Second was an abdication of the sense of ownership we had with our problem children. The Army has created such a web of support groups for alcohol abuse, wife beating, financial idiocy, and the like, that our first line of defense became sending the soldier elsewhere when things went wrong. In fact, it has gotten to the point that trying to solve problems in-house is seen as malfeasance. NCOs are no longer fathers, big brothers, and priests; they are referral agencies, and both they and their soldiers are the poorer for it.
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