How should young leaders deal with Soldiers who have poor personal hygiene issues?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 00:31:26 -0500

I know most of you senior leaders have had your fair share of SMs (Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen etc) who did not have personal hygiene as one of their priorities...simply put, soldiers who refused to shower or refuse to brush their teeth or take care of themselves. How should young leaders deal with issues like that without appearing to be insensitive? I am saying this because in closed-out working areas, such odor is nauseating...not talking about spreading diseases.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Feb 20 at 2015 10:21 AM

MSgt Michael Durkee — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 10:21:40 -0500

I had a situation that occurred with an Airman that I supervised as a SSgt/E5. Three of the other women in our office came to me with a complaint about her hygiene and more or less demanded I did something about it. I addressed their tone, and my disappointment that they couldn't take her aside as peers but ultimately, something needed to be said or done.
I did speak with her, and found that she wasn't aware of the problem or how to effectively deal with it. I asked her if she would be comfortable having someone that knew more about that sort of thing than I did, she was receptive and I made her an appointment at the Health Office.
In the end, everything worked out for the best it just took compassion and understanding.

Response by CSM David Heidke made Feb 20 at 2015 10:27 AM

CSM David Heidke — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 10:27:43 -0500

When I was but a wee lad, my father told me that in the Army if they had a guy who didn't wash they would take him out back and scrub him with a wooden brush and the garden hose.

Of course that was at the tail end of World War II... ;-)

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 10:54 AM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 10:54:06 -0500

In the wing, back in the day, a 7/14 Day Inspection wasn't unheard of. Cargo straps, a pallet, and the bird wash...

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 10:58 AM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 10:58:58 -0500

It would definitely start with a private talk with the soldier on the lowest leader level. If the soldier genuinely refuses to conduct proper hygiene then scare tactics from medical personnel would be a tool.(pictures are pretty real) if there is nothing that can motivate the soldier then counseling on failure to adapt to military lifestyle is necessary.

Response by SPC Christopher Dunbar made Feb 20 at 2015 11:18 AM

SPC Christopher Dunbar — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:18:46 -0500

General George Washington dealt with poor hygiene and camp cleanliness with lashings. I don't think we need to come to this, but it is possible.

I think as a younger leader, the "dirty bird" would need to be counseled by his/her first line supervisor or team leader. That leader should also try to get the soldier's peers involved, encouraging cleanliness.

If all that fails, maybe a harder push would help. We've had a soldier like this. We only had to do it once, but took the soldier to the showers, turned them on with the soldier still in uniform and poured soap on him and scrubbed him with new brushes. After that, he showered on a regular basis, as well as laundry. I feel like it is a good thing he picked it up so quickly after that, because it could have become much worse.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 11:51 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:51:32 -0500

I think this is a human question rather than a "senior leader" question...as most senior leaders these days are, and act like, children.

There is no easy way to do this other than a one on one. This person may not know they smell or may come from poor means and that was just the way it was for them as children. Talk first, find out what their 'deal" is and take it from there. If they're just a "dirt bag" period...I go with the direct approach...take a bath, brush your teeth or find somewhere else to be. They're not 5 years old...they're old enough to know better.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 20 at 2015 11:52 AM

SGT Jim Z. — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:52:29 -0500

Politically correct as not to defend them or belittle them

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2015 1:49 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 13:49:23 -0500

I agree that it should definitely be taken care of by their team leader far before it ever makes it to a senior level. Senior leaders have enough on their plate to have to worry about the smelly kid.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 21 at 2015 9:01 AM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 09:01:39 -0500

Investigate to see if there is something more going on behind the scenes......may be financial issues and water is shutoff at the reidence, maybe broken washing machine for clothes....etc....aside from the take them aside and adress it....actually had to deal win this at a previous assignment and the individual was ordered to take a shower daily with soap, wash hair, do laundry......keep tabs to ensure the correction continues.......

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 23 at 2015 9:11 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 09:11:13 -0500

In Afghanistan I shared a room with a guy who for reasons only known to himself refused to shower or wash his clothes. It's one thing if you're in the field. But we were fobbits, and all he had to do was walk 100 yards to a shower tent. There was some internal unit "politics" that kept the issue from being dealt with effectively, though I complained to his team leader a number of times. Towards the end of the tour, I loaded up everything of his I could find, and dropped it off at the laundry point. When I picked it up, it still stank, so I poured laundry detergent all over it, and walked to the back of the building and dropped it off again. I saw him after we got back, I said, "I notice you showered this time." He grinned at me and said "F*** you." Evidently the message got through somehow.

Response by CPT Chris Loomis made Jul 8 at 2015 12:40 AM

CPT Chris Loomis — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 00:40:39 -0400

SGT Jarren Wall has said it best. I would get his closest supervisor/leader to speak with the Soldier in a professional and polite manner. If that didn't work then then a counseling and referral to medical for some ugly pictures and direction.

I'm also cognizant that there might be a larger underlying issue. That should definitely be looked into and handled appropriately.

Remember, as leaders, at least in my opinion, Soldier care/service member care is the highest priority.

Also, we all know that "Soldiers will be Soldiers." In that context, there is a chance that the Soldiers directly offended might initiate a "GI shower." I think that's a double edged sword. I've always been more of an "old school" approach type guy, but the community discipline might not be what is needed.

On that note, I will say that I've dealt with this both as an enlisted Soldier and as an Officer. As an Enlisted Soldier I politely but bluntly told the other Soldier, "Brother, you F!?:&$@G stink and dress like fifty pounds of hammered S$&@T. Go shower and cleaned up your AO or I'm gonna donut for you...." He got the point. I also made sure I asked why he didn't take care of himself better. He claimed to not have enough time to get other things taken care of and placed himself last. I did help him learn better efficiency and time management. As an officer, I was teamed up with another "LT" that needed a haircut every time I saw him and looked disheveled in every manner. I know why he was teamed with me.... One day when I had had enough I grabbed two MRE's for lunch and invited him to come with me. We sat down and begin to partake. In the course of conversation I said, "Lieutenant, I respect you and hold you in high esteem. However, we're teamed up for a reason. Because I'm the newest and shiniest butter bar there is here. I'm also the only 'mustang.' Sir, when we're done with eating we're going to go get haircuts whether you wish to or not. And then we're going to the PX to get you a new ACU on me. Then we're gonna walk back to the office where I know there is an ironing board and iron. I'm going to show you how to prep your uniform and then how to wear it so that you project a different leadership image..... Because frankly, Sir, we have to look better than the average 'fuzzy' Private at all times. If we don't it makes us all in the Officer corps look bad. And, honestly your appearance is one of the things that's made you ineffective as a leader.... It's just a matter of me helping a fellow Soldier to get back on track...." I then offered him my jalapeno spread.... We finished lunch, got serious high and tights, and he bought a new uniform. We prep'd it he dressed it and rocked it like a boss.

Both stories had a straight forward approach, but both violators of civility were handled individually and effectively. Both times I knew there was nothing under the surface. Each Soldier just needed to take greater pride in themselves and needed some help and fine tuning.

Just my $0.02 worth. There's probably better approaches out there.