Posted on May 15, 2018
Rank has its privileges means what precisely?
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Does rank have it's privileges mean power and position can do anything, to include violating policies, rules, regulation and law without consequences; or does it mean the higher the rank the more belief the system has in such service members? Leadership is not about position, power or persistence to damage another due to personal feelings.
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 17
No, it does not mean that you can choose to not follow the rules. It simply means that as you rise in rank, life tends to get better. For instance, I cleaned way more toilets and picked up thousands of more cigarette butts as an E-1 as I have as an O-3. I'm not above doing those things, but Captains rarely get tasked with that sort of stuff. So there's a privilege that comes with my rank.
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I've never heard the phrase uttered by anyone to justify violating a regulation or anything like that. I've only heard a junior soldier say it in derision when they were complaining about NCOs supervising manual labor instead of joining in with it. I have never heard an NCO use it to justify breaking rules or abusing power. If they did any of those things, it wouldn't be smart to flaunt it. Typically, a leader who does those things, doesn't stay a leader long. There are some privileges that come with rank, but that's usually offset by responsibilities that they now need to take care of.
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SGT Tony Clifford
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana that seems like a different issue. Courage is not something that only exists on a battlefield. There are many ways that one can show it. It is guaranteed that if this "leader" uses his power inappropriately once, he'll use it again similarly. I suggest capturing his lawlessness on a recording device and using the IG. If he tries to punish you, request a trial by court martial. It will bring spotlight on everything.
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SGT (Join to see)
SGT Tony Clifford I used to say it to my joes all the time. I phrased it a little differently, though. “Shit rolls downhill. BUT..the higher up the hill you are, the bigger the shitball is when it runs you over. By the time it gets to the bottom for you barbarians, it barely smells.”
Of course rank has its privileges. Higher ranks often have better privileges. Frankly, I’d find it a little weird if at the end of the duty day, a bunch of privates went home to their nice on-post homes with their names on placards on the front yards while all the colonels piled into the barracks to get ready for a madden tournament.
Lower ranks sometimes have the better privileges. I saw a lot of wild stuff in the Army, and I can remember just as many awful leaders as great ones. What I can honestly say I NEVER saw was, in a group setting, officers or NCOs eating first. Privates first, always. Without exception. Then junior NCOs, etc etc. Sometimes, it just pays to be a PVT.
Rank, as they say (sometimes High, sometimes Low), indeed has its privileges.
Of course rank has its privileges. Higher ranks often have better privileges. Frankly, I’d find it a little weird if at the end of the duty day, a bunch of privates went home to their nice on-post homes with their names on placards on the front yards while all the colonels piled into the barracks to get ready for a madden tournament.
Lower ranks sometimes have the better privileges. I saw a lot of wild stuff in the Army, and I can remember just as many awful leaders as great ones. What I can honestly say I NEVER saw was, in a group setting, officers or NCOs eating first. Privates first, always. Without exception. Then junior NCOs, etc etc. Sometimes, it just pays to be a PVT.
Rank, as they say (sometimes High, sometimes Low), indeed has its privileges.
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SFC David Xanten
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana - Then they should have neither. If you don't stand up to that kind of abuse of Rank, then you are complaisant in the problem.
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
Never be complacent with abuse of power, position or authority, and never allow waste. Thanks
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I'm pretty sure you asked a question to which you already knew the answer.
Has anyone EVER said that because of their rank they have "...power and position can do anything, to include violating policies, rules, regulation and law without consequences."? Granted some act that way, but has anyone in a public forum ever stated that their rank gives them that power and position?
Has anyone EVER said that because of their rank they have "...power and position can do anything, to include violating policies, rules, regulation and law without consequences."? Granted some act that way, but has anyone in a public forum ever stated that their rank gives them that power and position?
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
Yes Sir; I was told my CXO that if I ever complained about his highly unusual activities that he would use his rank, power, position to make me face his wrath until the end of my service; he claimed I would face extreme hardship. He said this in the face of subordinates to invoke fear in them too. Although nothing happened in my case, the subordinates were truly scared of that CXO and work got twice as hard. However, his unusual activities were eventually brought to light.
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MAJ (Join to see)
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana - With rank comes power. Some leaders will use that power to threaten others. While that's bad leadership in my book, it isn't really against the rules. If I have tasking authority over you, then I can task you with any lawful duty that I want so that you "feel my wrath". That's a bad place for you to be in for sure but it doesn't really constitute violating policies and rules. Plus, "unusual activities" is pretty vague. Are the activities themselves breaking the rules or just unusual? Hard to answer without more specifics.
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MAJ (Join to see)
SFC Kelly Fuerhoff - I agree fully. Honestly, the entire question seems a bit off to be coming from a CPT. We (those who have been in a while) should know that no one has a license to violate rules and policies regardless of their rank. His comments seem to indicate that there is something major going on but he has provided no details. So it leads me to believe (rightly or wrongly) that there's more smoke than actual fire. But it doesn't matter what I think. He's already talked to IG. If they don't see a problem, RP can't help him.
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Maj John Bell
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana - I don't know what a CXO is. I assume it is some sort of Executive Officer.
If your CXO was involved in some sort of unusual activity (immoral, unethical, or illegal); it was your moral obligation to shine the light of day on that activity, REGARDLESS of the personal consequences.
In your comment to MAJ (Join to see) "I spoke to the IG MAJ Jaren Glover Sir and, I was advised that perhaps the CO was ignorant of the law, rules and regulations." I don't know to whom you spoke, but ignorance of the law, rules and regulations is no excuse. If the CXO was in violation of the law, rules and regulations for ANY reason, including ignorance, the IG was duty bound to investigate and address the unusual activity. If the CXO was not in violation of the law, rules and regulations, the IG was duty bound to give you a clear explanation and understanding why they felt your complaint had no merit. Furthermore, they are duty bound to maintain confidentiality.
If the IG failed to investigate and address, failed to explain, or failed to maintain confidentiality; you recourse does not end there. I suggest a letter to your Senator, Congressional Representative. Furthermore, if there is even a hint of repercussions, you need a lawyer. If you tolerate illegal, immoral, or unethical conduct by your seniors you are essentially complicit in the questionable activity. You and you alone must look into the eyes of someone junior who pays the price you would not. As a Captain, I paid the price when two field grade officers would not step up. It affected how I saw them for the remaining time I had in the Marine Corps.
If your CXO was involved in some sort of unusual activity (immoral, unethical, or illegal); it was your moral obligation to shine the light of day on that activity, REGARDLESS of the personal consequences.
In your comment to MAJ (Join to see) "I spoke to the IG MAJ Jaren Glover Sir and, I was advised that perhaps the CO was ignorant of the law, rules and regulations." I don't know to whom you spoke, but ignorance of the law, rules and regulations is no excuse. If the CXO was in violation of the law, rules and regulations for ANY reason, including ignorance, the IG was duty bound to investigate and address the unusual activity. If the CXO was not in violation of the law, rules and regulations, the IG was duty bound to give you a clear explanation and understanding why they felt your complaint had no merit. Furthermore, they are duty bound to maintain confidentiality.
If the IG failed to investigate and address, failed to explain, or failed to maintain confidentiality; you recourse does not end there. I suggest a letter to your Senator, Congressional Representative. Furthermore, if there is even a hint of repercussions, you need a lawyer. If you tolerate illegal, immoral, or unethical conduct by your seniors you are essentially complicit in the questionable activity. You and you alone must look into the eyes of someone junior who pays the price you would not. As a Captain, I paid the price when two field grade officers would not step up. It affected how I saw them for the remaining time I had in the Marine Corps.
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