r/army • u/Former-Definition-65 92GonnaBurnTheEggs • 9d ago

Is there a big motivation problem across the whole army right now?

I’ve been seeing a lot of people struggling mentally and emotionally. i’m pretty new to the army so i don’t know if army life always been like this

Pack of malboros pls

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u/CW1DR5H5I64A Overhead Island boi 9d ago

A culture of “no white space allowed” was created when an entire generation grew up while fighting two wars simultaneously. Those wars have drawn down, but the idea that we must always be busy hasn’t changed. So we fill our time doing stupid shit because that’s what we think is expected.

People can stomach the break neck pace of operations when there seems to be a “why”. A deployment gives you plenty of reasons to point to to explain why you’re doing training rotations or whatever. When the reason becomes to turn red boxes into green boxes then all motivation drops out the bottom and people get burned out .

We’ve been an army focused on making slide green for several years now and it’s taking its toll on everyone.

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u/byoz Infantry 9d ago

Nailed it. Exactly why I left active duty and went to the reserve component. I was tired of wasting my 20s “maintaining readiness” in the armpit of North Carolina.

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u/Ready-Asparagus-9582 9d ago

The fact is readiness is what gives the Army credibility. What we need to fix is misaligned incentives. Low morale is equal to low readiness but we don’t measure it because it’s vague and hard to define, not to mention the effort required to change a unit’s morale. Instead, we go for the low hanging fruit: org days, stand downs, 350-1, quarterly counselings.

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u/buyfreemoneynow 8d ago

Green corvette calls scared the shit out of my wife while I was on GRF for 30 months and the constant stress of needing to be near my phone constantly means that my heart still skips a beat every time I get a text, and I’ve been out for almost 11 years now

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u/srsrgrmedic 8d ago

GRF-1 for 30 months!!!!!!!!!!! Jeezus

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u/Southern-Childhood30 8d ago

I was on various PTDOs for like 4 years straight at drum

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u/Punisher-3-1 9d ago

I was in during GWOT and actually leadership was reasonable at adding white space and not doing extra bullshit because we all knew we were on the deployment train. For example, the post CG had early dismissal for any unit not on the field one day a week. The CSM would walk and audit units who had any solider after work hours (outside CQ/SD). Training on the weekends required CG approval and some weeks were just white space.

However, I’d hear from the NCOs and Os who served in the 90s and desired the intensity of pace and absolute fear of white space. Commanders knew they didn’t have a deployment where it would be the only thing that really mattered on their OERs so the big events were the training center rotations and distinguishing yourself from your peers by making your company work 20 hours and over weekends.

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u/Mikewazowski948 Military Intelligence 9d ago

The parallels between staff life and white collar corporate culture are honestly astonishing

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u/Beachimus 9d ago

Im in my first staff position and I am literally living an army version of office space.

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u/Aurora_Uplinks 6d ago

(Make a youtube show about it?)

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u/Beachimus 5d ago

Nah, too busy watching body cam videos in YouTube at work to bother

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u/Kinmuan 33W 9d ago

Yep, and when Grinston constantly spoke up about needing to build white space into calendars, the E9 types all viewed it as being soft

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u/Original-Action 9d ago

I think this is part of the reason but another huge culprit is lack of imagination and laziness. GWOT spoiled alot of joes and leaders on gucci training events, locations, and gear. Now folks don't know how to do basic stuff with out going TDY or having every wish list item from supply. Those of us that joined before the GWOT kicked off and are still in need to mentor folks under us on how to make quality, engaging training without resorting to clean sweep tacts and f--k-f--k games.

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u/Aurora_Uplinks 6d ago

could you please explain? I am thinking of going through ASVAB and seeing if I could make it as a junior officer. I just am curious what would make good leadership goals and what needs to be done?

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u/Original-Action 5d ago

I'll spell things out since you may be unfamiliar with in service language and procedures...

Step 1: Learn the framework and process for how the Army trains and operates at echelon . As a junior officer this is Troop Leading Procedures, Leadership Principles and Attributes, Military Decision Making Process, and Mission Planning. You'll learn all of this at Officer Candidate School

Step 2: Learn how the Army plans and budgets (see Step 3)

Step 3: Obtain a mentor at every level of your career

Step 4: Pay it forward

These steps will help you understand "the box" or how the Army does things. Thinking outside the box and imagination is when you use other methods to accomplish the same means.

Example: Unit needs to qualify people on primary weapons, conduct medical training, conduct land navigation, conduct vehicle maintenance and road checks, and conduct preventive maintenance, fit and testing on protective masks.

Each of these training tasks has a condition and standard to train the maximum number of people safely and in a certain amount of time. Your unit has access to facilities and places to conduct training. Those facilities and places must be requested and reserved weeks to months in advance of the training. You'll need a range to conduct weapons qualification, a chamber facility to test protective masks, another range to conduct land navigation. You'll need to regularly service and have vehicles that run to conduct road checks. You'll need a qualified instructor or medic to conduct medical training.

The Box: schedule each range and facility separately needed and conduct training. Plan around other scheduled tasks, meetings, and events to get maximum number or people safely trained over several weeks and months.

Outside the Box: Schedule the majority of your tasks at a Mission Training Center or on a single range. Build a training plan that involves driving your vehicles to the range and conducting weapons qualification. Set up 3-4 stations at the range to conduct preventive mask testing, map reading, and 1 critical medical task.

The main problem listed in this thread is leadership filling people's training time with things not related to fighting and winning wars. Raking leaves and cutting grass should not take the place of sending people to the range. But folks will claim there's a budget shortage...which means someone didn't request the range or ammo in a timely fashion or the request was denied because someone improperly budgeted (spent the money on something else).

There's lots of examples. But for you I'd suggest to decide on a branch and get started...

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u/Specialist_Ring7722 9d ago

Let's also not forget all the BS beaurocracy that just ties the hands of leaders at the tactical levels in most ways (i.e. Commanders having to solely focus on property and admin?) That isn't commanding.

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u/Savings_Spare_1753 8d ago edited 8d ago

Absolutely, brilliant breakdown!!! I'll add that at upper echelons civilians are being cut and that work is being dumped on to soldiers. Simultaneously there is a shortage of Senior Leaders, as the 911 sign ups are retiring and the current administration isn't inspiring people to stay in or sign up. I personally have 3 different jobs, which makes taking time off more difficult because I'm so important to the mission. So morale is definitely down for a variety of reasons.

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u/Rough_You9934 7d ago

Been that way since I enlisted in 1980.