Troops
Troops
20
20
0
Sometimes you just gotta beSarge.
On the Big Island of Hawaii there is an Army Training Base up near the top of Mauna Loa Volcano.
Pohakuloa Training Area. When you train up there, the air is thin, it gets cold (and yes, snow). In the Summer, well, it is so far up in the air that you get sunburned in minutes. Everything is rock. Just lava rock. Boots last about the month you are there- then you toss them out when you get back to Garrison. The lava rock has sliced your boots to pieces. A couple of uniforms don’t make it back to the barracks either.
It cost the Army a lot to ship whole Battalion over there- so you train the whole thirty days, with a “Stand-Down" in the middle for just two days. And a lot of guys use those days to let off steam, drink, play poker, and relax. Some go into town - either Kona on the dry side, or Hilo on the wet side of the island. Your whole platoon sleeps in a Quonset Hut. Those old arched metal buildings with the horrible acoustics and oil burning stoves- are your home. You get a cot, a sleeping bag, and a footlocker. Luxury.
And that is where our story begins.
“Sarge, I am glad you are back. We had an incident in the Hut last night.”
I had just taken the deuce and a half shuttle up from Kona that morning. I was only gone one night. What could anyone do wrong staying at Camp? Nothing can burn, unless the lava starts coming out of the ground. The EM and NCO clubs close at 8 PM. So what could have happened?
“What incident?”
“Well, one of the guys got mad at one of the other guys for playing his radio to loud. He said he just wanted to sleep, but couldn’t because the radio was blasting.”
Note: In a Quonset hut the acoustics are weird. You can be right next to your radio - and barely hear it. You can be at the other end of the hut - and it is ear splitting loud.
“So why didn’t he just ask the guy to turn it off?”
“He did. But it was Sampson (names are changed to protect the innocent- plus I am so old I can’t remember). You know how stubborn he is. He wouldn’t turn it off.”
“Okay, so what happened?”
“Well, Burkett said a couple of times to Sampson to turn it off. Sampson said come on down and turn it off yourself.”
I knew where this was headed, but not how it ended.
“Go on.”
“Well Sarge…Burkett was a bit drunk (that surprised me, Burkett was usually a lot drunk when off duty- good soldier until Duty was over). So he got a Fire Ax, walked down to Sampson’s bunk and chopped the Radio to pieces. “
“Why didn’t he just unplug it?”
“Burkett says he was to mad to think right.”
“Yeah, I can understand that. What did Sampson do?”
“Nothing. But now he wants you to give Burkett an Article Fifteen.”
Note: I hated recommending an Article 15 for anyone. In the Army it is much easier to lose rank than to make rank. I preferred handling it within the Platoon. There are lots of “punishments” available that don’t require stripping someone of their rank, but will make them sorry they did whatever they did wrong. Take away their weekend, or send them to load Ammo trucks, or make them carry the Platoon and Company PRC-77’s on hikes. Lots of options.
So I have to talk to both Soldiers.
“Okay let me see Burkett first.”
“Sarge, I am sorry. I was so tired, I just wanted to sleep. I hate that Heavy Metal stuff that Sampson listens too. I asked him a bunch of times to just turn it down, or turn it off. But he wouldn’t. When he told me: “ …come down here and turn it off yourself…” I snapped. The Fire Ax was next to my bunk. So I just took it off the wall and went down and chopped that radio into little pieces. I will buy him another one. I already told him I was sorry.”
“Okay, wait outside while I talk with Sampson.”
“So, Sampson, how come you didn’t just turn off the radio?”
“Aww Sarge, you know me. I was just having a little fun teasing Burkett. I thought he would just pass out.”
“You know I warned you about teasing drunk or pissed off people before.”
Sampson shrugged.
“Sarge, it wasn’t any big deal. But he came down with an Ax and busted my radio!”
“Sure, after you taunted him for half an hour according to the other guys.”
“Well, yeah.”
“You are bigger than Burkett by a foot, and outweigh him by fifty pounds…why didn’t you just tell him to back off- and turn the radio down.”
Sampson looked at me like I had two heads.
“Are you crazy, Sarge? I ain’t saying nothing to a naked man with an ax.”
It was all I could do to not break out laughing.
Sometimes you just gotta be a Sarge.
On the Big Island of Hawaii there is an Army Training Base up near the top of Mauna Loa Volcano.
Pohakuloa Training Area. When you train up there, the air is thin, it gets cold (and yes, snow). In the Summer, well, it is so far up in the air that you get sunburned in minutes. Everything is rock. Just lava rock. Boots last about the month you are there- then you toss them out when you get back to Garrison. The lava rock has sliced your boots to pieces. A couple of uniforms don’t make it back to the barracks either.
It cost the Army a lot to ship whole Battalion over there- so you train the whole thirty days, with a “Stand-Down" in the middle for just two days. And a lot of guys use those days to let off steam, drink, play poker, and relax. Some go into town - either Kona on the dry side, or Hilo on the wet side of the island. Your whole platoon sleeps in a Quonset Hut. Those old arched metal buildings with the horrible acoustics and oil burning stoves- are your home. You get a cot, a sleeping bag, and a footlocker. Luxury.
And that is where our story begins.
“Sarge, I am glad you are back. We had an incident in the Hut last night.”
I had just taken the deuce and a half shuttle up from Kona that morning. I was only gone one night. What could anyone do wrong staying at Camp? Nothing can burn, unless the lava starts coming out of the ground. The EM and NCO clubs close at 8 PM. So what could have happened?
“What incident?”
“Well, one of the guys got mad at one of the other guys for playing his radio to loud. He said he just wanted to sleep, but couldn’t because the radio was blasting.”
Note: In a Quonset hut the acoustics are weird. You can be right next to your radio - and barely hear it. You can be at the other end of the hut - and it is ear splitting loud.
“So why didn’t he just ask the guy to turn it off?”
“He did. But it was Sampson (names are changed to protect the innocent- plus I am so old I can’t remember). You know how stubborn he is. He wouldn’t turn it off.”
“Okay, so what happened?”
“Well, Burkett said a couple of times to Sampson to turn it off. Sampson said come on down and turn it off yourself.”
I knew where this was headed, but not how it ended.
“Go on.”
“Well Sarge…Burkett was a bit drunk (that surprised me, Burkett was usually a lot drunk when off duty- good soldier until Duty was over). So he got a Fire Ax, walked down to Sampson’s bunk and chopped the Radio to pieces. “
“Why didn’t he just unplug it?”
“Burkett says he was to mad to think right.”
“Yeah, I can understand that. What did Sampson do?”
“Nothing. But now he wants you to give Burkett an Article Fifteen.”
Note: I hated recommending an Article 15 for anyone. In the Army it is much easier to lose rank than to make rank. I preferred handling it within the Platoon. There are lots of “punishments” available that don’t require stripping someone of their rank, but will make them sorry they did whatever they did wrong. Take away their weekend, or send them to load Ammo trucks, or make them carry the Platoon and Company PRC-77’s on hikes. Lots of options.
So I have to talk to both Soldiers.
“Okay let me see Burkett first.”
“Sarge, I am sorry. I was so tired, I just wanted to sleep. I hate that Heavy Metal stuff that Sampson listens too. I asked him a bunch of times to just turn it down, or turn it off. But he wouldn’t. When he told me: “ …come down here and turn it off yourself…” I snapped. The Fire Ax was next to my bunk. So I just took it off the wall and went down and chopped that radio into little pieces. I will buy him another one. I already told him I was sorry.”
“Okay, wait outside while I talk with Sampson.”
“So, Sampson, how come you didn’t just turn off the radio?”
“Aww Sarge, you know me. I was just having a little fun teasing Burkett. I thought he would just pass out.”
“You know I warned you about teasing drunk or pissed off people before.”
Sampson shrugged.
“Sarge, it wasn’t any big deal. But he came down with an Ax and busted my radio!”
“Sure, after you taunted him for half an hour according to the other guys.”
“Well, yeah.”
“You are bigger than Burkett by a foot, and outweigh him by fifty pounds…why didn’t you just tell him to back off- and turn the radio down.”
Sampson looked at me like I had two heads.
“Are you crazy, Sarge? I ain’t saying nothing to a naked man with an ax.”
It was all I could do to not break out laughing.
Sometimes you just gotta be a Sarge.
Trainee
Discipline
Sergeant
Troops
Humor
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
8
8
0
Great share- love the personal stories
LTC Stephen F. SP5 Mark Kuzinski COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SPC Margaret HigginsMaj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SGT Steve McFarland LTC (Join to see) PO3 Craig Phillips Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll PO1 H Gene Lawrence TSgt Joe C. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt (Join to see) SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG Donald H "Don" Bates Cpl (Join to see) PVT Mark Zehner
LTC Stephen F. SP5 Mark Kuzinski COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SPC Margaret HigginsMaj Bill Smith, Ph.D. SGT Steve McFarland LTC (Join to see) PO3 Craig Phillips Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll PO1 H Gene Lawrence TSgt Joe C. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt (Join to see) SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG Donald H "Don" Bates Cpl (Join to see) PVT Mark Zehner
(8)
(0)
Suspended Profile
Story time, sort of:
I don’t like to yell. It upsets me and now more people are angry. I wasn’t always that way, and sometimes I DO have to yell, but I prefer to handle things in other ways...so I’ve found two really good, solid, reliable ways to address issues that have worked very well for me over the last decade or so:
1. The Batman butt chewing. Soldiers expect NCO’s the dig in that backside when they screw up. It’s tradition, it’s in the movies, it’s basic training yada yada...
What they’re not ready for is when you don’t...I maintain a very even, emotionless voice while I explain what they did wrong and what they should do to get right. There may be talk of extra duty or corrective training, there will certainly be a lecture on policies, rules and regulations, and it for sure is a one way conversation. All done while looking not in their eyes but just over one of their shoulders. I’ll cop to it being straight psychological torture...but no one walks away mad and the point is made. Sometimes I’ll even smile a bit...and when they inevitably circle back around later to ask why I was smiling at them the answer is “a shark always smiles before it bites”
2. The essay. I tend to assume that when joe screws up its due to a lack of knowledge. So I make them acquire knowledge. A 500 or 1000 or more word essay, MLA format, with sources and citations, that is somehow related to what they did wrong. They get one rewrite before extra duty or corrective training. There are probably a few soldiers in my section that can do more PT than me...but no one has survived my red pen.
Not THE way, just my way lol
I don’t like to yell. It upsets me and now more people are angry. I wasn’t always that way, and sometimes I DO have to yell, but I prefer to handle things in other ways...so I’ve found two really good, solid, reliable ways to address issues that have worked very well for me over the last decade or so:
1. The Batman butt chewing. Soldiers expect NCO’s the dig in that backside when they screw up. It’s tradition, it’s in the movies, it’s basic training yada yada...
What they’re not ready for is when you don’t...I maintain a very even, emotionless voice while I explain what they did wrong and what they should do to get right. There may be talk of extra duty or corrective training, there will certainly be a lecture on policies, rules and regulations, and it for sure is a one way conversation. All done while looking not in their eyes but just over one of their shoulders. I’ll cop to it being straight psychological torture...but no one walks away mad and the point is made. Sometimes I’ll even smile a bit...and when they inevitably circle back around later to ask why I was smiling at them the answer is “a shark always smiles before it bites”
2. The essay. I tend to assume that when joe screws up its due to a lack of knowledge. So I make them acquire knowledge. A 500 or 1000 or more word essay, MLA format, with sources and citations, that is somehow related to what they did wrong. They get one rewrite before extra duty or corrective training. There are probably a few soldiers in my section that can do more PT than me...but no one has survived my red pen.
Not THE way, just my way lol
SGT Kevin Hughes
SFC Thomas Foreman Hey Thomas, this is brilliant! It is because of men and women (two of the best First Sergeants I ever served with were women) like you that younger newer Sergeants like me learned how to discipline without getting USMCJ involved. Those little tips and tidbits - and huge dollop of experience make stories like yours and mine learning experiences. Good job.
(0)
(0)
Suspended Profile
SGT Kevin Hughes thank you for your kind words. I don’t ever claim to be a great leader I just claim to care and work hard. The pride I take is in the success of the soldiers I had a part in training...the warrant who currently writes my NCOER was a private in my platoon when I was a PSG and I could not be more proud of her!
SGT Kevin Hughes
SFC Thomas Foreman That's what I meant Thomas, "I Just claim to care and work hard. " And that is the core of every good Soldier I ever met. Slouches rarely take command. And that thread that said : "You can do great things if you don't care who gets the credit." Well, that is a trait I found in every good Officer and Sergeant I ever worked with.
(0)
(0)
4
4
0
SGT Kevin Hughes
Lt Col Charlie Brown - Thanks Colonel...I really didn't like recommending Article 15's. They were just young and dumb...Like me!
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google