Do you treat your soldiers as grown ups ?

LTC Bink Romanick — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:09:44 -0400

http://taskandpurpose.com/Your-Soldiers-Are-Not-Your-Children-Treat-Them-Accordingly/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tp-today

Your Soldiers Are Not Your Children. Treat Them Accordingly

Military leaders will get a lot farther with their subordinates if they treat them like adults and not children.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Oct 2 at 2015 1:09 PM

LTC Bink Romanick — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:09:55 -0400

Yes

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 2 at 2015 1:11 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:11:54 -0400

As much as possible I did LTC Bink Romanick. All soldiers are worthy of respect. That is one of the beautiful aspects of the salute - initiated by the subordinate and crisply returned by the senior member.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Oct 2 at 2015 1:16 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:16:02 -0400

If you have a military ID I this presumed you are an adult so yes I do.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 1:19 PM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:19:53 -0400

I treat 18 year olds like 18 year olds, I treat 30 year olds like 30 year olds, etc. In a nutshell I treat people based on their individual maturity level and of course some 18 year olds are more mature than some 30 year olds. I have never subscribed to treating everybody the same way. Different people have different motivating factors and age and maturity level can have a great impact on them. Just because one hits the arbitrary age of 18 doesn't change anything. Several studies have shown that the brain is not fully capable of making the best choices until into your 20's. Not to mention now that I am a reservist I am seeing more and more people well into their 20's still living at home. And that has a huge impact on how they behave.
That being said, I still expect everyone to act as an adult.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 1:25 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:25:09 -0400

I try to but I'll be honest at times I end up reverting (with my special cases) to essentially having someone babysit them.

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Oct 2 at 2015 2:13 PM

1SG Steven Stankovich — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:13:28 -0400

I make it a point to treat all of my Soldiers as adults LTC Bink Romanick. That is sir, unless they provide me a reason that would make me adjust fire on this approach. That has not happened very often in my career, but it has and I dealt with each Soldier accordingly.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Oct 2 at 2015 2:16 PM

LTC John Shaw — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:16:10 -0400

LTC Bink Romanick Agree with the article, part of the issue a generation gap of expectations between the Boomers, Gen X (who still model the WWII generation - Traditionalist) and Millenials who don't really value the structured model. Good news is most military folks understand standards and when leaders tie results to standards the rubber meets the road.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 2:28 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:28:23 -0400

I'd like to think I do. However, there's seems to be a maturity issue with quite a few soldiers now a days. That makes for huge leadership challenges!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 2 at 2015 2:56 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 14:56:06 -0400

Yes but I am not afraid to use paternal instincts when it is appropriate such as telling soldiers to call in instead of driving many hours in the evening and morning to make formation.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 2 at 2015 3:56 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 15:56:42 -0400

I am a believer of empowering people and giving everyone a sense of ownerships. however, if one acts as a child, then he should be treated as a child. As a father, I did not feed 9 months steak nor, do I allow my 9 yrs old to drive the car to school.

Response by SSG Jesus Sijalbo made Oct 2 at 2015 4:17 PM

SSG Jesus Sijalbo — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 16:17:07 -0400

As a former NCO. They are Soldiers first just like me and we have a job to do. As mission gets accomplished and completed then we all can come togethere and have a pau-wow. Also we have whats called a rank structure in the Military. NCO Business is NCO Business!!

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Oct 2 at 2015 6:02 PM

SSgt Terry P. — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:02:17 -0400

LTC Bink Romanick Yes,give them the training,assign them the task and expect them to be responsible for it,themselves and anyone under their supervision.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Oct 4 at 2015 3:21 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 15:21:45 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member great article, I like the part that says, "Leaders, when you truly care for and love your subordinates, you will see them as your brothers and sisters, not your children. Only then can they be that “happy few” and the entire organization may truly be the “band of brothers” soldiers desperately want to join." I can truly relate as a former Basic Training Drill Sergeant!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2015 3:44 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 15:44:50 -0400

My Soldiers may not be my children, but I often find myself in a very dad-like position a lot of times. Dispensing life advice and dealing with the mistakes they make.
It is a labor of love; and many times it is hard to keep appropriate perspective when they depend on you so much.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Oct 4 at 2015 6:19 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:19:12 -0400

Part of treating them as "brothers-in-arms" is challenging them with tough, realistic training and holding them responsible for their actions......it does not mean that everyone that shows up gets a dang trophy, not everyone will deserve a certificate of achievement or an achievement award for spending a few days in the field!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 4 at 2015 6:20 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:20:48 -0400

OK, how prevalent is this problem?

Response by SGT William Howell made Oct 5 at 2015 10:31 AM

SGT William Howell — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 10:31:03 -0400

Being that I was a young NCO I never managed anything larger than a squad, but they were my children. They did not need a "buddy in charge" they needed someone that was able to guide and teach them the ways of the force. I always worked to make sure I was approachable, but I made sure they knew I was the one in charge. I mentored, taught, guided, praised, and punished as needed. The same things I do for my children.

Now if I was a SGM I would see it being a little hard to treat a 1SG with 17 years in like a child, but 18-20 year old that had less than 5 years away from home and less than 18 months in the Army I can see.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 5 at 2015 11:02 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 23:02:44 -0400

I do right up to the point when they get a case of the stupids and stop acting like grups (Startrek reference).

In other words act like a responsible adult, ge treated like one

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2017 2:17 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 02:17:28 -0500

In general it doesn't happen. I've had quite a few senior leaders treat me like I'm their child. It's quite frustrating because I only have 2 parents and even THEY don't address me in that manner. If my own parents who made me talk to me like a man, why would some random person talk to me like a child?

I even had one E-5 a few years back TELL me to call him Daddy! You can imagine how well that went.