Posted on Feb 14, 2014
The Myth of the "Good Soldier" and a DUI. Is there such a thing as a Good Soldier that gets a DUI?
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I would like some input here from other 1SGs and SGMs. Is there such a thing as a Good Soldier that gets a DUI?
Let me give a personal example. Recently one of my top performing Jr. Soldiers got a DUI, prior to, and after this incident; he has proven to be the model Soldier. He always pays proper respect to NCOs; Officers; regularly led PRT, sounded off during runs; hard worker; etc. Here is the kicker, he never reported the DUI to the Chain of Command, the only way we found out was when he was subpoenaed by the RoK court system. This is a HUGE lapse of Integrity, perhaps the biggest problem the command team has with this.
So I ask; Is there such a thing as a Good Soldier that gets a DUI? Does hard work, military bearing, esprit de corps, a lack of integrity and sound judgment; or does a momentary lapse of judgment erase all the hard work put into a short career?
Let me give a personal example. Recently one of my top performing Jr. Soldiers got a DUI, prior to, and after this incident; he has proven to be the model Soldier. He always pays proper respect to NCOs; Officers; regularly led PRT, sounded off during runs; hard worker; etc. Here is the kicker, he never reported the DUI to the Chain of Command, the only way we found out was when he was subpoenaed by the RoK court system. This is a HUGE lapse of Integrity, perhaps the biggest problem the command team has with this.
So I ask; Is there such a thing as a Good Soldier that gets a DUI? Does hard work, military bearing, esprit de corps, a lack of integrity and sound judgment; or does a momentary lapse of judgment erase all the hard work put into a short career?
Integrity
DUI
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 30
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What is a good Soldier? That is the question. We see a Soldier who does all those things you mentioned and "looks" like a good Soldier. These are the same things we hear echoed in the #1 priority of the Army. SHARP. "But he's such a good Soldier." Over and over again. So what is a good Soldier? <div>I would argue that these people are good workers. They are NOT good Soldiers. Soldier's face adversity and overcome it with the Army Values. These Soldiers face adversity and succumb to it. Whether it's DUI, Sexual Assault, Domestic Voilence, whatever, these are not just bad judgement calls, these are deliberate acts contrary to our beliefs and values, and more often than not reveal a deceitful behavior imbedded deep within the "good Soldier."</div><div>Would you care how well he called cadence, ran PRT, or saluted officers, if he hit and killed one of your kids while driving drunk? Of course not. Nor should you because this time he got lucky and didn't, and then lied to the police to get out of going to jail.</div><div>That "momentary lapse of judgement" as you put it should erase all the hard work put into a short career. Why because he's lucky it didn't erase someone else's life or his.</div><div>He's a good worker, he's not a good Soldier.</div>
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
Good Soldiers are being put out everyday. I understand that we all make mistakes, but there are some mistakes that are just unacceptable. I don't recall ever having a safety brief that didn't include "Don't drink and drive" There are different levels of mistakes. Some may just be a violation of a regulation, whereas they are punished, though it harmed no one. A DUI is a CRIME. It has life and death consequences. For someone to handle it so callously is quite a travesty. As SSG Burns noted, the "good Soldier" excuse carries no weight. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people get off on that excuse. If they were truly a good Soldier, that caveat wouldn't even need to be added. Just because someone can run and shoot does not mean they walk on water. Just a random question: Would the question be different if it was an average Soldier, that works well and actually came forward immediately? Or would this Soldier have the book thrown at them because they don't have the protection of someone over them attempting to mitigate the situation?
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SPC Dan Goforth
SGT Mickles, you bring up a very good point. Some of the best examples of the Army Values in the Army are barely above average on the usual metrics; PT score, weapon qual, etc. But I've also seen the soldier that had a 290 PT score, shot 39-40 every range, and had a major drinking problem. This soldier was anything but a good soldier.
The real question is if this was a one-time lapse in judgment and he didn't think everything, from driving under the influence to not reporting the DUI to his CoC, through, or does this soldier actually have an integrity problem.
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SSG (Join to see)
SSG Burns, you are so right and I 100 percent concur with you. Too many people want to say a person is a good soldier , but if he was such a good soldiers why did he get a DUI? I understand everyone is human regardless of rank, age, color race, branch or status, but we are supposed to know better. I think we should all look at Gen. David Peteraus outcome and he was a 4 star general.
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I'm not sure at this point we can actually call getting a DUI a "mistake". I think in this day and age, especially in the military, we should look at a DUI as a blatant act of willful negligence. The same goes for using illegal drugs. There is noone in the military that can say that they don't know any better, or that they are not aware of the consequences.
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MSgt (Join to see)
A DUI is not a "mistake", it is a crime. It is a violation of both the UCMJ and local laws in every state/nation military members are stationed in.
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SFC Aaron Calmes
I think it's in the same boat as the culture change from Accidental discharge vs Negligent Discharge. Both are the result of bad decision making and 100% preventable. You don't accidentally drink and get behind the wheel. You fail to plan ahead or are just lazy. What's difficult about picking a designated driver, calling a taxi, or staying over at someone's house? I can't count the number of time I have told soldiers to call me if they don't feel safe to drive.
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To err is human.....Not a single one of us has been through our life or career without making a mistake or lapsing in judgment for a moment in time.
I do not, nor will I ever, condone drinking and driving. If the Soldier got caught, good! Punishment needs to be swift and severe, but then move one. Judge how the Soldier overcomes the adversity and deals with the outcome.
In your scenario, the Soldier is obviously not a "good" one, if he was he would have admitted his errors right away to his superiors. Definitely an integrity issue in the eyes of the military.
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MSG (Join to see)
well said, a lapse in judgement we've all had them at one time or another, I agree that its what you do immediately and there after that makes a difference, sometimes it takes a come to jesus moment to make us realize that we have a problem whether it be drugs, alcohol, anger and more, that's why the military has treatment programs, as far as military punishment that's up to the CoC, things are changing fast, reduction in force, STEP program, whether an sm stays or goes, treatment should be a priority
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