Posted on Jun 8, 2014
What would you do for a family friend getting picked on in another chain of command?
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You have a family friend that is new to the Army and it so happened he is stationed at your base. He came to you one day for some help. His team leader is picking on him, he even we as far as having him break his profile. Sometime even smoking him, the Soldier went to his 1SG and nothing is being done. You are a senior NCO he came to you for help what would you do?
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Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 2
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Talk to the equivalent level NCO in that unit that you are to see what the real truth is. I once heard this saying about arguments in marriage "There is always three sides to a story. His, hers, and the truth." The military is like that too and we need to ensure we do not blindly trust and make an a-- of yourself by not knowing the whole picture such as well he did not have a real profile in the system or it was expired. The same rank/position helps avoid feeling like pressuring from outside unit and creating a big stink over it. Though that may happen anyway. Always go in with an open mind and do not accuse.
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LTC (Join to see)
IG may be able to assist. If he is the only being targeted period and it is due to something that sets himself apart such as his race EO may be the way to go as well.
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CPT (Join to see)
I would not encourage going to the IG at this point. Listen to CPT Maurelli. I recommend approaching the whole thing by asking questions and behaving as impartially as possible. Your friend is new to the Army and you know how many disconnects there can be. You do not want to let a simple misunderstanding blow up. Ask yourself how you would want to be approached if the shoe was on the other foot, and your friend was your Soldier and another SFC came to you about his friend. You most certainly wouldn't want him/her to show up with the IG in tow and this is the first time you are hearing about it, right?
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CMSgt James Nolan
I agree with CPT Maurelli, and CPT Wolfer (wow, actually just agreed with two officers at the same time-humor inserted). You have to be open minded, because the tendency would be to take at face value the comments of someone you know. I definitely would not seek out anything remotely resembling IG until I was 100% sure that there was no alternative. My opinion is that the IG is often misused (not saying that you were headed that way) and that the IG should only be sought out after all other means have been exhausted and have failed. My first agenda would be to sit down with the new "troop" and hear them out, then provide mentorship to attempt to get them to alleviate on their own, the situation, then if I felt it necessary step in and ask a Q or 2. I feel pretty sure that I would get to the bottom of the true situation with a few Qs to the right folks. The lesson may very well wind up with a short speech called "Life is now real, welcome to the military, you may not get along with everyone." On the other hand, you could very well find yourself having to intervene. Good luck.
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Determine what specific article of the UCMJ or portion of any policy or directive is being violated (been out over 15 years, so my recall of the specific article of the UCMJ). Essentially, abusing a subordinate.
Educate him on what you find, and have him use the open door policy to notify the commander and ask to prefer charges. He needs to know what specific resolution he seeks. Commander has the latitude to do something or do nothing.
If he isn't satisfied with the results, and it persists, he can elevate to the open door at the next level, or the IG.
I wouldn't suggest you inject yourself for a number of reasons. Foremost, he is a Soldier and needs to learn to take up for himself. If he doesn't now, he'll not be able to take care of his Soldiers when he becomes a leader.
Second reason I wouldn't suggest you inject yourself is if the 1SG is aware, your complaint goes nowhere, and it only gets worse for your friend.
Educate him on what you find, and have him use the open door policy to notify the commander and ask to prefer charges. He needs to know what specific resolution he seeks. Commander has the latitude to do something or do nothing.
If he isn't satisfied with the results, and it persists, he can elevate to the open door at the next level, or the IG.
I wouldn't suggest you inject yourself for a number of reasons. Foremost, he is a Soldier and needs to learn to take up for himself. If he doesn't now, he'll not be able to take care of his Soldiers when he becomes a leader.
Second reason I wouldn't suggest you inject yourself is if the 1SG is aware, your complaint goes nowhere, and it only gets worse for your friend.
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