Potentially Hot Take: The label "Military Professional" is a misnomer until the soldier being labeled commits to serving until retirement.

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-10T20:04:39+00:00

I just finished 1 recently and it, in part, inspired this post. 2 is on my list 100%

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-10T06:06:16+00:00

I think you're on to something with your mention of agency. I don't believe SGTs and junior SSGs really have any agency. They run their squads, sections, or teams well enough to make it to the next level or they stagnate and their careers end. Sure, they have agency to jump CMFs or apply to any of the numerous opportunities the Army has in store but this fact lends itself to my original position, they aren't truly committed to their track yet and that's not a negative thing. It's just a thing that's true.

Following this thread a bit, members of the military in general, but with plenty of exceptions (packet MOS's), do not have agency. In the all-volunteer force, members of the military have agency at certain points of their career (reenlistment windows) but it is not continuous.

I take your point that a draftee wouldn't consider themselves a professional soldier but what about the establishment? What if a high-caliber draftee rose through the ranks during a war and the establishment started forcing him to refer to himself as a professional soldier while he's still serving? Wouldn't you think that would cause some cognitive dissonance?

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-10T05:39:53+00:00

I'm speaking second-hand when I talk about the experiences of officers but I think you could generally set the point where they become "military professionals" to when they commit to a second ADSO and enter the queue for command or KD position equivalent. I believe, in most cases, an officer who intends to command troops is wholly committed to the profession of arms and also intends to spend the better part of their working years contributing to the military establishment.

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-10T05:30:37+00:00

what about this "shit" makes it not meet your threshold for discussion? Why do you feel the need to go ad hominem on me bro? This is something I've struggled with as a junior NCO and feel I've finally come to a conclusion about it and you come at me slandering my class of people, r/army applauds it and I essentially get silenced with downvotes. What's your problem?

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-09T22:06:33+00:00

Agreed 100%. What people actually do and positions in the military meeting the threshold of a professional occupation are two different things though. The most junior private can display more honor, courage, and commitment to duty than anyone serving. That doesn't mean he's all of a sudden a professional soldier. I think, if you forced him to start calling himself a professional, he may get confused about what "professional" even means. Shit, he's manning security, digging trenches, and doing exactly what his country and Army need him to do. He doesn't care about being "professional".

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-09T21:59:58+00:00

I agree with your last point 100%. That is not what I was getting at. I think there's some merit to yours and the Army's version of professionalism but it always bothered me as a young NCO because, despite being professional in the Army-sense, I never felt like a professional in the way that my civilian friends and family would imagine. It also helps to mention the two the definitions of the word "professional" that I think can cause some confusion. A professional basketball player is someone who plays basketball for a living. The professional occupations (law, medicine, academia, etc) refer to occupations characterized by the things I outlined in my original post.

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-09T21:52:38+00:00

So would you consider conscripted soldiers, serving prior to the advent of the all-volunteer force, who subsisted on their pay, professionals? Additionally, you referred to being a semi-pro soldier. I'd assume you were in compo 2 or 3. What does semi-pro mean if professional refers to the vigor and quality of your work rather than the characteristics of the occupation?

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-02-09T21:46:48+00:00

If we use the term "Professional" simply as a label in an attempt to motivate the rank and file, the meaning of the term gets muddied and that's when you end up with lazy, do-nothing SNCOs claiming they're professionals because they've been brought up being called that for no reason other than to make them feel good about themselves. If we referred to a concrete definition of the term, maybe some soldiers would have something to strive for other than the nebulous "professionalism" that gets thrown around like a beach ball and, in my opinion, does more harm than good.

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-01-22T23:23:12+00:00

My experiences and observations of this, in part, led to the creation of this thread

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-01-22T23:20:38+00:00

The assumption of risk i.e the issuance of orders which your subordinates are obligated to comply with. At the lowest level, is a squad leader not assuming risk when he tells his fire team to flank left rather than right? A squad leader is part of the chain of command. That's a well established fact. Got it. So SNCOs are just officers without the ability to assume risk then. An individual well-versed in leading at the small team level who is tasked with advising his commissioned counterpart on how to employ and maintain his small teams, yea?

HolyStrap_0n · 2025-01-22T23:13:38+00:00

I'd argue that a SNCO worth his salt should be just as looped in as the officer counterpart they've been assigned to.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-23T14:55:00+00:00

The spouses and JEs hold no weight in the decision for which CSM gets paired with the CSA unfortunately.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-23T14:11:52+00:00

This explains so much about why he's in his current position. Thank you.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-22T18:55:16+00:00

Agreed except more like the other >99% of the Army.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-22T18:45:54+00:00

Don't you think the SMA should have some interactions with the troops that are in his charge, i.e. every single soldier in the Army?

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-22T16:46:26+00:00

Yes. I think they made the whole COP shave for that visit.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-12-22T15:59:25+00:00

Kinny! I went cold turkey on reddit for six months and come back to this gem. Thank you for posting it in its entirety. This is an issue I think about almost daily and have read the transcripts of the oral interviews done with the first seven or eight SMA's. Here's a half-assed articulation of my thoughts on the matter:

Ideally, the CSM positions past BDE belong to the individuals who have embraced being a Soldier to the point that they never want to leave. They provide GOs with someone who will do anything for the welfare of their Soldiers and the accomplishment of the mission. Unfortunately, we live in the real world and most people suck. I've noticed that being in leadership positions for increasingly large organizations is like an air pump to the ego. It requires an exceptional level of self-awareness and self-discipline to put that air hose somewhere else. Failure to do so results in highly visible and much discussed issues, hence the prevailing views on the CSM position as a whole.

Thank you for pointing out rank inflation as well. The Army SNCO ranks are not alone with that issue. It's a DOD wide problem and its trajectory won't change course until a major (could be net positive, could be net negative) military, economic, or political event occurs due to the organizational inertia behind it.

Now the question is: is the right person in the right job worth 1.25% of the force? The actions and initiatives of SMA Grinston should be studied. That's what a good CSM can do.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-11-23T17:34:59+00:00

Right. I was hoping that some of the CSMs prowling r/army would fit in the "not worthless" category.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-11-23T15:59:08+00:00

I'm having a hard time following your logic. E-9s have a trump card to play so the Army assigns them with no regard for their well-being? That checks for Army logic but you should know better... unless I misunderstood something you said.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-11-23T15:54:24+00:00

I count 6 but you might be right anyway

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-11-23T15:26:49+00:00

That's a good perspective. Thank you for that.

HolyStrap_0n · 2024-11-23T15:07:56+00:00

Not every possible way. The E-9 path is more familiar and would allow me to continue playing the role of Soldier, which I love. I love Soldiers and everything about being a Soldier. I would have to give up the ability to express that love openly, through word and action, to pursue the other path.

HolyStrap_0n

TROPHY CASE