Easily one of the hardest parts of being back in the Army has been my age in relation to my rank and other peoples rank. Due to some of my more extravagant behavior in previous enlistments I am not holding much rank in the Army at the moment. Also the spot I am in at this company does not offer much in terms of advancement but I chose to stay in this unit for deployment more than promotion. Anyways, being a 42 year old private in the land of 24 year old Sergeants has proven to be a test of my maturity. Which by the way has noticeably improved over the years as I have not had any incidents (yet). Not only is it hard for me but it is also difficult for the younger Sergeants as they definitely feel uncomfortable telling me what to do. As a matter of fact for the most part when I am working with them I inevitably take charge and run the detail ( work group working on a specific task ) because sad as it may be I have noticed that alot of the younger NCO'c ( non-commissioned officers or non-coms or enlisted) really have no idea how to lead. With all the constant deployments and retention problems in the Army these days the armed forces have been using promotions as a way to keep soldiers in the Army. This is a good way to keep the force strength up but in the long run it is a bad way to run the Army. To me it seems that the rank of Sergeant is the Army's new rank of Specialist ( a specialist is considered an overpaid private). Here is a brief intro to the Army's rank structure:
Enlisted-
E-1 Private
E-2 Private w/one stripe
E-3 Private first class
E-4 Specialist
E-5 Sergeant
E-6 Staff sergeant
E-7 Sergeant first class
E-8 Master sergeant
E-9 First Sergeant/Sergeant major
Officers-
0-1 2nd Lieutenant
0-2 1st lieutenant
0-3 captain
0-4 Major
0-5 Lieutenant colonel
0-6 colonel
0-7 General (1 star,2 star, 3 star, 4 star)
Currently I am a lowly private first class although I have been told that a promotion is on its way which for me only really means a pay raise which I am fine with. I am hoping to get my Sergeant stripes while we are overseas. Currently in the unit there are about 15 people around my age that hold the same rank as me if not lower so it makes it a hard life on those younger sergeants.
It is of my opinion that the quality of soldiers currently in the Army is on both ends of the scale from top of the line soldiers to bottom of the barrel soldiers. This has a lot to do with the recruitment standards that the Army used over the last several years to get soldiers to stay in the service or recruiting off the street. It used to be if you had any major mis-deamoners on your criminal record there was no way you could get into the Army. But for several years they dropped that requirement and were accepting people that had as many as 2-3 felonies on record. Starting last October which is the beginning of the Army's fiscal year they dropped that practice and have since gone back to the policy of no waivers to get into the Military. I am grateful I came back in when I did because if I had waited I might not have been able to get in. Not that I needed any waivers or anything but the process would have been a lot more difficult.
To be honest when I came back into the service in early 2008 I would have considered myself one of the bottom of the barrel soldiers. having lived as a civilian for the last 12 years I had absolutely no military bearing whatsoever. It has been a pretty big adjustment for me being back in the Army. I am happy to say that over this last year and a half I have improved my soldierly ways quite a bit. I actually wish that they had made me go through some kind of boot camp to come back in as so many things have changed since the last time I was in. All the issued equipment is new and has actually changed several times over the years. Not only has all the gear changed but also all the soldier tasks have changed completely, it is like being in a completely different Army.
One major change in the military that I am not so fond of and this may come as a shock to some that know me is the lackadaisical approach the Army has come to adopt. Everything is about the soldiers comfort these days which is nice in some ways but there is a definite lack of discipline. You know it has to be a change if I am complaining about it due to my previous exploits in the military. Maybe I have just gotten older in the ways of my thinking, I do not know, but the Army seems to have fallen into the ME generation in full force. Simple things like keeping your personal areas cleaned up and having all your gear squared away ( making sure all your gear is in working order) does not seem to be much of a priority in the Army these days.
2 comments:
There's certainly something humbling in the return to the beginning. Some form of enlightenment or reckoning perhaps.
Lately, I have been seriously musing on the days when I worked as a janitor/landscaper. It was honest work and paid little, but it was difficult to simply "go through the motions" like I am able to now sitting in a graphics studio behind a $3000 super computer. When you knelt to change out the empty toilet paper rolls on your knees near the freshly mopped urine puddle and feces smears there was an unmistakable satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of divine service to your fellow man. The cleanliness was in the next occupied stall of Godliness.
Now, pulling auto parts in a bleak labyrinth warehouse, however, is a task best left to Ancient Greeks and Minotaurs.
Thanks for the rank layout. When you and Clint get together and talk about people with only their rank, I have no idea what you're talking about. Now I'll keep some crib notes handy. This way, when you're ripping on someone for being an E-1, I can get out my cheat sheet, check it, and chuckle along with you. It's cool, I'm usually a few ticks behind a joke anyway.
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