Are we slipping as an Army?

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:31:46 -0400

We as an Army have truly lost our way. We have discussions on what rules are important to enforce and which ones are no big deal. We have young Soldiers who come to their first unit straight out of IET overweight. More Soldiers that fail the APFT than those who pass it. A lot of Soldiers don't know Army history and why we do what we do. A lot of them don't even know the Army's birthday. Now...it may seem like small, meanial things that shouldn't have any effect on the fabric of the Army. However, as we all know the small stuff slipping by can lead to BIG trouble really fast and they ARE having a major impact on our Army. My question is this: Why are we allowing this? Is it because we want to get away with some things ourselves? Are we too lazy to lead? Or, do we not care at all anymore? The Army has regulations and we volunteered to follow all of them. So why are we picking and choosing the ones that we like and downplaying the rest of them?

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 24 at 2014 9:47 AM

SGT Richard H. — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 09:47:18 -0400

Sadly, history demonstrates that this is fairly common of a "wartime Army", especially as the war(s) begin to wind down. The only thing to be done is to realize that it's incumbent on the leaders to push their soldiers to strive for more. The self-correction is that as standards begin to become more properly enforced, the weeding process begins. Part of the problem that will most likely arise is that many SNCOs were privates during the same wartime Army, and will have their own learning curve to address. It's not going to be an easy process, but it has to be done.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 24 at 2014 10:03 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 10:03:56 -0400

As far as the regulation portion of your argument..... I couldn't agree more! No I am not saying that I have never done something against a regulation, but I can say that I have never done so willingly and knowing that I was disregarding a specific regulation. That is an epidemic in the Army and it needs to be squashed.

As to the IET Soldiers being overweight and failing PFT..... The IET program allows for a somewhat less of a standard to pass HT/WT. Some Soldiers probably barely pass the PFT. And as we all know, sometimes it depends on who is grading, despite the fact that there is ONLY ONE standard. I told this story before on here and will tell it again, I was sitting in a briefing with LTG Hertling when he was the USAREUR commander (after being the TRADOC CG) and the exact question about HT/WT am PT failure after IET was posed. What he told us, was that the percentage of NCOs sent to TRADOC from the force was at about a 25-27% failure rate in the same areas. That was sickening to me personally. So while it is tough to understand, the fact is that some of our new Soldiers that have to be changed from civilians to Soldiers in IET (main focus) some of them have NEVER been physically active in their life. It is the responsibility of the unit as well to further train and mentor them.

Traditions being less is also a common subject. That is on US as the NCOs and leaders in the force. We need to take that responsibility, and capture the opportunity to train our Soldiers. They have never, and will never come from IET knowing everything and being THE BEST. That is OUR job.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 24 at 2014 10:06 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 10:06:35 -0400

I have been in a little while and seen the Army change. We went from a professional Army to a war fighting army. This was evident when a general made the ACU the work uniform for all soldiers. As with the myth of the good field soldier you should not sacrifice any standards for the rapid expansion of a expeditionary force. That is what we did. We are paying for it now. Many current NCOs don't see the issue here but that is only the case because they never saw the pre-war army. I agree that reduced expectations, however small will take there toll on the force. This issue was first tackled when the first developed by GEN Von Stubon. Many don't like this point of view and would even argue against it but them ignorance is bliss.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Sep 24 at 2014 10:57 AM

CPT Zachary Brooks — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 10:57:35 -0400

I would have to say that the biggest underlying issue is the mentalities and perspectives of the citizens in this country as a whole. There has been an overwhelming loss of pride in hard work and self sacrifice, and I feel that is being translated to the military. I'm sad to say that I am a part of the "Millenial Generation" but only by time of my birth, not by mentality or decision making.

Response by SPC Bart Lopez made Mar 6 at 2017 3:38 PM

SPC Bart Lopez — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 15:38:25 -0500

It is the History Sergeant. We have to keep up the history like the Marines. Ask a Private a question. Why does it say 1775 on an AAM? What is the history of the Army? If we keep up the history, we keep up the knowledge, our traditions and values.