UCMJ crackdown: Why Mattis thinks commanders have gone soft on misconduct

Sir, I entered the Army during the “zero defect” days (‘92-‘02). I don’t believe it has reverted back entirely to those days, but what I believe Sec. Mattis is speaking of is the lack of discipline in our current force. When deployments were high, your numbers needed to be high so not very many Soldiers were getting chaptered or receiving UCMJ. Now it seems the Military is making a move back towards better discipline and they want the commanders to make that happen along with the NCOs doing a better job of enforcing standards. My BN CDR said the same thing to me when I was a Company CDR. I’ll tell you it worked, a few summarized Art. 15s for breaches in discipline and they word got around fast. It also put that Soldier on notice and could be elevated if the behavior continued. But with the shift towards empathetic leadership, I don’t believe we are going back to the zero defect Army of the ‘80-‘90s.

COL Charles Williams Excellent Perspective Colonel. I am a "Vietnam Era Vet" (A Few Years After). Shit that was going on when I Joined. Unreal Vast majority of Sailors smoked weed, So on the Sly, Others Not So Much, Drugs Everywhere, Sexual Harassment? Oh Yeah, even had Strippers in the PO Lounge at the EM Club at Pearl when I first arrived. Young Female Members getting Abortions from being Knocked Up by Superiors that didn't give a Damn About them. Yeah I Remember. The Current Military is Much Better but has No Historical Perspective. Fortunately that although a lot of My Memories are Fading. I Really Remember "The Good Old Days" and just how Run Amok they were in My Early Career.

You get a disciplinarian and the troops get upset and make noise. Then the old “lack of confidence” occurs, followed by a firing. Being a Commanding Officer in today’s military carries far more risk than in the past.