Leaders, what has worked for you in combating DUIs, drugs, and other Soldier crimes?

2016-02-28T23:38:17-05:00

Not looking for more safety briefs, stand-down days, etc-not to say they don't work but I'm looking for new techniques. Not quite a problem in my unit based on the low percentage, just looking ahead!

Response by CSM Eric Olsen made Feb 28 at 2016 11:39 PM

2016-02-28T23:39:47-05:00

Simply knowing your Soldiers and owning their trust is a great start!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2016 11:47 PM

2016-02-28T23:47:49-05:00

The "Don't be that guy" campaign seems to be working pretty good. They have all kinds of cool shit for Soldiers to get their hands on. The plan implementation is laied out for you step by step with timelines. Key to success is it being pushed peer to peer NOT from top down. My company went 347 days with no issues. Then a transferred Soldier from another company stepped in it shortly after arriving.

Response by 1SG Todd Sullivan made Feb 29 at 2016 12:03 AM

2016-02-29T00:03:58-05:00

When I took over my company, there were 5 hot UA's.. 3 DUI's, and some other miscellaneous stuff. I dealt with that for the first 4-6 months making sure it was a very PUBLIC affair for the company, for the next 3 1/2 years (1 year deployed) I had zero DUI's, zero hot UA's and the other garbage stopped as well, I don't claim it was me an me alone, but I made it clear to everyone that we live by the big boy rules, you work hard, you play hard, but just like in combat.... You have your buddies 6. My NCO's knew they were responsible for their Soldiers failures as I was responsible for theirs. It was NOT out of the norm nor fround upon for a Soldier to call a peer or one of his leaders for a ride, we had money for a cab at the CQ desk as well... I think what it boiled down to was everyone understood were a unit and a family 24/7 not just during the duty day, or while in the field/deployed. Once everyone understood that and took it to heart there were drastic changes all around. My company officers understood they were not exempt either, I even had a Squad Leader and above "get to know" each other event at my home, so wives could meet and girlfriends, children, but more importantly so that we could all see how we interacted with our own families, and the families could see how we interacted with each other. I challenged every Soldier in the company to get to know things about Soldiers in other platoons, like is the guy married, does he have kids, how old are they, what did he do before the military. I think it worked well everyone knew what was expected, and that there was no slack if you messed up, you were going to pay for it. When I left we had the highest weapons qual across the board, in the division, highest APFT in the brigade as a company and the second highest in the division, we had the most honor grads, in everything from sniper school, pathfinder, ranger, WLC, BNCOC.. I found out later (about 6 months) after I retired that there were 10 hot UA's 4 DUI's and 3 AWOLS not sure what changed, but I honestly think it can be done sometimes "old school" stuff works.... Anyway just my 2 cents.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 29 at 2016 2:56 AM

2016-02-29T02:56:55-05:00

I wouldn't say intrusive leadership, but engaged leadership. Constantly looking over your subordinates shoulders has a demoralizing effect that can lead to these types of troubles. Bad morale has been known to be the detriment of units and commands, as service members take to vice IOT vent their frustrations. Instead, proper motivation and getting to know your subordinates in an engaging fashion will help the team building effort, leading to better morale, and through that, less crime. Empower your NCOs with this, and ensure that they know you have their back and support. This isn't as much of a SNCO problem as it is a NCO problem. Further, by empowering your NCOs, this fosters trust. An environment that fosters trust is better able to deal with issues as they come as opposed to getting hit with the problem from the blotter or somewhere else.

Response by TSgt Melissa Post made Feb 29 at 2016 6:32 AM

2016-02-29T06:32:58-05:00

I was in a squadron in Monterey CA at a time when it seemed like there was a lot of marijuana usage more so than DUIs. At first our leadership was a fan of group punishment. We would even get in trouble when the other Air Force squadron messed up, even though we hardly knew them. Then they lessened it to only when someone in our squadron messed up. Then when they noticed that wasn't working they lessened it to just our flights. After realizing that this still wasn't working they finally disciplined on an individual level. Some of our greatest complaints as airmen were how could we stop someone from making a bad decision when we don't even know that person existed. Group punishment does work but only on certain levels and in certain environments. I remember standing at attention for at least an hour (probably more because we were there before nightfall and we were there after sunset)Friday night while our Commander yelled at us for all the bad things we did or didn't stop others from doing. It made me angry more than anything because I had no idea who was the one(s) who were even involved yet I was getting in trouble.

Although I am not a leader, yet, I am a follower. I would recommend knowing the type of situation you have. If your group is a close knit one where group punishment would be effective, by all means use it. It could go either way. Either you will have a cleaned up, by-the-book group or you will have a group that is really good at covering for each other. If you don't have that type of scenario, I would highly recommend individual punishment. Holding people accountable for their actions has always been a part of adulthood. Furthermore, we are part of an elite group of people. We should be held to higher standards, since we are role models for so many people. It bothers me when I see leadership complain about something as simple as the work ethic of their NCOs but they do nothing to motivate them or correct them.

One final thing I would recommend is set your standards for your unit, and hold everyone accountable the same. When I got to my current unit, our leadership said "If you get a DUI, I will make it my goal to get you out of my Air Force." Our squadron had not had a DUI in six years. A few months later one of our NCOs got a DUI. He lost a stripe and that was it. Not much toward the "goal" we were told would happen. That sends off such mixed signals and looks like favoritism.

Just my thoughts as a follower though. :)

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 29 at 2016 7:23 AM

2016-02-29T07:23:31-05:00

Camp Pendleton used to have the "Arrive Alive" Program. They worked with a local cab company and issued EVERY Marine/Sailor on base an "Arrive Alive Card" which had the phone # to the cab company on it. If you were out in town and couldn't drive for whatever reason, call the number and the company would return you "home" (barracks, housing, house). No Questions Asked.

They take the card which had your unit information on it. A couple days later your SACO would pay the bill and you would pay the SACO back. No Questions Asked. They'd then issue you a new card.

On top of that, everyone had their leaderships phone number. Need a ride, someone will come get you.

We may have had lots of issues but DUI wasn't one of them.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 29 at 2016 8:08 AM

2016-02-29T08:08:00-05:00

We have all the typical free rides, money at the SDNCO desk etc to prevent DUI. Try preferring Court Martial Charges for all drug offenses. The defense will usually accept a Chapter 10 which is pretty quick. If they go to CM they are screwed.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 29 at 2016 9:45 AM

2016-02-29T09:45:15-05:00

In a briefing iused an NCOER with areas of responsibilities and accountability, that is where I made it completely understood on those actions.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Feb 29 at 2016 2:11 PM

2016-02-29T14:11:44-05:00

CSM, when our unit got back from Iraq 05-07 the BC and I took turns going on ride-alongs with the Texas BATF. We accompanied the agent to many of the the clubs that were in the area. It was amazing how many Soldiers we were able to talk to and we were able to interdict several DUI potential incidents just by visiting with troops and asking the question " what's your plan for getting home" and when there wasn't a plan arranging a plan, with no retribution attached. We along with the company CDRs and 1SGs conducted after midnight walk and talks through the BN area. Again the focus wasn't screwing with people but implanting in Soldiers minds that we had the give a damn factor. We had very low incidents of indiscipline and I attribute it in part to those two factors.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 6:13 AM

2016-03-01T06:13:49-05:00

When I took command of a unit we had three alcohol related incidents in three consecutive weekends. It is typical of units around change of command time and "normal" that higher risk tends to come during transitions. My boss at the time told me what he used when he was a commander and it had immediate positive effect when I implemented it. I announced to the unit that any alcohol related offense in the future would result in the small unit (in this case a squad) meeting together for safety training led on the following Friday or Saturday night by their small unit leader. The leader had to put together a plan for the training so it was not sit around and be punished. incidents dropped to zero for a few months. When we had another incident squad leaders developed pretty innovative training. The peer pressure was enough to drop incidents immediately. Further, I found big unit safety briefs were useless and instead we moved to shade tree briefings that I learned from other leaders. At the unit formation I would dismiss all squads to their squad leaders and have squad leaders debrief their soldiers on their plan for the weekend. These were not briefings. Each soldier was to brief their small unit leader on their plan for that night or weekend and their leader could add approve, modify or deny the plan. Leaders knew if there was an incident I would ask the leader about the briefings. These did not stop every incident but definitely made a positive impact.

Response by 1LT A. Uribe made Mar 1 at 2016 7:17 AM

2016-03-01T07:17:17-05:00

CSM, I do know this much, in a time of uncertainty Soldiers want to feel safe in their careers. However, like the 1SG stated nothing wrong with making public. I had a 1SG, in 96th trans and he had what was called a "Jam Jar" get yourself in jam, and your rank will end up in the jar. Every time someone got demoted he'd bring out the jam jar and make it clear that there was help out there yet they did not use it.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 8:02 AM

2016-03-01T08:02:20-05:00

After I retired, I became an addiction professional. Watch "The Wounded Platoon" and have a panel discussion. Get someone from the local recovery community, a social worker/therapist, and have an honest man-to-man discussion about drugs, alcohol, and PTSD. I work with veterans and more often than not the drug/alcohol problem is either secondary to some type of trauma during or before military service OR a someone who's life is not in balance and is filling a hole with alcohol and drugs.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 9:06 AM

2016-03-01T09:06:18-05:00

We try to emphasize the fact that they are responsible adults and treat them accordingly. We center our discussions around dignity and respect. We remind them of the imperative to make decisions based on values as well as regulation. That obviously doesn't keep silly things from happening 100% of the time but I feel like we get more of what we expect which is responsibility and ethical behavior.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 9:38 AM

2016-03-01T09:38:31-05:00

I think all the CO/BN/BDE taxi funds need to be seen as acceptable and not one of those "use it now but get an ass chewing later" games. Seen those before and they discouraged soldiers from using them.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 10:01 AM

2016-03-01T10:01:40-05:00

When I was 1SG, my commander and I had a policy; All you have to do is call us and you will be taken care of. There will be no speeches on "why you are calling me", "what the hell were you thinking", or any of the other crap I heard over my career. Call one of us. It will be kept in confidence. If I pick you up, the commander doesn't know. And if the commander picks you up, she is not going to tell me. Call one of us. if you call me, you get a free ride in the battle wagon (my mini-van) to your house or back to the B's. If you are calling because you and your old lady or old man got into it, I got you. Walk away, call me, and I will get you taken care of. We will have a coke and a smile and re-engage when everyone is cooled down. IF your old man or old lady wants to call me or the commander, let them. We will all have a coke and a smile and calm down.
And, we lived by it. I had folks call me and I went and got them. I am sure the commander picked up a few too. I even had a few call because they put one on and started remembering the ones that didn't come home. I'd get them, we would talk, and it would be okay.
This just didn't happen on its own though. I was invested in my NCOs and my NCOs were invested in their Soldiers. Having that investment in each other was the key. And it was contagious. With that investment everything in the company came together. Training stats, MOS Performance, PT and weapons all came together. I have to admit, as 1SG I was spoiled by the good group of NCOs I had. I had a knuckle head or two, but all in all I had a great group. In the end I had one DUI over 30 months as 1SG, and that was one of he knuckleheads. Saying that though, I still feel some ownership that I never figured out how to lead that kid into making better choices.

Response by SSG Joseph LeBel made Mar 1 at 2016 10:23 AM

2016-03-01T10:23:38-05:00

I had many times where I was the Designated Driver,,, I always told my troops,,, call me if you need to.. I might be a bit upset, but you would never go to jail,, might do a little extra duty... but mainly the first time was a freeby.. (I always showed we as SNCO cared about our kids) If you lead by example others will follow... And with cell phones, all it is, is a phone or text away from a ride... The other crimes are another problem,, but if they serve in combat and have to rely on someone else you learn real fast "RESPECT"...

Response by SGT Christopher Berger made Mar 1 at 2016 11:44 AM

2016-03-01T11:44:35-05:00

A deterrent from my old unit that our 1SG and CO implemented was that any SIR for the SM involved along with his immediate supervisor would conduct an RPFT followed by a 12 Mile Road March then finish the event with a worn Class A inspection.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 12:10 PM

2016-03-01T12:10:29-05:00

Wingman concept. ALWAYS have a dedicated DD for the evening.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 12:58 PM

2016-03-01T12:58:55-05:00

I always relied on having an organization where the team came first. Getting a DUI was selfish and would destroy a team. It was not easy to start, but I like to try and have an organization where we work extremely hard with demanding training like when many of us joined the Army years ago. The teamwork and brotherhood in the organization kept many of my subordinate leaders and soldiers on the right path, because they looked out for one-another.

I always discussed planning. If the plan was to go out that night and get tore up, that was a crappy plan. The plan should also include how to get home and a couple courses of action (what if my battle buddy hooks up and ditches me). We discussed this stuff in the motor pool and such when I interacted with my Soldiers. It hit it home with them during a safety brief and told them that if they decided to drink and drive, I would hope they hit the first effing tree they pass and injure themselves, because other members of our unit and our families drive on those same roads, and I will be damned if a member of my team would harm my family. My commander was shocked at being so straight forward, but my Soldiers finally started to get it. We did not have a DUI in that organization for 36 months, which was a testament to many of my junior NCOs and Platoon Sergeants.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 1:00 PM

2016-03-01T13:00:06-05:00

prevention is really the only way, keep morale up. Dont suck up soldiers family time, if oyu need a soldier to do something, try and get it done while they are NOT with their family, do it on your time, or meet the soldier at their house to sign that counseling you need to get in. believe it or not, little things like that help alot. We had good morale at my last duty station until out command team PCSed, then we got a shit command team and morale tanked, not one person wanted to be there any more, requested for reassignment and deployments skyrocketed along with DUI and alcohol related incidents. That command team cared more about numbers, issuing article 15s, and kicking out fat bodys rather than helping then than anything else,m and it showed. as morale dropped, DUIs went up exponentially. Treat your soldiers with respect and dignity, be fair yet firm when dealing with issues and you wont have many DUIs. Treat soldiers like retarded toddlers and "Drop the hammer" for every minor infraction making an example of everyone, DUIs with go through the roof.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 4:16 PM

2016-03-01T16:16:49-05:00

It's about having an option that makes sense now that they can trust. Zero attribution if the program is used. Colorado Springs had a program for a period of time that would show up with a vehicle and two drivers. You would ride in the car that came to pick you up and the second driver would drive your car back. Many soldiers used the program and volunteered with the program. They just couldn't keep the funding. Uber works too. I have seen the duty van run flips.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 4:21 PM

2016-03-01T16:21:26-05:00

Whatever the solution is has to be accessible to all ranks. If senior leaders use the program even a few times it sends a message.

Response by SSG Anthony Bradford made Mar 1 at 2016 5:51 PM

2016-03-01T17:51:59-05:00

Have a DD driver on standby or use the CQ / staff duty runner. Also try getting with uber ( [login to see] ) to see if they have any promotion / discounts codes for military. If these two don't work another idea is to compose a list of volunteers like spouses or within the local community that are willing to be DD if needed and then have that list at each CQ desk.

Response by SSG Anthony Bradford made Mar 1 at 2016 5:52 PM

2016-03-01T17:52:36-05:00

Response by CW3 Kim B. made Mar 1 at 2016 8:38 PM

2016-03-01T20:38:54-05:00

SMALL group, unit led, always works best. Small group means squad/section level and elow. NOT mass death by powerpoint or any other type of outside intervention.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2016 8:51 PM

2016-03-01T20:51:08-05:00

Plain and simply put, knowing your Soldiers and letting them know you. Care, share and show it. If you give a damn ask, silence is a killer.

Response by LTC Trent Klug made Mar 2 at 2016 4:33 AM

2016-03-02T04:33:06-05:00

This is going back aways in the time machine.

My BDE, especially my BN, had a real problem with DUIs. Our BDE Commander at the time was Lynwood Burney, whom we referred to as Darth Vader. We wanted no part of an evening rendezvous at BDE HQ.

Long story short. We NCOs who weren't going anywhere on the weekend told our platoon that we would gladly come get them if they were too drunk to drive. We gave our phone numbers to the CQ and waited for a call. In the four years I was in C Co, 3/27 IN, we had zero DUIs in four years and two cohorts.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2016 5:42 AM

2016-03-02T05:42:22-05:00

Know your soldiers, earn trust, counsel regularly, positive re-inforcement, and creating a good work environment.

Response by MSG Mark Million made Mar 2 at 2016 9:45 AM

2016-03-02T09:45:19-05:00

My suggestion is for those at the top to make sure they are seen to be setting the example. Showing interest and generally being available to soldiers to give them help when needed. When leaders take the time to get personally involved and do things like providing rides without judgement, or organizing carpools during off hours, it goes a long way to earn the trust and respect of the the troops. I feel that troops that are more concerned with not disappointing their leaders will be less of a problem than those looking to avoid punishment.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2016 10:27 AM

2016-03-02T10:27:13-05:00

I believe the biggest thing to curtail these issues CSM is clear expectations and appropriate outcomes. When Soldier see that this type of behavior is condoned it breeds more of the same!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 12:05 AM

2016-03-03T00:05:47-05:00

Not really new, but I think just getting to know your soldiers outside of "work" can go a long way in spotting and knowing where potential issues in these areas may be

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 7:40 AM

2016-03-03T07:40:34-05:00

I was part of a unit that worked out a deal with a cab company and issued everyone in the unit these cards that if you were out drinking off post you could call this particular cab company, and hand them this card, so if you couldn't afford the cab ride back on post then they would just charge it to the unit, and the soldier would get the card back one they repaid the unit.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2016 6:09 PM

2016-03-03T18:09:09-05:00

I think everyone here has nailed it, well the numerous posts I have read anyways, it's engaged leadership. The trick is weeding out or mentoring the lazy 9-5 NCOs and paycheck collectors. I've found you only have to make one example and everyone begins to cover down. My 1SG and I were realists, we knew the underage drinking was going to happen no matter what we said, but we fostered an environment that boosted the morale and camaraderie which resulted in no incidents during the year and a half we were in charge. Sadly, after we left there was no one to hold the NCOs and they went back to miming the motions and leadership and the discipline problems went back up.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2016 8:13 PM

2016-03-05T20:13:42-05:00

I did not have a single DUI amonst my soldiers. In an OCONUS unit (Italy) where the legal drinking age was 18 this was a high risk. I believe my success came from telling my soldiers (squad/team powows) of what they would loose. Money, time, respect, dignity. I also placed emphasis on our buddy system and how the rest of the team/squad mates would also be at fault. I also made them aware that if they needed to be picked up no matter what the hour or how far the distance I would come get them no matter what so there was no excuse.

Response by CSM Kevin Nolan made Mar 8 at 2016 1:06 PM

2016-03-08T13:06:39-05:00

Eric, concur with engaged leadership point. I stood in front of formation amd told every Soldier and NCO I reserved the right to pick up any DUI, the 1SG would meet me there with a ruck, PT belt (of course} and follow behind us with flashers going as the young hooah had all the time in the world to discuss his "issue", bottom line it took only once

abn
nolan

Response by SFC Pete Kain made Sep 4 at 2016 12:39 PM

2016-09-04T12:39:02-04:00

U.C.M.J.

Response by 1SG Michael Clarke made Jun 1 at 2017 10:51 PM

2017-06-01T22:51:15-04:00

I will try to make this fairly short (my soldiers would sigh when I say that). A previous unit had a problem with DUIs. We wrote orders stating how the SM put personnel in danger and all the other fluff of orders, had them read to the formation. We had a DUI guidon produced with the offending SM holding it. The guidon was posted and retired daily thereafter for 30 days. The offending SM would have to report to the battalion learning center each Saturday for one month to write an essay on the dangers of drinking and driving. We had one kid that wasn't old enough to drink in the state. The BC called his mom in front of the formation! The problem subsided.