Leadership Dilemmas: If you were me, what would you have done? (PART 1)

Sounds like you fell for all the age-old talk of brand-new Lieutenants needing to listen to their NCOs. Don't get me wrong. It is good advice. They have been in the army longer than you and have seen more than you. That, and they outnumber you. BUT... At the end of the day, they are not in command. YOU ARE. Make the decision as to whether or not you want to keep this soldier. Then, tell those senior NCOs to start doing their job, rather than simply giving up on the soldier.

Remember, authority can be delegated. Responsibility cannot.

CPT Aaron Kletzing, Sir

Back in the day you could be voluntold to got to counseling is that not the case any more?

As a new member of the unit you always have to step back and observe for a short period of time and considering using what works and determining what needs to be fixed. Was there an issue before you arrived to the unit? Is this all new behavior? These questions would play a big role in my decision as to what further action is required.

If the actions are a continued reflection of negativity for a long period, leader or not, he needs to be removed from his role and possibly separated from the military.

If the behavior has recently started than there is usually an underlying circumstance that is leading to the negativity. An easy way to build loyalty with your soldiers / NCOs is to take care of them. If they are having issues outside of the office that is affecting work, help them fix those issues. Personal problems aren't always the easiest things to fix but if you show effort they will notice and appreciate.

There are resources within the military than can assist with any problem. This NCO might not realize help is only a question away. Asking the hard questions and getting them help isn't always the easiest thing to do.

As for the Senior NCOs that you relied on to assist, make sure they are doing the right thing by the soldier. Sometimes it takes an outsider (new guy) to point out the fact they are not using resources properly.

As some others stated, make sure every action is documented. Both the counseling SGT Jones and the senior NCOs. This can help your case in the future if further actions are required with either.

As a young officer you would not know the back ground of the Soldier and will have to take other peoples word on the background. Your Commander was right to pull you in and talk to you. I don't know how that turned out but I would hope that after asked what you wanted to do, he would lay out a plan as the more experience leader. The 1SG and PSG should have also been very involved in this.

My personal belief is that you hold onto the Soldier and get him the help that he obviously needed. I had some Soldiers that had some similar issues and it takes a strong leader to force their way into the Soldier's life and be involved.

consult your fellow j.o. with in the command and not make this a multiple choice on a fucking social network.

This is from an interview with Nick Saban recently. I think this statement fits this situation.

"Where do you want them to be? Guy makes a mistake. Where do you want them to be? You want him to be in the street or do you want them to be here graduating?"

In his situation he was talking about players misbehaving and how it's handle by the schools/athletic programs. I think you can change the context and have it apply just about anywhere.

You give an opportunity for the individual to listen to what you have to say and correct the issue and if the pattern of misconduct continues, then take more extreme action.

http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/12/dj_pettway_saban_second_chance.html

The commander should have asked you to collect all the "evidence" e.g., counselings, proof of FTR's, police reports, etc. Then you should have talked to your brigade legal team/paralegal and sought their guidance. Nonjudicial punishments (Article 15's) are there to help leaders stop problem behavior. SGT Jones could have received a some restrictions on his time and money...maybe rank if the commander wanted to do a field grade article 15.

You could have also counseled to the Soldier to see if there were underlying or mitigating circumstances then used available resources e.g., ASAP, chaplain, etc to help address the situation and improve the Soldier.

Finally, you could warn the Soldier that continued behavior would like result in further UCMJ actions and possibly lead to a General or OTH discharge via admin separation (chapter).

His first line supervisor should have talked to him and found out what the root of the problem is. Domestic Violence is not something to push off to someone else. Chapter should never be the first response he will just be another disgruntled vet trashing the military and blaming everyone else for his problems. He needs to be taken care of and given whatever treatment is fitting to his issues. I have a very strong suspicion no one has taken the time to talk to this soldier and find out what is really going on. Very often the case seems clear to me that soldiers are not being cared for and as soon as they slip the least little bit they are chewed up and they just go down hill from that point to where they are on the next boat out of the military. If someone would have taken the time to notice when his work performance, or dedication started slipping this could have been avoided. No one is a great NCO on a tuesday then wednesday are off the tracks and don't care anymore there has to have been something to push him to the point he is at. The soldier does have to be held responsible for his actions, but you have to ask yourself as a leader what, when and where did something happen to make him turn down the road he is currently on. No one joins the Army to be a dirtbag, however if you get a soldier who is belittled and mistreated by his "leaders" they will very quickly start to not care. Our soldiers should be our priorities nothing can get accomplished without soldiers and their leaders mission accomplishment goes hand in hand with taking care of our soldiers if you think you are getting the mission done but your soldiers hate life think again. If your solders respect you to the point of they dont want to fail you because they dont want to let you down your mission will never fail. take care of your soldiers and they will take care of you.

You should of stepped up and try to help him correct the problems he was having. Instead you turned him over to someone who you knew disliked him and would get him out of the unit. The Senior NCOs are not doing their job either. Rather than helping him they are just going to get rid of him. I do not know what type of unit it is or anything, but sounds like the NCOs are not doing their job, and as his immediate supervisor, LT. you are doing yours. If he is still in the unit get off your butt, Sir, and get to work. Your Top Sergeant should also have stepped in to try to determine how to help him with reassignment as a last resort. I am saddened by their actions as NCOs. I can understand your problem being you are still butterbar, and a new one at that.

You cannot just let them send him to another unit because that is just passing the problem to someone else to handle and that is happening way too much right now. You need to take the lead and counsel him with with senior NCO's of the company present. Make sure he knows he gets back on track or hits the streets, he won't be sent for someone else to figure out what to do with him.