Is the Military Changing?

S

Secure What?

Active member
Is it just me or do you have to kiss as much a** as possible to gain rank, and if you actually take care of your troops instead of those above you, why does that impact your career so much nowadays? Didn't it used to be that the more you took care of your people the better a CO you were?
 
You have to be able to do both. These are not exclusive. You can take care of your men and a$$ kiss at the same time. You gotta multi task. Sometimes a$$ kissing can save your guys a lot of pain too.
Don't think of it as a$$ kissing because if you do, you're doing it wrong.
Just think of it as keeping your higher ups happy.
 
What do mean by kiss butt? Generally, in any organization civilian or military being diplomatic pays off.

My experience is that those who are exceptionally competent also have the brains not to pee on their Commanders freshly shined boots.
 
No, as in a sense of people I see fail to do the job they're assigned, so they get put working in back office, which pisses me off. Seeing people rewarded for incompitence and laziness, then while working back office they do nothing but chit chat with the higher ups and end up getting SrA BTZ which is kind of like a step promotion of sorts. Yet the people who've been doing their job right for the whole time get screwed because that stripe is gone now. How is that fair at all?
 
I genuinely want to follow you, Secure, but you lost me.

I frankly don't understand your general complaint. Do you have an issue with the annual personal evaluation system? If so, on what grounds?

That varies a whole lot between services. I'm as ignorant as a virgin on her wedding night on all the services except the army.

The current NCO evaluation system for the Army is great. Unless, you actually experienced the flowery nonsense of the early 80s, you don't have a point of reference. It now boils down to did the NCO do his duty? If he exceeded his duty, then specifically point how, preferably objective not subjective. Comments of "exceptional" were dismissed by a promotion board if you didn't have a good objective case.

It also required written counselling all along the rated period. I liked that. It isn't fair to rate some one as pond water without informing them that they need to change far in advance.

They tried to change the officer evaluation system with the Atlas Shrugged Rating. That was a joke.
 
The system we're working with in the Air Force or at least my base is extremely flawed. I work away from my base, too far away so where back office doesn't see the work we do. They then complain that we don't work enough, and that we need extra training. They see what's on paper not what actually happens. If you screw up where I work, you don't work there anymore you go to back office. Back office gets you noticed by higher ranking officers, are you getting what i'm saying yet Lavite?
 
Secure: "are you getting what i'm saying yet Lavite? "

Not really, but I'm a pretty dense Southern boy. 9/10 of any evaluation is selling yourself to your rater. You should be rubbing every accomplishment and success in their noses. Don't presume they have a long memory.

That is especially true in the situation you described of working off site.
 
We do that, but it doesn't matter because we're not seen. Everyone who gets the step promotion works somewhere on the base, rarely does anyone off the base get it.
 
The classic dilemma.
The best leaders may not always be the greatest diplomats.


Don´t fret it Secure, once you get one from the outpost into the offices you lot will get all the credit that is due.

//KJ.
 
Not what I ment.
Even if there is no rotation system in place they will eventually get someone into the offices..Nature of the beast.
 
In that case he's going to have to make an effort to make the transfer! Time to start kissing every ass in the outpost and be on the lookout for anyone from the office that might show up to take a look.
 
From my POV it depends on circumstance:

Sometimes to be strictily following CoC makes sense: I recall a Colnel once coming by for an inspection and reprimanding my guys for not having their shirts buttoned up according to rules: I had to - courteously - ask him to the side and explain I had ordered it that way (which hadn´t been the case, but it was summer and the guys sweating away had taken liberties), and additiionally I asked him to never ever jump CoC with me again, it worked, in the end he even congratulated me on my stance).

OTOH, sometimes you just have to slack it a little and have yourself shortcircuiting CoC to obtain e.g. necessary stuff w/o going through the beaurocrats mill (in the ´70s in Germany it was a nightmare just to order new batteries for the coy´s torchlights, much better to go and buy them yourself backed through a semi-black BN fonds; this has changed since, as now even coys have budgets, so I am just using this for an example).

Last, there are some (few) serious issues where you have no choice but to make a decision depenidng on your character/type: Seeing something really whacked up happening you can either close your eyes and follow the trend (it usually *is* the trend), or oppose calling in all your favours for the (from your POV) perceived better for he force, whatever harm it might (actually, will!) do to your career.

Rattler
 
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Their's no rotation, and manning is so low that people end up buying houses here because they've been here for so long with no hope of ever leaving. My base is a whole new beast in itself
 
Lol I can't, i'm not gonna be a dirtbag and go to back office the cheaters way, i'm going to do things the right way. That's my whole issue, you do things the right way you get screwed, you screw up and you get rewarded
 
If your complaining about Pouges that hang around the CP fetchin coffee and eatin cheese gettin all the bennies and promotions while the field animals get screwed and passed over... Welcome to the Military.

Roman Legionairres probably bitched about the samee thing.

Like KJ said. Nature of the beast.
 
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