Just to expand on that - this occurs at every level. I was very, very lucky in that I was able to scam my way into staying put as a PL for a long time and then again remain as an XO for longer than normal (combination of good timing, stop-moves, and deployments). As an XO, I inherited what can only be regarded as an organizational, administrative, maintenance, and accountability abortion. It took a full two years to unscrew it all (probably could have done it in 10 months if we were not constantly doing FTX's, NTC, and OIF - but still). My supply "sergeant" (an E-4) and I were both poised to PCS at about the same time and I was scrambling to make sure that we did not switch out at the exact same time - I wanted some continuity. He asked me why I was so concerned about that. That was when I conveyed to him one of Schmedlap's truisms of the Army: "Almost every duty position that you fill in the Army will be broken down into three stages. First, you evaluate the cluster left behind by your predecessor. Second, you correct it. Third, you hand it off to someone else who screws it up, regressing to the point that you started at. Every once in a blue moon, you will inherit a smooth running operation, or you will hand off to someone who will not screw it up, or - and I've never seen this - both. If that ever happens, fight like hell to stay in that unit."Originally Posted by Stevely
I hindsight, I would add two things to that. 1) You generally don't finish step two unless you've got enough time to do it. If you inherited a cluster or if you hand one off, it is likely because you did not have enough time. So, the guy who hands off the cluster to you isn't necessarily a turd - it might have been a predecessor 3 or 4 times removed. That said, the advice to "fight like hell to stay in that unit" seems all the more appropriate - the unit probably recognizes the value of keeping people put. 2) The vicious cycle seemed to occur primarily in non-command positions.
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