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The Army and the military at large absolutely squandered an enormous opportunity to show its people & the people we serve that we are taking the Fort Hood Independent Review Report seriously.
The report was sent out, circulated through emails across the force, and we were all told to read it because "it's a good start, and it's very important."
You know how we COULD have showed our Soldiers & leaders that it's as important as we've been briefed ?
A service-wide safety stand down.
If Sexual Harassment & Sexual Assault are corrosive to the very fabric of this profession, of our ability to do our jobs, let's walk thetalk
A service-wide safety stand down.
If Sexual Harassment & Sexual Assault are corrosive to the very fabric of this profession, of our ability to do our jobs, let's walk thetalk
If a report like this had come out & outlined complete and utter failures in our crew gunnery programs, that had resulted in dozens of deaths and a culture emboldened and allowed this to happen,
we'd halt training immediately til we could do a full scrub down to the minutiae
we'd halt training immediately til we could do a full scrub down to the minutiae
Of every driver's packet, VCE training card, TCVC class completion,
To figure out what the hell was going on.
If SHARP violations are corrosive to the force, let's treat them as corrosive as vehicle rollovers, fratricide, etc.
To figure out what the hell was going on.
If SHARP violations are corrosive to the force, let's treat them as corrosive as vehicle rollovers, fratricide, etc.
AT LEAST AS CORROSIVE because vehicle rollovers are ACCIDENTS due to inexperience, not conscious CHOICES like assaulting a battle buddy or not intervening when they are being assaulted.
The EASIEST way to show a Soldier you don't care is to frame these discussions as MANDATORY TRAINING because HIGHER SAID SO.
The approach to the FHIRC results should NOT have been utilizing & scrubbing 162s to CONFIRM that everyone got talked at by a Battalion Commander
The approach to the FHIRC results should NOT have been utilizing & scrubbing 162s to CONFIRM that everyone got talked at by a Battalion Commander
who clearly has not had the time to read the full report, because they'd received it <18 hours prior.
(This is a sweeping example, I've spoken to ppl in many units on many installations who say this is the case)
(This is a sweeping example, I've spoken to ppl in many units on many installations who say this is the case)
You know how to show Soldiers that the brief they're attending isn't the priority?
Make it a 5 minute speech in between EIB lanes. 2 minutes of talking and a slide deck in between NTC load out tasks. 60 minutes of discussing your unit & its training calendar b4 you circle back
Make it a 5 minute speech in between EIB lanes. 2 minutes of talking and a slide deck in between NTC load out tasks. 60 minutes of discussing your unit & its training calendar b4 you circle back
To "this report should make you uncomfortable, you should read it."
Okay SIR/MA'AM what DOES IT SAY
Let's discuss these failures so we as an organization can work together to get better.
Be SPECIFIC. Don't talk in generalities and metaphors.
When we periodically counsel
Okay SIR/MA'AM what DOES IT SAY
Let's discuss these failures so we as an organization can work together to get better.
Be SPECIFIC. Don't talk in generalities and metaphors.
When we periodically counsel
our subordinates on their work performance, and build their OERs/NCOERs, we are told to be as specific as possible. "Give the so what, enumerate, quantitative data, etc."
We gain nothing by waxing philosophical on why we're upset and disappointed by the report.
We gain nothing by waxing philosophical on why we're upset and disappointed by the report.
With this Safety Stand Down idea, resourcing is kind of a bear, but at least at Fort Hood,
Why didn't we bring in a task force of civilians and experts to do a comprehensive training program and sensing session to get bottom-up feedback on the report and what Soldiers are seeing
Why didn't we bring in a task force of civilians and experts to do a comprehensive training program and sensing session to get bottom-up feedback on the report and what Soldiers are seeing
I honestly don't want to see another SHARP training requirement with an approved slide deck that units are supposed to click through.
You know what EVERY rapist in the Army has in common?
They've attended a SHARP class and seen those bullshit slides that the instructor clicks thr
You know what EVERY rapist in the Army has in common?
They've attended a SHARP class and seen those bullshit slides that the instructor clicks thr
So let's briefly talk about how we contribute to or combat rape culture on social media.
If you post on social media about being an ally and wanting to rid the force of these corrosives, did you bring that same energy to owning that our institutions have systemic failures that led to the deaths, harassment, or assault of multiple servicemembers?
Did you mention the report at all?
Do you correct your peers' behavior online when they are problematic or creepy?
Did you say nothing when your senior leader peers spent days dunking on two trainees who danced to a sexual song?
Did you say nothing when there was pushback?
Do you correct your peers' behavior online when they are problematic or creepy?
Did you say nothing when your senior leader peers spent days dunking on two trainees who danced to a sexual song?
Did you say nothing when there was pushback?
Do you defend people who you only know professionally, and never interact with outside the office?
Do you white knight for social media personalities you have never met, when your mutuals tell you that person has done or said not great things?
Do you white knight for social media personalities you have never met, when your mutuals tell you that person has done or said not great things?
Do you jokingly interact with social media personalities who say problematic things because they're usually funny and they embody some part of the military that you idolize, i.e. combat arms, deployed experience, airborne, etc?
When you criticize people on the tl,
When you criticize people on the tl,
Is there anything they have in common with each other? Do you find yourself going easier on demographics of military people vs others?
I'd be willing to bet most leaders think their work and online conduct falls into the green banner most of the time,
But I need you to know that when you call young women disgusting, bt say nothing when young men joke about "beating cheeks" and the like,
you are in the yellow
But I need you to know that when you call young women disgusting, bt say nothing when young men joke about "beating cheeks" and the like,
you are in the yellow
And the funny thing about Continuums is they have this way of making sliding to the next step seem easier.
First it's senior leaders join in on a dog pile of the trainees they're supposed to mentor.
Then it's senior leaders bro'ing out with the boys on the tl.
First it's senior leaders join in on a dog pile of the trainees they're supposed to mentor.
Then it's senior leaders bro'ing out with the boys on the tl.
Those boys feel emboldened because senior leader whomever validated their existence.
They continue to say sexual, reckless shit on social media, now unofficially sanctioned by the big dawg. Juniors see that. They debate whether they'd report a harassment or assault to this ldr.
They continue to say sexual, reckless shit on social media, now unofficially sanctioned by the big dawg. Juniors see that. They debate whether they'd report a harassment or assault to this ldr.
Let me caveat this to say that being overtly sexual and sexually empowered is different than being sexually suggestive toward ppl you don't know, ppl lower-ranking than you, ppl over whom you have a power structure, etc.
Being sexual is fine when it's welcomed, reciprocated
Being sexual is fine when it's welcomed, reciprocated
& consented to.
If your behavior on the timeline is meant to degrade or make people feel uncomfortable, that's apples and oranges, baby.
If your behavior on the timeline is meant to degrade or make people feel uncomfortable, that's apples and oranges, baby.
Getting back on track and almost near the end here!
So, what next? What do we do with this report?
A gentleman much wiser than me used to repeatedly say "No help is coming. We are the help."
So, what next? What do we do with this report?
A gentleman much wiser than me used to repeatedly say "No help is coming. We are the help."
I do think we need to provide leaders at all levels the space to admit they contributed to the culture and the climate we're in now.
We can't cancel everyone for every piece of behavior.
But we need y'all to step up & do the work.
It can't be empty tweets followed by no action.
We can't cancel everyone for every piece of behavior.
But we need y'all to step up & do the work.
It can't be empty tweets followed by no action.
You need to ask yourself (at any rank or position) if you're okay not being the expert on something.
If you're okay being uncomfortable while you listen and learn from your junior, JUNIOR Soldiers about harassment, assault, and the culture that allows these things to grow.
If you're okay being uncomfortable while you listen and learn from your junior, JUNIOR Soldiers about harassment, assault, and the culture that allows these things to grow.
This isn't a MEN NEED TO LISTEN TO WOMEN thread, to be clear. Our male servicemembers are assaulted at an astronomical rate compared to their civilian peers. Women assault men. Women assault women.
Women still processing their internalized misogyny can be just as harmful to their peers as men in a locker room.
So no. This isn't a women getting raped problem.
This is a "how will WE work together to ensure EVERYONE can come to work and feel safe & protected" issue.
So no. This isn't a women getting raped problem.
This is a "how will WE work together to ensure EVERYONE can come to work and feel safe & protected" issue.
So I guess my final question is, what does
"FULLY SUPPORTS THE SHARP EO & EEO PROGRAMS" look like TO YOU
How are you going to earn trust and fix the culture?
"FULLY SUPPORTS THE SHARP EO & EEO PROGRAMS" look like TO YOU
How are you going to earn trust and fix the culture?
