Kim here is what you wrote.

Maybe I'm an optimist, but I really had hope that things would get better for our Soldiers (and their Families) in USAREC. I mean, we're ahead in terms of the total Army mission, we've got the Army Family Covenant (woohoo), we're trying to move past the recruiter suicides, we've got the new time off policy, etc. But I just had a frustrating and discouraging FRG experience with the Company Command here. I don't understand the shortsightedness; a little care and compassion (heck, I'd be happy with basic humanity) would go a long way and could actually end up paying big dividends for the command. How long can this lack of care for the Soldier's well-being and morale continue before USAREC finally implodes on itself? Sorry to vent in your comments, but your post struck a nerve with me. Good luck to all of us.


Well to answer your questions or shed some light on this. My wife doesn't see things as getting better because our command is trying to find every damn loophole they can in the policies that have been put into place. Crap like you can add to but not take away. I didn't know they wrote policy. I can believe you had a frustrating FRG experience if my family and others that I know are still frustrated then I can only imagine what it's like in other places. I have rarely had a command or leaders in this business that show a little humanity. They have for the most part been short sighted. It is amazing to me that USAREC has not imploded years ago. I have seen some crazy stuff out here that some of these soldiers do. For the most part it is in the form of DUI's. The stress of making mission sometimes leads to damn good NCO's compromising integrity, just to get a contract in. They don't want to go to the BN HQ three hours from their location the next day after mission day. Especially after they have been working all damn day. Then to have to be somewhere three hours away and be there early in the morning. All to brief a slideshow deck that is absolutely ridiculous and then being told if you don't have no one in the Army within the week. More of this is going to happen.

Also God forbid a soldier needs to take some pers time to take care of something. The higher ups always seems to act like its not a good time. "How can you let them take that time today etc." Well hell when is it ever a good time to take some time. Well I put it like this the BN command will be like let the soldiers take the time they need to take care of family business. The company command and sometime the Station Commander will be like uh no or give the soldier a hard time. And the powers that be wonder why soldiers out here sometimes have a crappy attitude about the whole situation.

I for one am tired of leave being treated as a privledge. Last time I checked it was part of my pay and entitlements. Passes are privledges. Somehow it always seems to get skewed. I have seen leaders tell soldiers that they shouldn't take lunch because it takes an hour away from their prospecting. The latter statement I have seen in the last six months. And forget about eating some supper with your family, for this one I have been berated for that one more often than not. I don't know about you guys but I cannot afford to eat out all the damn time.

Anyway it is usually the company leadership and station commanders that show the shortsightedness. But then again this is just my opinion.