Is military readiness decreasing due to poor leadership?

2017-12-30T17:05:24-05:00

First the Navy granted waivers for 48,000 Sailor who failed to meet physical standards, now the Air Force is rumored to be considering a similar move. Is this a leadership issue?

https://www.jqpublicblog.com/rumor-air-force-to-follow-navy-example-grant-fitness-amnesty/

Rumor: Air Force to Follow Navy Example, Grant Fitness Amnesty

Fresh from the news that the Navy will retain 48,000 sailors who stood to be cashiered for failing their physical fitness tests, rumors are flying in personnel circles that the Air Force will soon …

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Dec 30 at 2017 5:50 PM

2017-12-30T17:50:37-05:00

The military has followed the example set by those who have never served. One of the first aspects of civilian leadership was gaining consensus from all management, another way of spreading responsibility. You listen to your people, make a decision and accept responsibility for that decision. What ever happened to the Captain going down with his ship?

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Dec 30 at 2017 6:21 PM

2017-12-30T18:21:31-05:00

I think that may change.. we got a new CiC and the guy who did all the social experimenting is gone(Obama). and clean house and get rid of his political officers.. (I’d read of the ‘plants’ he put in the units that showed up from outta nowhere).
It’s going to take time.. but it will get done !
Just too many silly rules.. can’t do certain things.. giving time-outs... seriously? Oh-my! .. you want to talk to your social worker.? My-my ..
“Soldier.. you best get your head outta your
A** so I can send my size 10 boot up it ! “. Yeah, I know that’s gone too... certain motivational exercises that can’t be done or they’ll be emotionally scarred .. better than dead! !...
Can’t send a heav-weight to tge
fat-boy Company.. or Med s’thing .. it would label them.. More emotional scarring. !... oh-my !
Can’t have that.. Geez ! Trying to build a a killing machine but so much not allowed to do... like I said.. a lot of work ahead ..

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2017 6:39 PM

2017-12-30T18:39:17-05:00

Without reading the article, I think it's a mix of desperation and retention.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Dec 30 at 2017 7:01 PM

2017-12-30T19:01:28-05:00

Interesting article, interesting read. From the sounds of it, does the Navy/Air Force have daily PT? Not making it part of the work day makes it sound like they do not. That stems from the Top, thus it is a leadership problem. I was a little surprised to read this.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2017 7:25 PM

2017-12-30T19:25:35-05:00

CH (COL) Geoff Bailey Yes. This is a very poor leadership. Fitness is an important element in the military.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2017 7:32 PM

2017-12-30T19:32:45-05:00

So take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt for the fact that I’m expressing this statement as a SQD LDR in the national guard. That being said, I can factually say that my company is only high 30% combat effective. I have PVTs right out of OSUT failing the APFT. I have soldiers who do everything they can to get out of deployments, have soldiers who have never deployed claim ptsd during Pre Mob SRP. It’s furstrating as a leader and as a man in general. The thing is I can say my CO and 1SGT are exceptional leaders. I’ve heard the same thing happening in Active Duty unita from a couple of buddies. I think it’s a issue coming from BCT. Who knows. Also I see Lieutenants only focusing on how to go up the ranks and completely fail to focus on their platoons issues.

Response by SSG Will Phillips made Dec 30 at 2017 7:41 PM

2017-12-30T19:41:39-05:00

ALL Armed Forces. 0600 formation, Monday thru Friday for PT! Yes petty officers and tech NCO's, and officers you should lead by example! A minimum standard of physical readiness is not asking too much of your troops. They will be better off in the long run. It is not the airmen or seaman's fault they are not passing their PT tests it is yours! I have had to work with some troops after hours to help them get up to and maintain standards. If you are a supervisor/LEADER, your personnel's well being and development is your responsibility.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2017 7:41 PM

2017-12-30T19:41:49-05:00

I hope not, but within the last decade it seems that way. High ranking officers who should know better are not being accountable for their actions. Sad to say that every conflict we get involved with these issues come up. But in my opinion not all our military leadership is poor. We have good Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and CoastGuard and it has nothing to do with military readiness. What drives Military Readiness is there overall Budget and our incompetent politicians who can’t and won’t agree on anything. Our Military was not built on politics but men and women who served our great Nation. This is one Marines opinion.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Dec 30 at 2017 7:53 PM

2017-12-30T19:53:52-05:00

Navy leadership is a piece, but there's a much larger picture to look at. It centers on the word "optimize". Optimize what? Optimize given the realities. Poor resourcing. Mission without support. Required training on everything other than warfighting and physical fitness. Working the sailors like dogs and wondering why 120 hours/week is a problem. Semi spineless kids for recruits. Like a business, the Navy makes decisions to optimize. Do we get rid of some slugs and pay $500 Grand each to bring others up to speed that may turn out to be more slugs? One of the problems affecting Navy leaders is by law, Executive Order, and other means, their authority and tools to lead has been diminished greatly. I've seen it throughout my career. Used to be the primary measure of Skipper success is getting the mission done. Now it's split between mission and 100% piss test completion along with all the other unresourced administrivia. So with less authority/requirement to lead, more so-so officers make Flag because there hasn't been much to differentiate the pearls from the shells in the crowd. By all the measures, they want managers, not leaders. We have a well known irony. We need better leadership but work to dilute that very thing. Very predictable example of history repeating itself.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Dec 30 at 2017 11:48 PM

2017-12-30T23:48:17-05:00

Everything that happens is a leadership issue. We have more Generals now than during World War II when the military was 13 million strong and there are senior officers doing jobs once done by enlisted men. We could get rid of half and still have twice what we need

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2017 7:47 AM

2017-12-31T07:47:43-05:00

One of the key issues is that we have taken our eye off the purpose and intent of the military. We are here to project offensive and defensive force around the world to protect American and innocent lives and interests. Anything that diminishes that mission degrades our capabilities and can be a fatal distraction. Let’s look at one such area.

As a country we are suffering from an affliction. We are obsessed with political correctness. We have swayed from standards and mission readiness. Yes the military should reflect the diversity of culture and thought of a nation but not at the expense of common sense. War fighting is a practical measure. The most qualified soldier should be selected regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation etc. If that results in a unit of all women, all men, all Buddhists etc, then so be it. So long as we establish a proper criteria and hold everyone equally to the standard the distribution selected will reflect that mission’s standard. A war is not a social experiment and nor should the military become one either. Yes our military says something about who we are as a nation and should reflect eternal tolerance and that complex diversity. But it should do so naturally by applying fair and equal standards at all times. Applying anything but this principle is silly and illogical when analysed critically. If we find that skinny weak males are underrepresented in the Green Berets are we going to intervene? I would hope not. We have a minimal fitness standard, we have all standards for a reason. I would hope to find that the process in the military weeds out individuals who do not meet the standard and protect the equitable fair rights of everyone. We must refocus our thinking focusing on those standards and mission.
There is a famous funny movie line where the setting is a Drill Sergeant taking to his recruits where he says “... I don’t care who you are, to me you are all equally worthless”. His point is that everyone is the same and deserves the same rights and commensurate responsibilities.
Our focus must be on training, attaining and surpassing standards that lead to true military readiness. We need to do so with eyes wide open applying those standards with knowledge, tolerance and common sense. Our rights come with certain responsibilities. We are responsible to set reasonable standards, apply the rules evenly and accomplish the mission. Free do that our military and country can only get stronger.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2017 7:50 AM

2017-12-31T07:50:12-05:00

Sorry. Last sentence is
If we do that our military and country can only get stronger.

I am deployed and mobile app won’t allow for corrections once posted.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2017 8:28 AM

2017-12-31T08:28:22-05:00

It's the perfect storm between the last decade of SM-softening policies and the current DoD demand for massive force expansion.

But I don't think it's a lack of decentralized leadership. They've had their hands tied for years.

Response by CPT Larry Hudson made Dec 31 at 2017 2:46 PM

2017-12-31T14:46:58-05:00

This appears to be the effect of obama presidency where general staff appointed were more PC oriented over combat ready oriented. Burgdahl UCMJ perfect example of PC rather receiving the justice he deserved. Now UCMJ is less enforceable.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2017 5:46 PM

2017-12-31T17:46:27-05:00

This is a complex issue that a lot of senior leaders grapple with. The baseline however is that as a United States Service Member, you have a minimum standard to meet. That means being able to do at minimum what you learned in your Basic Combat Training environment, so if for any reason a situation arises that requires those basic skills you can put them to use. Every service will have their own individual basic standards but, as a military member, you are obligated to meet those bare minimum standards.

If you know you are in a relaxed environment, that is not a justification to slack off. Yes, you aren't actively engaging in "combat" or activing utilizing intense physical skills but, you should be able to pass your Physical Fitness test when it happens. It is an individual responsibility as much as it is a leadership responsibility to make sure time is made available for you to train/work out.

Response by COL William Oseles made Jan 15 at 2018 2:07 PM

2018-01-15T14:07:46-05:00

So, JQP argues that the AF leadership be mature and relax its physical fitness standard and NOT discharge people for failing the height weight standards or physical fitness tests. Buried deep enough in the article.

I have to wonder if JQP ever served as it reads like he/she/it has not.

The only part I can agree with is that the height/weight standards need to be looked at as they seem to be based on the life insurance company least-risk-to-them tables and are one size fits all. They have changed significantly over time. As a young E-1 in 1972 I could weight more than I could as a young O-3 n 1985 when Gen Vessey was pushing his lean, mean fighting machine philosophy.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2018 2:24 PM

2018-01-15T14:24:12-05:00

I understand that it all boils down to when the SHTF we are all on the line fighting. But IMO I feel that PT tests should be related to the job specialty you are in.

Response by PFC Elijah Rose made Jan 16 at 2018 9:40 PM

2018-01-16T21:40:31-05:00

The problem is our conception of what a soldier is, because to borrow words from Barbara Tuchman "there was a major difference between the theory of soldiering and the practice." Compare our current culture to that of the Italians of WWI and see the effects of our Rambo personas.

Response by SFC Michial Bergen made Jan 17 at 2018 12:04 AM

2018-01-17T00:04:20-05:00

Yes. Poor leadership leads to poor performance and discipline problems. This goes all the way to the pentagon and congress as well.