Being allowed to fail and failing hard. Is the military Zero Defect? Are we allowed to fail?

2015-01-15T18:48:03-05:00

I learned allot more from failures than I ever did from success but I was successful more often then a failure. I also learned a lot from the failures of others; I wonder if my later success was at their expense.

Resiliency is a desired leader trait.
What do you think? Have you been allowed to fail? How was your failure handled? Is this a zero defect military?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 22 at 2015 9:37 AM

2015-02-22T09:37:05-05:00

It looks to be slowly reverting back to the zero defect military that was prevalent in the 1990s. I am deeply disappointed in that, and you can see on a similar topic where others are talking about failure and how failure shouldn't be an option.

Response by CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 1:39 PM

2015-10-26T13:39:23-04:00

Yes. The military inches closer and closer to the "zero defect" mentality every day. You see it in the evaluations of officers and NCOs. You see it when a joe gets thrown out of the Army or barred from reenlistment because of a minor run in with the law. Good Soldiers not being promoted because they screwed up years ago. It is to the point where if you do step out of bounds in any fashion your career is over. This gives us overly cautious, risk averse leaders that protect their careers. After all, with a family and responsibilities do you blame them? The Army in its quest to cut the budget is cutting the heart out of the force. One restriction or bad evaluation at a time.