FOB Keating attack repulsed

[Pete]

Honestly I think the first step to fixing the overweight problem would have been to let a handful of fire blowing sgt majors ( sergeants-major) loose in these bases to clean them out. A sgt major in the US is still allowed to blow fire?

It's been 25 years since I was in the Army so my observations may be a bit out of date, but as I saw it the role of command sergeants major at battalion level and higher in the U.S. Army was rather nebulous. Their main duty description was to serve as the commander's chief advisor on matters relating to NCOs and other enlisted personnel; other than that his duties were pretty much as the commanding officer chose to define them. In addition to monitoring enlisted selections for leadership schools, promotions and disciplinary issues, as Ken pointed out they often focused on uniforms, haircuts, the barracks and the police (tidying up) of the unit's area. One thing they are certainly not are the hellfire-and-brimstone type of sergeant major the British Army is famous for. It also seemed to me that the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy turned them into homespun philosophers who go on and on about how "the young soldier" adapts to his new military environment. What is really needed is a better definition of their duties, responsibilities and authority, even if it infringes a bit on the traditional prerogatives of company/battery commanders and first sergeants. Perhaps Ken may have something to add because he knows a lot more about this subject than I do.