Has the military gone too far in the "check the box" mentality?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 12:58:33 -0400

It seems that a lot of the training we do is mandated and does not meet the unit needs outside of a rule saying all SM will attend this training.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Mar 16 at 2016 1:00 PM

LTC John Shaw — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:00:15 -0400

Of course we have, the emphasis is on line training with a test as a proxy for learning

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Mar 16 at 2016 1:00 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:00:27 -0400

Check the box has been around since at least the 1970's SFC Private RallyPoint Member in terms of both assignments and training. Thankfully many of us did our best wherever we were assigned and were not focused on getting assignment and training merely to advance our careers.
The most important thing is taking care of your soldiers.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Mar 16 at 2016 1:02 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:02:47 -0400

Back to cramming 200 lbs of crap in a 100 pound bag, and saying it smells sweet?

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 16 at 2016 1:50 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:50:08 -0400

I was in 1968 - 1972, and we had a lot of mandated training that was to check the box.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 16 at 2016 4:22 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 16:22:37 -0400

I will counter the argument by asking - how many have immediately jumped to lack of training anytime something goes wrong?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2016 9:06 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 09:06:55 -0400

Yes, with everything from degrees to military ed to "skill sets." I personally despise the "any degree at all" mentality the Army (and most of the federal government for that matter) has. They don't care if your "masters" (in quotations because people aren't really mastering anything) is in underwater basket weaving from pokaboke state or mechanical engineer from MIT - both are equally weighted.

SSD has been a continual source of frustration for my M-day Soldiers. I have no way of giving them promotion or retirement points for completing it, and it often leaks into mission time.