The Demagogues of Army Leadership, and So Can You!
I would like to start out by saying I believe in the officer corps. I still believe in the Army. We (the Army and officers) get a lot of bad press both from the outside and ourselves. We like to point out what’s wrong with the system, but not many are willing to stick around to fix things. And I think that is, in actuality, the biggest problem right now.
I’m an optimist and an altruist. I know I personally got into this job because of the hooah-hooah jump out of helicopters stuff, and because of the prestigious legacy of the services. Even in the modern era of persistent conflict, eight years into two wars, the general public still looks at military officers as the country’s most honorable and professional individuals. Sure, on paper we may not represent the true creme de la creme. But there is something to be said about some brains, a little brawn, and a healthy dose of enough patriotism to throw in your lot and do your part, to call us some of the best individuals America has to count on. Numbers alone tell more lies than truths.
But unfortunately, like any job, one must start at the bottom and work his way up.
Like me writing this at 0253 HRS while on a tiring staff duty shift. No one joins the Army to pull staff duty. No one joins the Army to write counselings, work on chapter packets even on your block leave, or to be separated from your friends and family for months at a time. At some point we all recognized we had something more to give than ourselves, and inspired by the war stories of our predecessors we raised our hands for whatever the task.
If you wanted to branch infantry and the Army Gods decided you were going to be field artillery, what do you do? Quit? Did you join the Army with any preconditions? I try to tell myself I didn’t. It doesn’t always work. If you raised your hand to volunteer and the Army decided it needed you most in the supply room, take it with a grain of salt. Only a small fraction can jump out of helicopters and kick down doors. But no one can jump out of helicopters before that LZ is prepped, and that chalk is loaded with beans and bullets.
Usually when I talk to lieutenants choosing to leave the Army before making captain, or as a junior captain, it definitely is because of many of the issues mentioned in the Strategic Studies paper (job satisfaction, not meeting job expectations or opportunities, etc). But I just can’t help but think at some point near the field grade things really start paying off. I can’t help thinking that the only ones willing to find that out are some of those less desirable candidates who can’t separate from the military because they lack the motivation to leave or the skills to leave an institutionalized career.
The Army is trying to entice us with “just stick it out!” and we promise things will get better. It truly is a hard sell.
We are all blanketed in the glory of the Washingtons, Shermans, Pattons and Moores. But this glory does extend to our era in the Powells, McChrystals, Patreas’s and…Stenzels. I believe junior officers feel too detatched from these echelons, so it’s hard to think that what we do now could one day lead to command at that level or careers of that significance. Most of the stars we look up to either never saw “combat” until they commanded a corps, or still haven’t seen “combat.” In todays’ Army we consider anyone with a fuzzy right sleeve not worth the nylon his name tape is printed with. No one really writes books about how amazing their lieutenant years were if they’ve made it past captain. And lately the draw from the civilian sector, these loosening standards for admission into the officer corps, and the less kinetic battlefields discourage retention in a generation that needs quick satisfaction.
Most of the lieutenants I talk to who plan on staying in for at least the foreseeable future don’t have much introspection or high ambition. The talk is mostly of punching in the hours, minimizing the impact of the next deployment, and securing school dates to relax from OP Tempo. I haven’t decided if this is good or not, or whether it even means anything. But I would at least think that some of the great field grades and generals in the past tried to plan for the future, even as lieutenants. I don’t believe that officers accidentally end up with PhD’s and Pentagon jobs. That takes more than punching the clock.
For me the draw to see what’s on the other side of the lieutenant hill is just too great. I can see myself trying to do different jobs in intel or civil affairs, or even artillery (fires, as we like to call it these days). I think we always hear about the jobs we’d like to do, but many of us never meet the people who either have done it or can tell us how to get into it. This is probably another problem with the system, that of the branch managers as the gate keepers. Perhaps there needs to be a more fluid communication system between real, working field grades and junior officers. Like a facebook or LinkedIn where random communication and job recommendations is encouraged. Ha!
I know my experiences thus far have not been what I expected. We are trained in ROTC to have a platoon of cadet-competent “Soldiers” who think like us, do PT for fun and we WILL take the hill! Our pre-job training is focused on Soldiering ourselves up and learning tactics. Our on-the-job experiences teach us logistics and how to apply the grease that gets the Army machine to the fight foremost, then we’ll worry about making the PowerPoint for the OPORD to cordon the village.
I know there are also legitimate circumstances that make some of us want, or need, to leave the military when our time is up. I also strongly believe that anyone who has done their time has already done more than they were asked. There is a reason LTC’s will regularly thank soldiers and junior officers for their service.
I personally refuse to let this discourage my outlook. Perhaps something better in the future will present itself. I still don’t plan on making this a 20-year career. But I can see myself putting in a few more than my three-year contract if not only to see what else the Army can do for me, but what I can do for the Army.
~Spartz"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 am
I think I fall into the category of one of the few optimistic people about spending 20 years in the Army..
The Army will always lose a high amount of it’s quality officers and retain some of the worst. The sheer size of the Officer Corps makes it difficult to conduct proper evaluations of it’s talent at times, and it makes it difficult to retain the proper personnel. The Army basically seems to keep it’s melting pot mix of just about everything, good and bad, whether you are talking LTs, LTCs, or LTGs.
One of the biggest things I’ve realized early on is the need to be your own branch manager. Nobody cares more about your career then you, so if you don’t take charge of it then you’re screwing yourself. It’s up to you to set yourself up for success and control your career as much as you can. In ROTC, you want to score high enough on the OML so you get a guaranteed branch choice. At OBC, you do well enough to secure a Ranger School slot. As an LT, you learn your commander’s expectations and work hard to get a top block OER. Pursue opportunities and schools at every opportunity. Look into Special Operations like SF, Ranger, Psy Ops, Civil Affairs. Think about Advanced Civil Schooling, Fellowships, Internships, Joint Assignments. Know all your options available to you. If you want a high speed group of soldiers who think like you, with minimal issues, love PT, and are motivated as hell, then pursue the high speed Officer opportunities and you’ll get that chance.
Personally, one of the reasons I continue to remain optimistic is I’ve been relatively successful at getting what I want. Branch, Ranger, and now I’m changing units to go somewhere more elite, which will be the topic of another post. Is it luck that it’s working out, is it making lemonade out of lemons, or is it being prepared on a moments notice for any opportunity? Probably a little of everything.
Lastly, on career satisfaction, I think the importance of finding mentors in the careers you want to pursue is important. Being able to ask questions of a senior officer who has lived the career you want to follow is invaluable, not only for its motivational aspects of continuing past the hiccups but to set you up for success. It helps set your expectations and give you a good frame of reference.
April 3rd, 2010 at 3:07 am
I would like to believe I can be as optimistic as you both. However, I do agree with you Derek, you have to be your own branch manager. I have already had to deal with a few of my own set backs. As you already know, when I arrived to Hawaii I was assigned to USARPAC Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion. Not exactly the role I expected to be part of being a Ranger tabbed Infantry officer. However I fought my way out of there. I personally pleaded my case to my chain of command and sold my story to my BC. Luckily for me, he agreed to release me to the 25th with the BCT I wanted. I didn’t stop there. Using my contacts up in that brigade already (ie Simmons) I found a battalion that was willing to go after me with the opportunity of seeing a platoon! So, Evans, I agree you need to be your own branch manager. My current command even told me that the only person will look after your career is you. The big Army just sees you as a name on a list.
To answer your post Spartz, the problem I see is that good officers don’t stay in because they are too valuable on the outside. Also, from my experience, I have seen too much recognition given to those who don’t earn it. So what is the incentive to stay? I get real tired of seeing awards and credit given to people who don’t earn it. For example, I am strongly against the idea of a PCS award. “Congratulations Soldier, you spent 3 years in the unit, here is your ARCOM. Eh don’t worry about the hot UA a year ago or the DUI…you showed up most of the time and didn’t fail a PT test!” Awards need to be earned. I would like to think that I do my job pretty well, considering what I was trained to do and what I am actually doing. However, the only thing I find myself with after doing something well is more work. But my fellow XO who literally hides in his office and does nothing is going to be leaving with at least an AAM.
I also hate to see how babied Soldiers are these days. Don’t want to do a PT, go to the medics and say “My foot hurts”, well here is your 3 month no running profile. There is literally a way to out of everything. Since my time here as XO, I have had IG complaints for the dumbest things. For example, told our Soldiers that all of the trucks needed new bumper numbers painted on them by COB at the end of the week and when it wasn’t done to standard we kept them until they completed it….IG complaint. I got another for denying a Soldier’s leave because we only had two medics and I needed both to support two ranges. I have literally seen my 1SG get calls from IG for yelling at Soldiers. What kind of Army have we built?
I feel like I have completely digressed from the original post. Unfortunately I do not hold the same optimism as either of you. I worry that the caliber of officers coming in don’t have the strength, skill, and passion to truly make any lasting changes. Hopefully I am wrong.
April 10th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Well I was waiting and hoping for more feedback on this one… Psych!
Parker I definitely agree with you. There are some epidemic problems in the quality of new recruits, and a giant shift in the mentality of service. And PCS awards? I got chewed out for not knowing I had to write one for an outgoing section chief like I was supposed to know everyone gets one. Say what?!
I think some of the change in getting the better officers to stay in will come from the better career management they are proposing in the study. Career satisfaction is a huge part of why people stay or leave a job, (ir)regardless of it being military. If you know you can make a bit more money on the “outside,” but you love what you’re doing and are optimistic about your prospective opportunities, you’ll be likely to stay. I don’t mean more people will serve 20 years, but more people will probably serve more than their 3/4/5 years.
I would like to see more feedback from people on Evans suggestion of career mentors. On our BDE Staff Duty shift we have to write a letter to the BDE Commander on what we would do if we were O6 for the day. I specifically mentioned how in my experience we don’t get much interaction with field grade officers for troubleshooting and professional development. I think there is a big piece missing there.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
One issue I’m worried about is the Army won’t put in any changes until they see what the ADSO does to Army retention, and the effects of that won’t be really seen for another 4-5 years at least… It just gives them an excuse to put off making any real change.
And I hear ya on the PCS awards thing.. one of those things nobody tells you about in OBC and then you look all ate up like you were supposed to know about it already when you have to do your first one.
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