to admit that in 27 years in a war suit and 18 as a DAC, the only time I ever got told I was 'unprofessional' was when a Hindquarters Co 1SG accused me of being that because I refused to have the troops wax and buff the floor in the Brigade 3 shop every single night. I was hard put to figure the 'unprofessional' part of that and I'm still confused on the issue, obviously. On the floor, didn't lose a lot of sleep over it -- nor did I change the cleaning SOP..

Long way of pointing out that different approaches are not all bad. For another example, that same book says we should "praise in public and condemn in private." That is generally true but some people get really upset when you praise them publicly and for others, the worst thing you can do to them, worse than any chewing, extra duty or a fine, is to embarrass them in public. Still another is the well known 'on the spot correction.' Sometimes necessary -- rarely -- but mostly, such corrections should be avoided because they subvert the chain of command. Heebly's bad performance won't improve unless his Squad Leader knows about it (and if the Squad Leader is the problem, the Platoon sergeant knows and so on, thus best to note the transgression and cue the appropriate echelons above old Heebly, METT-TC permitting)...

That said, no intent to denigrate anyone or any practice, just trying to point out that people and standards can differ -- and if they work for the time and place, none is necessarily wrong; they're just different. That and mention that even good books are just a guide; they are not the gospel. It really all boils down to knowing your people and what works for you...

After my mindless digression, we now return to our scheduled program; "Generation Kill"