Posted on Jul 10, 2017
SGT Tcs Ncoic
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I would love to see this happen (I know it won't). Every couple week or so a board meets and hears out of some of the problems that need to be addressed that a lot of field grade officers don't see. Not like a complaining session but where actual issues all the way around need to be adjusted. Would it work? Would problems get fixed? Thoughts?
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Responses: 14
LTC Kevin B.
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Edited 7 y ago
We had something similar when I was an enlisted soldier at Fort Hood, and it worked great. We had a Junior Enlisted Council, where every platoon within the battalion had a representative (and one of those representatives was designated as the Chair of the Council). The Council met monthly, sorted through all of the various problems, focused on those that were legitimate, prioritized those needing to be addressed most urgently, and then went to the Battalion Commander with proposed solutions. He fixed so many problems in such a short manner that, before long, the subordinate leaders (Company Commanders, 1SGs, etc.) were asking us to bring issues directly to them, and they'd fix it at their level (rather than having the big boss come down onto them). We solved issues with leave policies, duty rosters, unfair/uneven treatment of soldiers, harassment, etc. It can work, but if you have a responsive chain of command (who actually listens and takes action), it shouldn't be necessary.
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SGT Tcs Ncoic
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That sounds amazing. I would love something like that. I just feel as though the OPTEMPO is way to high. In any unit or specially an Air Defense unit. You don't have enough time to sit around and here the problems so they don't get brought to light or even noticed for that matter.
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MSG Intermediate Care Technician
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This could be a good idea (if OPTEMPO allows for it), but you and I both know that Soldiers will just turn it into a b*tch session about anything and everything.
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SGT English/Language Arts Teacher
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7 y
That is why I opt for just using the chain of command.
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SGT Tcs Ncoic
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Yeah which would suck cause that would completely defeat the purpose. I think you send your most squared away soldiers with a few ideas from around the unit to bring them to light and let them speak so it doesn't turn into a huge b*tch session.
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MSG Intermediate Care Technician
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7 y
SGT (Join to see) - But then the bad side of the coin will be those dirtbag Soldiers filing a mad complaint for not being allowed to attend that particular board. While a good idea in principle, it will just not work in an actual application.
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Lt Col Jim Coe
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I think there is little possibility this would work. The military isn't good at doing things by committee, just not set up that way by culture or training. There are avenues for junior enlisted personnel to bring legitimate complaints to the attention of the chain of command. BTW, you might be surprised at what SNCOs and Field Grade officers know. A lot of things get discussed in staff meetings with the XO or Commander. Not everything can be top priority. Sometimes they choose not to address some challenges because of limited resources and time. The other thing military organizations sometimes do poorly is providing feedback when a problem is identified.
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