Do you believe counseling soldiers has better results than making them do PT?

People respond to few things more than they respond to pain. Besides that, I've found that there are 2 things you can take in order to get the attention of soldiers. Their time and their money. Given the choices between taking my time or money or smoking me out in the pit, I'll take the pit every time. As long as the smoke session isn't harmful it can be the best motivator. It hurts, it's easy to remember, and there's no long-lasting negative effect on the career of the soldier in question.

I think it depends on your organization, climate, and level of professionalism. If you In-Process a Soldier correctly, introduce them to the Chain of Command, provide them with the units History, regulations, Training guidance, expectations, ect, then I think counselings work as a written path to chart goals. // As for a drastic drop in discipline. That is an organizational issue. Standards are just that- standards. If a Soldier fails to meet the Standard then they are re-trained. The Non Commissioned Officer Corps has this task. The issue here is too many Soldiers are allowed to be E-5 and they never become Non Commissioned Officers of the Profession of Arms. They are merely wearing the chevrons without accepting the responsibility and accountability that comes with the promotion. So, Introduce all new members a specific way to the organization. Get them acclimated to the culture. Give them the expectations of the unit and leaders. Put it all in writing. Have the Soldier write out their goals on a timeline chart and then have them sign it. Its a contract. Now go train and repeat.

I'm old school. Getting smoked taught me that the Army wasn't messing around and that it's important to pay attention to detail. Getting smoked embedded the lesson in my head. If they get rid of smoking, they can pretty much forget really teaching these soldiers discipline. I say bring back smoking or our Army will become weaker and weaker.