What are some of the best ways to keep Soldiers motivated during a deployment, especially if the deployment has been extremely challenging?

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 14:34:54 -0400

Some deployments are worse than others and no matter how highly trained and dedicated your Soldiers might be, there are days where they might be down and out and need strong Leaders to help them stay motivated and focused.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2015 3:01 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:01:56 -0400

I remember playing football on an ORI to Florida... lot of fun vs Pope AFB.

Response by SGT Bryon Sergent made Aug 11 at 2015 3:36 PM

SGT Bryon Sergent — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:36:04 -0400

Weapons drills, We used to put out a poncho inside a houch and see who could disassemble and reassemble an M-60, M-16 etc, etc. the fastest. Mainly for bragging rights. it also got you familiar with the weapon. Sorry 240 for the younger crowd! LOL

Response by GySgt John O'Donnell made Aug 11 at 2015 5:03 PM

GySgt John O'Donnell — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:03:09 -0400

A good old fashion football, softball or even kickball game seemed to help build comradarie in the troops when things got stressful.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Aug 11 at 2015 5:23 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:23:51 -0400

Shared hardships by the leadership and presence on the patrols (mounted and dismounted) go a long way.

While deployed as a 1SG with 1-36 Infantry, one thing my Commander and I did while we were deployed on a 14+ month deployment in the Anbar province during the surge was we served chow to our men on every Sunday. and we made sure we went to every OP for special dinners and we brought them hot chow for each of these special meals - while it was a relatively small thing to do, we exposed ourselves to additional risk to make sure our men had a respite if even just for one meal, they knew we cared and were sharing hardship with them...it made it that much easier to continue fighting every day!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2015 5:31 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:31:05 -0400

Sports, communication, and toxic leadership and drama. Waitaminute. . .

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2015 5:44 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:44:15 -0400

GySgt John O'Donnell, thanks for responding. I've always been fascinated with the positive response that sports competitions bring to a units overall morale and welfare.

Response by SFC Nikhil Kumra made Aug 11 at 2015 5:44 PM

SFC Nikhil Kumra — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:44:44 -0400

Painting rocks, EIB training, moving rocks from one location to another, using a sat phone (this only works if your subordinates don't have a phone), restricting porn, pt belts, pt belts, health and welfare, pt belts, urinalysis, pt belts .... And pt belts.

Response by SFC Nikhil Kumra made Aug 11 at 2015 5:46 PM

SFC Nikhil Kumra — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 17:46:34 -0400

Ok last post was slightly sarcastic. I've found that most people just want to be left alone. If they're not trouble makers, just leave them alone... They won't grow an inability to fight if they are in possession of a playboy... Of course no alcohol and no drugs... But not being an asshole with rules and regs is key.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 11 at 2015 6:20 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 18:20:27 -0400

My tank platoon and an infantry platoon wrestled each other.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Aug 11 at 2015 6:56 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 18:56:08 -0400

Team activities. Focus on team building exercises

Response by SPC Dave St.Andrew made Aug 11 at 2015 9:47 PM

SPC Dave St.Andrew — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 21:47:02 -0400

My Platoon would have "Cigar Night" every friday when we were deployed, it brought us all out to our little AO and let us unwind from the stressful week, we had a high op tempo and lost quite a few men and this was our way of dealing with it.