonstop news channels and smartphones and the internet have exploded like a Gremlin that ate past midnight. Every transgression, big and small, is available to just about everyone all the time. That makes it harder to diminish, and also makes it appear amplified. Similar to crime statistics in the US. Every statistic indicates that violent crime and mass shootings are at low points, but with heightened, nonstop coverage, it simply seems like they’re getting worse.

Another answer would be as to how you define ‘discipline’. I touched on it previously, but ‘discipline’ isn’t synonymous with ‘respect’ or ‘professionalism’. If I had to ask a service member to drive my car 1000 miles, and get it there in two days with no dents and a full tank of gas, I’d ask a Marine. If I had to ask a service member to drive my Girlfriend 1000 miles, and make sure she gets there in two days with no dents, I would ask any other branch. Who cares if the car gets a few scratches. The girl, I trust. The average Marine, Maybe not so much.

Ultimately, leaders get out what they put in. There has and will always be good/bad, disciplined/undisciplined Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen. It’s not a new phenomenon. But ultimately, If leaders want more discipline, then leaders need to conduct themselves in a more disciplined manner.

Sorry for getting a bit long winded. Best of luck.

Shoot, I don't know. A lot of the long-timers seem to think so, so while it's anecdotal, and perhaps worthy of a little pinch of salt, I am inclined to listen to what they have to say. I was only in for 8 years between my Active and Reserve time--and that just ended a couple years ago--so I have no actual historical perspective. I would echo what someone else here said when they noted there are differences between the combat and soft-skill MOSs; insofar as what I witnessed. Whether that's an observation that holds across the board or is applicable to, say, just soft-skill MOS Reservists and not Active I don't' know. I do know discipline was very important when I was on Active Duty though.

Just my limited observations. Take 'em for what they're worth.

You're not wrong. And the problem starts with the NCO's that don't enforce the standard, and those NCO's that don't follow the standards.