Disappointment : SGM passed through school although standard not met. Should we be worried? Does it matter in your opinion?

2014-04-14T15:18:42-04:00

I recently went through a military school. To keep this short, I saw a SGM drop his static line. Most of you know what can happen in this situation. Well, a Cadre member was almost taken out because of his negligence. Come graduation day, SGM has a certificate and drives himself home happily. I won't add in the lack of respect this SGM received during this class (his reserve status, motivation and constant negative critiquing of both Cadre and student leadership caused this.) BIG issue is that there were individuals being dropped for less. I understand there are standards to be held - but we all should be held to the standard.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 14 at 2014 3:29 PM

2014-04-14T15:29:12-04:00

This is a very tough call here. Did the SGM have any additional issues? Was he constantly Displaying a "lack of respect this SGM received during this class (his reserve status, motivation and constant negative critiquing of both Cadre and student leadership caused this. Ultimatly it wil come down to a "gut check" for him and his command. If the cadre didnt do anything to correct the issues they may of thought there was nothing wrong. Sad to say sometimes this happens.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jul 19 at 2014 10:53 AM

2014-07-19T10:53:15-04:00

Not knowing any of the details, it is hard to fully answer this question because it is ALWAYS in the details. My one main thought is that no matter the rank, they are still just a person. We can all make mistakes and are flawed sinners. When someone forget this, that is when real problems happen...and when real problems turn into disasters.
While I am sure this will date me, as a young SPC I was working on the pistol range and when a SGM stopped by to qualify. He must have been trained on a revolver because the way he was holding the .45 was, at best, was going to ruin his day. When I tried to correct his grip on the .45, he just ignore me…I am guessing because I was only an E-4…and after the second attempt to keep him from amputating his own thumb, I thought I would let him learn the hard way? My conscious did get the better of me I refused to clear my side of the range and I finally had pull in the NCOIC, but the SGM was determined to maim himself! We were lucky that he showed up late because we had to spend more time with him and his qualification than the rest of the Battalion? From this incident I realized, you may be great in many things but this does not mean that we know everything or that there is not a lot more we can learn from others.