What Happened to the Sergeants
I joined this great mean green killing machine that is the Marine Corps 13 years ago. When I came in Sergeants were GODS. As a young Pvt or PFC you never went and talked to the Sergeant. If you did you were asking for either a beat down or a shitty working party (I got both). No you went to the senior LCpl or if you had to the Cpl. Sergeants ran the show, got the job done and everyone with less stripes than him went to him. He in turn took all concerns to the SNCOs.
So why is that now I continually have my junior Marines approaching me with problems and/or questions without the Corporals much less the Sergeants knowing? Why do I find myself continuously having to tell my Corporals and non-NCOs what to do, how to do it, or even worse to do something? Why do I have to worry about leaving the shop for a few hours to go do training or to go to a meeting? Why do I feel like I (as a SNCO) am doing the jobs that my Sgts did when I was younger? Why are my Sergeants not the Gods to the lower ranks that they were to me?
The only reason that I can come up with is that Marines today are getting promoted way to fast and they are worried about not being the “cool guy”. You see 13 years ago most guys didn’t get to the rank of Cpl until they were closing in on 4 years, and Sgt came about 2-2.5 years later (6-7 years in service). They had experience that is lacking in today’s young NCOs. Nowadays Marines are picking up Cpl in 2-2.5 years time in service and are Sgts usually by the time they have been in for 4 years. Basically most of today’s Sgts don’t have the experience that my Sgts had.
While this is good for a young Marine’s paycheck it makes the job of the SNCOs more difficult in that they have to deal with more. We have to deal with the bullshit that comes down from the brass as well as dealing with the bullshit that comes up from the younger Marines. Situations in the past that the Sgt handled.
Now I know that we aren’t going to be able to slow the rate at which people get promoted so we are going to have to make sure that they are prperly trained. This includes making sure we give out Cpls the chance to lead. Make sure that our NCOs arttend the appropriate PME schools. Make Cpls course a requirement for Sgt and Sgts course a requirement for SSgt. The powers that be have already PME requirements for LCpls to pck up Cpl now we need requirements for Sgt.
SNCOs we need to make sure that we are not doing the job that the NCOs are supposed to do, but we are mentoring our young leaders. Have classes with you NCOs. Make your NCOs do drill, classes, inspections, etc. Make them responsible and hold them accountable. I gauruntee that you non-rec one Cpl for not doing the billet that he holds or fire an NCO from a billet and give him low pro/con markings that the rest of your NCOs will realize that they need to step up their game and your entire shop will become stronger.
Don’t take power away from your NCOs. Give it to them empower them. Let’s make today’s Sgts the GODS that our Sgts were.
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November 2nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Part of the problem is that those sergeants are also being promoted to SSgt when they shouldn’t even have picked up Sgt in first place. Four and five-year SSgts are scary!
November 2nd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Aki
I agree with you 100%. Hell if you look at my career even I picked up SSgt too soon. I was selected for SSgt 23 months after being promoted to Sgt. It took me quite awhile to actually pin it on and I went to school right after that making me very inexperienced as a SSgt. I think that might have had an impact on getting passed for Gunny this past board due to the fact that I had low fitreps for the first couple years.
The Jarhead
November 18th, 2008 at 6:29 am
I will tell you what happened. Marines that are sitting at SSgt and up have failed our prior generation. They failed to educate them, teach them the history of our core, they failed to train them. Your right, Marines are getting promoted too fast and they do not have the experience to deal with situations. I was one of those Marines. I was promoted in 3 years to Sgt and put in the highest billets. Great, right? NO, I was busted down after a year and a half because I hit one of my Marines because I didn’t know how to deal with a situation. I have been promoted since and won a couple boards on the way but that NJP opened my eyes on how and why we need to train our Marines. It is shame that we have Marines that run around and scream all day and they only care about how he can punish their Marines or make life hell for them, then the SNCO’s think he’s squared away. That is a joke what part of running around, screaming, belittling, and embarrassing Marines is squared away. I believe that would make you an idiot. How about we try to educate them, be mentors, be professional, and get them ready for life after the corp. Your right about the sergeants, they are not doing there job! I am a sergeant and I am appalled by the way sergeants present themselves. They are immature, lacking education, and they need to have a foot but up their butt. We need to concentrate on bringing the younger Marines up as good Sergeants and ensure we don’t fail those Marines like we have failed this generation of Sergeants.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Eric
I agree with you 100%. Marines need to be mentored and brought up in the Corps the right way. If my peers (SNCO’s) would get out from behind a computer and talk to the NCO’s as well as the troops and teach them right they will come up the right way.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I picked up Sergeant in 2 years and 5 months….. as an infantryman (0341). And it’s groups like “Mothers of America” and a lot of the higher-ups that are taking the power away from us. A lot of the junior Marines do respect us, but how are they going to fear us when all we can do to them these days is write paperwork on them. That’s all because of the top dogs and M.O.A. Thanks…………………
January 7th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Forgot
I am going to have to agree with you 100%. Now I agree that hazing is not a thing that belongs in the Marine Corps the restrictions that have been put on the leadership makes it difficult to deal with many Marines.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Reading this Article actually scares me.
After my first deployment to Mosul with the Army, we returned and had a new pool of Joes. After talking with them, we realized that “Basic Training”, which I now call “Summer Camp”, no longer instilled any discipline or many “suck-factors” anymore.
I was also a Recruiter for the Army in from 2005-2007 and got out of the Army. During my stint, I saw enlistment standards drop like crazy, and saw a lot of people get put in that I wouldn’t trust with a club.
After one year of being out, I was drafted back in, and was I ever amazed at what the Army turned in to. Just seven years ago did I first initially enter, and it is a totally different Army. The Army is just HANDING out Sergeant like candy on Halloween! I was recalled with 22 other infantrymen, and I think only 6 of us didn’t get promoted to SSG or SGT (all it takes, apparently, in the Army Reserve to get promoted is handing in some paperwork) I chose not to get promoted because I didn’t feel like I knew as much as a Sergent should, but the unit I had been recalled to literally had WAY more sergeants than lower enlisted, and most of them didn’t know jack.
Your article has me worried because when I talk to young kids who want to join the Military, I try to drive them towards the Marines, mainly because that branch is the only branch that still has some Military in it. I’ve actually talked 2 kids out of joining, haha. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe we need a military, but the Government wants such a huge military, it almost isn’t worth having one because it becomes a big cesspool of wasted money and ineffective Service Members.
OK, sorry, I rambled on forever, it’s just rare I come across an article like this, haha. I’m writing many letters to Congress about going back to a smaller, more professional military. I honestly would rather have a platoon with great training and nice equipment than a company with some training and alright equipment.