Posted on Nov 15, 2017
‘No changes to standards’: Army leaders take control of waiver controversy
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Great news...gotta love it when media misreports the news.
‘No changes to standards’: Army leaders take control of waiver controversy
Posted from armytimes.com
Recruiting
Leadership
Media
Posted 7 y ago
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Interesting that we get all up in arms when the media reports our standards are being compromised. Yet a large portion of our service members simply disregard the standard daily. As a BCT Drill Sergeant I see it every single cycle. Recruits with every possible medical/behavioral health issue. Maybe they aren’t getting “official” waivers but MEPS and recruiters can’t be this blind. We push sub par trainees and title them “Soldier” onto AIT and hope that maybe someday, somehow they figure it out. Maybe we should empower those at the ground level and give us some support. As a leader in FORSCOM I consistently complained about new soldiers and now I understand. Numbers are all that matters. That is the absolute bottom line. It only seems to matter if we are accused by the fiercely slanted media that a response from the highest levels is warranted. What do I know? I’ll just continue to take arms against the sea of troubles and by opposing them, maybe at least slow them down. To die, to sleep, no more.
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I can say that without a doubt this comes from the BEST Drill Sergeant in TRADOC. I understand that I do not know ALL of the Drill Sergents in TRADOC and that it is simply just my opinion. I may not be the smartest person but there are a few things I understand better than most. A leader who issues punishment because they are angry, or who finds personal enjoyment in punishing subordinates are two of the worst types of leaders to empower. This Drill Sergeant does neither. This Drill Sergeant actually gets mad that his subordinates make him issue punishment, but he does not get mad AT them. There is a huge different between the two types of leaders. My point in all of this is that if this Drill Sergeant says TRADOC’s only goal is to pump out numbers he is correct.
I was accused of being a shit bag while at BCT. I am not trying to defend myself. Since being at AIT I have not had a single problem with any of my AIT Platoon Sergeants. I was late to morning PT once. I served my punishment, and they assured me that it was water under the bridge. I suffered through BCT with bigger shit bags than me. AIT is the same. From my first night of reception I have dealt with children fresh out of high school who were taking ADD medications for years. They quit taking them cold turkey and acted like idiots through BCT. Now in AIT they have calmed down a little but they are still just children being children while being under the impression that they are adults just because they signed on the dotted line.
If the Army wanted to raise it’s quality of new trainees it would not accept mental health waivers, it would raise the enlistment age to 21, and it would get rid of split ops except for college years. The generation gap between young adults of the past, and these children now is too large of a spread to return from.
I believe the Drill Sergeants when they say their hands are tied from above. I understand that I am not the best person in the Army but I am certainly not the worst. I have had the honor and the privilege to meet two of the best NCO’s the army has to offer, one at BCT, and the other at AIT. Niether of them know each other, but they both say the same thing. The only thing they have in common other their than their points of view is that I would follow them into combat any day knowing that I am behind men who I can trust to lead the way. The new generation that is the topic of this post will never be able to pull their heads out of their asses to be able to lead anyone anywhere.
I was accused of being a shit bag while at BCT. I am not trying to defend myself. Since being at AIT I have not had a single problem with any of my AIT Platoon Sergeants. I was late to morning PT once. I served my punishment, and they assured me that it was water under the bridge. I suffered through BCT with bigger shit bags than me. AIT is the same. From my first night of reception I have dealt with children fresh out of high school who were taking ADD medications for years. They quit taking them cold turkey and acted like idiots through BCT. Now in AIT they have calmed down a little but they are still just children being children while being under the impression that they are adults just because they signed on the dotted line.
If the Army wanted to raise it’s quality of new trainees it would not accept mental health waivers, it would raise the enlistment age to 21, and it would get rid of split ops except for college years. The generation gap between young adults of the past, and these children now is too large of a spread to return from.
I believe the Drill Sergeants when they say their hands are tied from above. I understand that I am not the best person in the Army but I am certainly not the worst. I have had the honor and the privilege to meet two of the best NCO’s the army has to offer, one at BCT, and the other at AIT. Niether of them know each other, but they both say the same thing. The only thing they have in common other their than their points of view is that I would follow them into combat any day knowing that I am behind men who I can trust to lead the way. The new generation that is the topic of this post will never be able to pull their heads out of their asses to be able to lead anyone anywhere.
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