Posted on Apr 2, 2015
Rankism. Is there such a thing in the military?
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Rankism-discrimination against people on the grounds of rank.
There has always been grudges held at the various levels but for what reason. Countless times a new 2LT walks into a situation where he is instantly disliked for merely showing up. How many times have we thought of a new Private as automatically going to make mistakes so you have to treat as such. Or, the CSM that everyone thinks they only care about Uniform violations and walking on the grass.
Recently we found that SMA Dan Dailey revise the tattoo policy. I, for one, didn't see that coming. I didn't think a new SMA would make such a change like that for soldiers. At times we feel that they are so far disconnected from the soldiers they may not have us in mind.
Is this something that we face. Do soldiers with a certain rank or position get grouped in the a mass assumption of others that had that rank in the past?
There has always been grudges held at the various levels but for what reason. Countless times a new 2LT walks into a situation where he is instantly disliked for merely showing up. How many times have we thought of a new Private as automatically going to make mistakes so you have to treat as such. Or, the CSM that everyone thinks they only care about Uniform violations and walking on the grass.
Recently we found that SMA Dan Dailey revise the tattoo policy. I, for one, didn't see that coming. I didn't think a new SMA would make such a change like that for soldiers. At times we feel that they are so far disconnected from the soldiers they may not have us in mind.
Is this something that we face. Do soldiers with a certain rank or position get grouped in the a mass assumption of others that had that rank in the past?
Posted in these groups: 
Leadership
Rank
Leadership Rank
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 142
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I say just go to the PX and see if you find any parking spots that say "SSG's Only." *Drops mic
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CPL Ernest Hoag
CSM Ralph Hernandez observation: "mic drops" tend to attract "truth bombs." Well played!
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One of my Battalion Command teams just did a BN Cdr/CSM and Company Cdr/1SG for a Day with several PFCs and SPCs. They had to do all the briefings, meetings, and functions for a few days. Included Brigade Command and Staff, Training Meetings etc. Feedback was that the junior soldiers had no idea how much was going and what their leaders did, often unsolicited on their behalf. I scuffed up their Battalion over late awards, Evaluations, etc. XO worked them over on maintenance etc. I think walking a mile in someone's shoes helps build understanding. Understanding and shared experience builds Trust and breaks down barriers.
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LCpl Stephen Arnold
Flip side to that, Sir, is that senior leaders get a better understanding of how hard their troops work as well. That exchange is brilliant; my team commander did it when I was a young Marine, and he and I, upon the end of the day a debrief, had a new understanding of each other as did our fellow Marine teammates. And, I must say, I couldn't wait to hand the keys to the car back to dad, so to speak.
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SGT Jay Holland
One of my old units did a FRG fund raiser by raffling off the command and staff positions for a day.
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SPC David Roberts
But are the BN CDR/CSM and Company CO going to do a PFC/SPC for a day? The 1SG has already been there, of course. The CSM has probably forgotten.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
When is the PFC for a day scheduled, so the BN/BDE CDR and CSM can see what it is like at the bottom?
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Of course there is. We all make assessments based on "limited data" all the time. In other words, we "profile."
When you see an NCO, you treat them like an NCO. When you see an officer, you treat them like an officer. When you see a General, you treat them like a General. Unfortunately... when you see a junior service member (non-NCO), you treat them like none of the above.
Rank generally denotes "scope of responsibility, " as well as "time in service." TIS however is much more fluid and easy to mistake. There is no way to know on first glance that the 2LT had 12 years in, making SSG before going Green to Gold. There's no way to know if the SGM has 20 or 30 years. What we do know is a LT or a SGT, or a CPT "should" be able to handle anything up to X, and if it is above X, we need to ensure we are properly equipping them for the task.
That's where we often fail. Rank doesn't denote capability, it denotes invested power.
When you see an NCO, you treat them like an NCO. When you see an officer, you treat them like an officer. When you see a General, you treat them like a General. Unfortunately... when you see a junior service member (non-NCO), you treat them like none of the above.
Rank generally denotes "scope of responsibility, " as well as "time in service." TIS however is much more fluid and easy to mistake. There is no way to know on first glance that the 2LT had 12 years in, making SSG before going Green to Gold. There's no way to know if the SGM has 20 or 30 years. What we do know is a LT or a SGT, or a CPT "should" be able to handle anything up to X, and if it is above X, we need to ensure we are properly equipping them for the task.
That's where we often fail. Rank doesn't denote capability, it denotes invested power.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
SFC (Join to see) When I first got to the Fleet, I met a 2nd Lt. This was right after the Marine Corps got rid of Intel WO's. He had been "promoted" from W2 to 01... and he said he was thinking about putting his old lipstick Lt bar under his pocket flap so he could show people. He had reached the point of laughter about it, but "being treated like a Lt" was a hell of a lot different than "being treated like a WO or a SSgt"
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LT Charles Baird
I like the comment above about the difference between an A1C and a Butter bar is the A1C has been promoted twice - Well, not necessarily, if the Air Force is still doing what they were doing when I enlisted in 1987 then you could sign a 6 year enlistment and put on A1C right after basic training; so no you wouldn't be promoted twice but only once in 8 weeks.
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TSgt (Join to see)
After 18 years of enlisted service both Air Force and Navy, I will be commissioned next month as a 1LT. I already know most officers will not immediately see me as an asset. I will just be an inexperienced officer.
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Capt Elmer Lupton
TSgt (Join to see) - Show up in uniform with your full ribbon rack. That would be stunningly different from most 1Lts. Plus you're a 1Lt rather than 2Lt. Big difference.
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