Where did the art of military mentorship disappear to? Do you think the rapid changes to the military has anything to do with it?

2015-03-29T14:04:39-04:00

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2015 2:07 PM

2015-03-29T14:07:32-04:00

I remember being mentored by my NCOs (back in 97-03). It seems most are stuck on self and forgetting mentorship is part of a NCO duties. How can you progress if you don't have someone to fill your spot.?

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 29 at 2015 2:22 PM

2015-03-29T14:22:53-04:00

Its great to see you on RP SSG Private RallyPoint Member, great question. It is up to each one of us to further develop - each other as well as our future force, the junior Soldiers that will take our place.

Mentorship really has a couple forms, let's examine two here (personal mentor, unit mentorship programs).

Mentorship is often confusing, you cannot be assigned a mentor, you - the individual - have to seek out your own mentor, someone with whom you trust, respect, and often times want to emulate and develop that relationship, ask them directly to be your mentor. Being a mentor means you take the time to ensure you share knowledge, answer questions and help with guiding their career based on the established goals of the individual.

Unit mentorship comes in many forms, from SGT's Time Training, NCOPDs, OPDs, LPDs as well as staff rides, Soldier/NCO of the month competitions and prestigious membership clubs (SGT Morales/Sergeant Audie Murphy).

As far as professional development in the Army is concerned, I truly believe we are in the midst of a change in our culture due in part to the implementation of the Structured Self Development (SSD). The idea was that it would allow our Soldiers and NCOs to develop themselves through the use of online training, at their own pace. The new method of SSD is NO EXCUSE to stop mentoring your Soldiers.

No matter which method - direct, unit or selected mentorship, it is our responsibility to grow our future leadership!

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made Mar 29 at 2015 2:37 PM

2015-03-29T14:37:19-04:00

Much of the problem with mentorship is it can only exist in an environment where mistakes can be made. This allows a senior to walk a junior through what they did right and what they did wrong so that they can learn from their mistakes.

The current version of military operations and training don't allow for mistakes for one of two reasons. Combat operations where mistakes lead to fatalities tends towards micromanagement when a juniors concept of operations tends to be at odds with upper echelons. You either toe the line or you are placed in "safe mode" til the end of operations. And training events where zero tolerance is starting to become the norm. You are either training for the deployment, which establishes your likelihood of being placed in an influential position or relegated to completing your tour as a non-entity. The other consideration is you get it right the first time or you are likely to see an evaluation that removes you from competitive promotions and eventual separation during the downsizing.

Military readiness is failing. OPTEMPO and PERSTEMPO starting in 2003 with the start of Operation Iraqi Liberation... Sorry, Freedom... Set the stage for departure from service of a lot of individuals who had a good sense of work-life balance. These were people who understood the fight for family and country and wanted to be able to enjoy that. Many of them served a single tour and then separated rather than doing back to back tours that limited them to being home only every other year. Most of what was left was career Soldiers, Soldiers from broken homes, and borderline personality disorders that wouldn't be able to adapt to the civilian world. As a general rule, not what I would usually consider good mentor material in the first place.

This is not to say that there are not any good mentors still in the service. There are many, but they are getting fewer. They also have to fight the growing percentage of those in field grade and senior ranks that never would have made selection in a pre-9/11 military.

Balance will be restored, fear not... but the road until then will not be easy.

Response by SPC Donald Tribble made Mar 29 at 2015 2:41 PM

2015-03-29T14:41:19-04:00

Mentoring, not just in the military, but in general it is a waning art. In my experience people are getting more and more self motivated than they use to be.