Why would the Chain of Command of command be hostile to questions?

Military or civilian world its all the same. If you are a leader and you are responsible for employees its your duty to listen and help resolve issues.

I will be the first to tell you that there are some "old school" leaders that are still teaching suck it up buttercup methodology in the military. It has its time and place, but there is a push for the resiliency training to be taught. After going through MRT I find that I recognize that I have used many of these skills already but I never really passed them on like I could have or I had described them differently. We need to harden up as a military in some areas, but we also need to be approachable and assist others in need as we are a big family.

I have an open door policy and many in my company can tell you that this includes calling me anytime day or night if you have a serious issue. Yes utilize your chain of command, but if you have a personal issue that you do not want to share with others or it is something with your chain or something so severe that I must know as a commander right away I am available. I try to make a practice of if a leader tells me that one of their Soldiers need to talk to me that within 5 minutes I can meet with them. Obviously this does not always work, but I try. I also have a great chaplain that has built a great trust in the entire brigade. I utilize him to assist me.

So the first question is do these Soldiers utilize their chain of command or are they jumping it? Are they asking at appropriate times? If they are then they may want to seek someone else to ask for assistance as they may be the wrong NCOs and officers to ask as they are not the best role models. Also, I always recommend having a mentor that is completely out of your chain of command as there is no pressure or influence in helping you with your questions, issues, and plans within the military and outside.

I believe the effect of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and deployments have taken a toll on Senior Leaders, and I'm sure they have their fair share of personal problems too. I seen it in 2005 and 2006, soldiers used to skip their chain-of-command to come talk to me. Some just wanted someone to listen to them, and others needed advice and whatever I had to offer they felt a sign of relief. It is every Senior Leader responsibility to do everything within their power to reach out to their subordinate soldiers, this was taught in Leadership Courses for NCO's. A Leader who is committed will find the resources to help a soldier, but unfortunately there are some leaders only looking out for themselves.

This problem is not exclusive to the Army as I have also seen it in the Air Force. My opinion is that the hostile response could be due to intimidation, insecurity, lack of knowledge, lack of interest in mentoring, and poor attitude. The very sad thing that I witness as an FGO is that junior folks need mentoring, and the senior enlisted and officers don't want to provide that needed mentoring. Yet, someone invested their time, blood, sweat, and tears into making sure the senior officers and enlisted members got promoted when they were up and coming. So why can't they return the favor? As a result, I take every opportunity to mentor whatever rank in whatever branch. I have been fortunate enough to have had mostly great mentors. The key point that I make when educating folks is that I encourage them to find a mentor that will take an active interest in them and their progress. As for those poor leaders and mentors SPC Mulder mentioned, if you persevere long enough, leadership often changes. Lastly, although it may be tough to endure the storm of a horrible leader, there is a silver lining. They are teaching you how not to lead!

It seems to me that this thread leads back to a point I heard when going through Chief's initiation - "You've had good leaders and bad ones in your career. Think about them. You'll probably learn more about leadership from the bad ones."

As leaders, mentoring subordinates (and in some cases, superiors as well), is the bulk of your role. Many of the Soldiers new to the Army are new to life in general. Many personal problems they experience are new to them and they are not yet able to navigate the resources available to them. Not to mention the fact that their leaders ARE the key resource they're given.
All levels of leadership are meant to ensure the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs are being met. This includes helping Soldiers with personal problems. If for no other reason than understanding a personal problem can severely affect performance at work.
If leadership is too callous to care for a Soldier in their charge, then they are ignoring the majority of the responsibility that has been entrusted to them.
It's not about being ultra sensitive, it's not even about feeling their pain on a personal level. It's about empathy, and knowing that you have a personal and professional interest in the well-being of your troops.
What gets the eye roll from me is the people who are the most guilty of this type of behavior, treating troops with mild neglect because they are too busy to care, are the same ones who will insist the Army is like a family, look out for your battle buddy, never leave a fallen comrade, and any other catch phrase you can think of.
They are usually disnengenuous altogether.

This is what we now call "Toxic Leaders." What is so bad about them is that they can contaminate all of those around them. They can ruin a soldier and that soldier will become an NCO one day and be a toxic leader also. I am sure that this is the case with those in your CoC. It is a difficult situation. All I can say is that you must learn from this and put a stop to this when you are a leader. If you do a good job as an NCO others will notice and you may be able to influence those around you in a positive way.

It took a while, but eventually I found the right people to go to for help, but I shouldn't be turned away and feel like I'm not part of the flight when I need help repeatedly before I figure out who to ask. It is frustrating when you are trying to learn who is good to ask about what. Sometimes you get lucky and have an expert on the subject around.

You are on point. I don't know why the come off so abrasive and dismissive.

I have seen this in line units (infantry companies) but it was due to time constraints. We always had question time during weapons maintenance or downtime where we could approach our leadership and ask such questions.

In my brigade unit, we are constantly encouraged to ask questions, learn as much as we can, and always expand our opportunities. Any EO/SHARP/Open Door policy concerns should never be ignored regardless of the unit or command. If it is only a select few, perhaps requesting to talk to the 1SG or Commander about this issue. Leaders should never dismiss an opportunity to develop a junior!