What do you think the biggest challenge service members will have to face after this war (OIF and OEF) is over?

2014-04-01T07:41:53-04:00

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Apr 1 at 2014 7:49 AM

2014-04-01T07:49:43-04:00

PO1 Graves, I think the biggest challenge after the wars are over is competing with others in your field to stay in. The military will only keep or let the best stay in, and if we don't meet the standards....bye.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 7:54 AM

2014-04-01T07:54:35-04:00

It will depend a lot on what they did while serving ISO OIF/OEF. Those who saw a lot of actual combat are yet to see the results affect them. Just like with Vietnam, most of those guys didn't develop problems until years later. With that said though, we have a much better support system now than they (Nam vets) did.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Apr 1 at 2014 8:07 AM

2014-04-01T08:07:38-04:00

I think it's going to be difficult for people to find meaning in arbitrary superficial garrison tasks... Once proud warriors reduced to painting rocks.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 9:25 AM

2014-04-01T09:25:00-04:00

Same question, but I would like to get some responses from the Reservist and National Guard Members.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 9:51 AM

2014-04-01T09:51:15-04:00

I think the Army has already begun to deal with what we have all seen degrade over the past decade...Professionalism.  I left active duty in 2001, almost 2 months to the day before 9/11.  I left an Army that held standards and discipline as the cornerstone of our profession.  I was in the National Guard for 5 years and then returned to Active Duty in September of 2006.  Boy had it changed!  I looked back and wondered where my disciplined Army had gone and thought that one of the two Nat'l Guard units I had served in worked harder on maintaining standards than the Active Duty I had returned to.  What I realized over a short amount of time was that the almost 5 years at war had taken a toll on standards and discipline.  NCOs were being promoted at a rate never seen.  There was a loss of pride and professionalism due to the high OPTEMPO and focus on non-MOS, general combat related tasks.  Over the last year we have turned our focus to The Army Profession, and rightfully so.  We have engaged in discussion and debate about trust and ethics and what it means to be a team.  I think we are headed in the right direction.  Today's release of the updated AR 670-1 and DA Pam 670-1 is just another step up the ladder of professionalism and focus on standards and discipline.  All leaders must make it a priority to uphold the standards that make our profession great.  We need to not create new standards by overlooking violations in regulations.  First and foremost, we must take care of Soldiers and develop them to take our place as leaders.  As we drawdown our force we must ensure the best and those with the most potential are retained and moved up the ranks.

Response by SFC Vernon McNabb made Apr 1 at 2014 9:59 AM

2014-04-01T09:59:32-04:00

Being in uniform IAW the new AR 670-1!

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 3:54 PM

2014-04-01T15:54:40-04:00

Retaining the lessons and not devolving back into the conventional knowledge of the garrison military. Sure we police height/weight regs, but we also remember the new SSgt with 3 tours has many more applicable ideas about his job at the tactical level than some of the MGuns out there. <div><br></div><div>And don't let chickenshit become the new focus of the force. </div>

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 9:17 PM

2014-04-01T21:17:00-04:00

The next War that is soon approaching!

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2014 12:11 AM

2014-04-02T00:11:36-04:00

I believe tougher recruiting for people ttryint to get into the service, cut backs which are eliminating personnel, making it tougher to stay in ( tattoo policies, ridiculous weight standards, page 7/art . 15 policies are being strictly enforced, favortism is back in effect for those select few the command wants to keep vs. Who really needs to stay, hiyer tenure re enacted, hey the list just keeps on going). You can see where this is headed back when they stopped the indefinite enlistments, now you have to jump through hoops to keep your job and be able to reenlist.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2014 2:01 AM

2014-04-02T02:01:43-04:00

The lack of employment, the state of the economy, the lagging of benefits for Veterans and an indifferent political atmosphere in Washington and every state.

Response by CPT T. Scott Haddix made Apr 2 at 2014 2:20 AM

2014-04-02T02:20:55-04:00

Dealing with those that have not experienced war and the confusion of those that are dealing with the former service member. Not that the veteran deserves a special pass, people need to realize that the former service member is completely different than them because of their experiences. Just because a person does not understand a veterans reaction to a specific situation, does not mean that the veterans reaction is necessarily wrong, as long as the veteran has done nothing illegal or damaging, then the reaction just needs to be classified as different, not wrong. 

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2014 7:22 AM

2014-04-02T07:22:09-04:00

finding a job where they want to live

Response by PO3 Bob Dunphy made Apr 2 at 2014 8:19 AM

2014-04-02T08:19:48-04:00

Operation Ukraine Freedom.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 2 at 2014 8:27 AM

2014-04-02T08:27:57-04:00

One of the biggest challenge will be adaptation. There are many changes coming down at a fast pace and right at this moment many people are having difficulty accepting this changes.
Another big challenge that I see coming is going backto the old Army way due to the downsizing where there was no housekeeping, gate guard or landscaping contractors and we were the one doing it.
This is the time where those of us calling ourselves leaders to be exactly that and lead from the front by supporting those new changes and enforcing them whether we like those changes or not.

Response by PO1 David Tasler made Apr 2 at 2014 10:02 AM

2014-04-02T10:02:14-04:00

To me it's getying the help that the returning vets need for issues both medical and job . I'm 100% V.A. disabled from OIF III but it took from May 06 to July 2010 to get that even with the V.A. saying I couldn't work because of sever PTSD .They need to start checking for this after the deployment and follow up after .

Response by SGT Shon D. Hill made May 5 at 2014 5:29 AM

2014-05-05T05:29:01-04:00

Biggest issue I think many combat vets of OIF/OEF is the empty feeling that not much good really resulted, and the overwhelming loss. PTSD will certainly be an issue, so we've got to help each other out!

Response by PO3 Josie Buchanan made Jun 16 at 2015 10:31 AM

2015-06-16T10:31:01-04:00

finding jobs that will pay well enough to support your family. Most jobs in the navy do not transfer to the civilian world and finding out after all the time you gave for your country that your training is not enough for civilian billets can be frustrating and very stressful.