How should a Senior NCO deal with their input and ideas not being valued by their unit?

SFC S.

Dealt with this twice in my career, well more times than that, but for this discussion will focus on 2 in particular.

I was an E6 PLT SGT in a C&S meeting with all E7s and above, I had many viable inputs, but every time I attempted to give one, I was cut off by one of the SFCs, it was very frustrating, I just let it go for then and talked to the CDR offline and he liked much of what I had to say and asked me why I didn't speak about it during the meeting, I told him I tried to, but was stomped on by the other PLT SGTs as they felt I didn't have enough rank to be interjecting, needless to say the next meeting went much differently as the 1SG had a "come to Jesus discussion" with some of the other PLT SGTs and the CDR directly ask me my thought on certain topics, no real issues from that point on.

2nd incident, I was the 1SG of a detachment as an E6, so you already can imagine where this is going whenever we had a 1SG meeting with the CSM at BN or BDE, I was shutdown real quick every time or told to at ease, luckily I had two very proactive CSMs in both levels that put a halt to that real quick as they told the other 1SGs with me present that if they didn't think I was capable of having any input or opinion why hadn't one of them stepped up when the position needed to be filled to begin with and that I was chosen for my capabilities, knowledge and foresight to handle and perform the job. I had gotten numerous nasty looks from a few in attendance, but after that many saw how my unit was run both in garrison and deployment and realized I was capable of doing the job and earned their respect in the process along the way.

Just hang tough and don't allow the arrogance deter or derail you in what you should be able to convey or accomplish.

As MAJ Kile stated, you need to make sure you are stating your opinions confidently, and if someone cuts you off, don't be afraid to point out that they interrupted you and then finish speaking. One of my favorites is "I'm sorry, did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?" Some people just interrupt EVERYONE (and don't mean to) and you might only notice it when it's happening to you. They might not even realizing they are doing it, especially if you aren't very outspoken.

In addition to what SFC Baber said about speaking to the higher leadership (if you really feel targeted), you might consider CALMLY pulling aside the person who is cutting you off, and calling them out on their behavior. Ask them if there is a particular reason they feel the need to interrupt you. It could be a personal conflict, but bringing it to the offender's attention might give them pause to reflect on their lack of tact and professionalism. If there are multiple people cutting you off, address them individually.  Either way, addressing the person committing the wrongdoing is usually a more effective first step than the higher-ups.