Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
I've never seen good NCOs back down from squaring away a troop who needed it regardless of said troops weapons possession. Or said troop's attitude...
I think that's the crux of the matter. Most "smoking" sessions I have seen have had little to do w/ "squaring" anyone away. Punishments for accidents that the NCO themselves helped to set the conditions for, or minor rule infractions; "HOLY MACKERAL PRIVATE!!! YOUR BOOTLACE IS UNTUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do 100 push-ups for being 8 up!" etc. Most "squaring" away with any sort of dedicated soldier can be done respectfully and verbally. Hey, soldier, you need to tuck in your bootlace. Has anyone shown you how to use a blousing band?" Yes, there are definitely times when an infraction needs serious immediate consequences (i.e. "smoking") but should not result in UCMJ. However, I have seen too many E-5s that arrived at there rank due to having a good PT score and some wrote memorization skills, and think that screaming and yelling = leadership to have the same blind faith that the NCO corp. can self regulate effectively. I have also made soldiers do pushups as a team-leader, before anyone asks; and I will continue to use that particular motivational tool in the future.
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