What do you think the biggest challenge service members will have to face after this war (OIF and OEF) is over?

I think the Army has already begun to deal with what we have all seen degrade over the past decade...Professionalism.  I left active duty in 2001, almost 2 months to the day before 9/11.  I left an Army that held standards and discipline as the cornerstone of our profession.  I was in the National Guard for 5 years and then returned to Active Duty in September of 2006.  Boy had it changed!  I looked back and wondered where my disciplined Army had gone and thought that one of the two Nat'l Guard units I had served in worked harder on maintaining standards than the Active Duty I had returned to.  What I realized over a short amount of time was that the almost 5 years at war had taken a toll on standards and discipline.  NCOs were being promoted at a rate never seen.  There was a loss of pride and professionalism due to the high OPTEMPO and focus on non-MOS, general combat related tasks.  Over the last year we have turned our focus to The Army Profession, and rightfully so.  We have engaged in discussion and debate about trust and ethics and what it means to be a team.  I think we are headed in the right direction.  Today's release of the updated AR 670-1 and DA Pam 670-1 is just another step up the ladder of professionalism and focus on standards and discipline.  All leaders must make it a priority to uphold the standards that make our profession great.  We need to not create new standards by overlooking violations in regulations.  First and foremost, we must take care of Soldiers and develop them to take our place as leaders.  As we drawdown our force we must ensure the best and those with the most potential are retained and moved up the ranks.

I think it's going to be difficult for people to find meaning in arbitrary superficial garrison tasks...  Once proud warriors reduced to painting rocks.

Retaining the lessons and not devolving back into the conventional knowledge of the garrison military. Sure we police height/weight regs, but we also remember the new SSgt with 3 tours has many more applicable ideas about his job at the tactical level than some of the MGuns out there.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>And don't let chickenshit become the new focus of the force.&nbsp;</div>