Making Improvements to Our Military
I’ve spent over 16 years in the military. I remember when I started boot camp, I was afraid. And I wasn’t alone because everybody else was too. We had respect out of fear. Mainly from hearsay. We heard about the previous experiences of the others before us, and that’s why we went in with respect.
No Fear & No Intimidation
Nowadays there’s very little fear. This is one reason our military is so weak, and if we truly have to fight a real war, we will get our butts kicked. But there are many other reasons why our military is so weak. Let’s list some below.
Things That Need Improvement
- Technology. Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airman rely on cell phones, laptops, and computers to spend their day. The use of technology for entertainment should be cut back.
- Filling in requirements. There are gender requirements, age requirements, and more. We need one requirement. If you can’t handle it, then you’re out.
- Make training a true challenge. Boot camp and MOSQ schools should be a physical and mental challenge. Only let the ones that can truly be in the infantry do so, male or female.
- Better weapons. The weapons we use are outperformed by our enemy, and even by civilian companies. There are so many better weapons out there that are a lot more dependable than the M4 we use today. The military gets their equipment from the lowest bidder. Here’s a suggestion. Do what the police do. Let military personnel buy their own weapons.
- Truly train our personnel. Here’s something we did years ago. Once a year we would go to a different unit and train for a week. Who knows maybe something new will be learned.
- Cross train everybody. For most people in the military, they have one MOS and that’s pretty much all they know. I believe each member should attend an additional MOSQ school every four years. For example, train an infantry to be a medic, and a medic as an infantry, etc. The best gift you can give a person is knowledge and experience. It might just save their lives.
- Train leaders not followers. So many of our leaders are afraid to make decisions because they’re afraid to make mistakes. Probably because of micro management. It also doesn’t help that they don’t train enough to gain the experience in making decisions.
- Chain of command. This needs to come back. Soldiers should do what they’re commanded to do. Most leaders end up doing tasks themselves because they don’t trust their own soldiers to get things done.
- Clean images and better attitudes. Get rid of all the drugs, tattoos, alcohol, and bad attitudes. Negativity has a huge impact. It can spread its way through a unit quickly. From the lowest leader and all the way down through the soldiers, it destroys command. Get rid of the negativity and complaining.
- Reward. Pay incentives to those who outperform others.
- Clean-up house. Retain the good get rid of the bad.
William "Bill" Howard is both a Wounded Warrior and a writer for Low VA Rates. Before beginning his career with LVR, Bill served in both the Navy (1988-1993) and Army (2005-present). In the Navy, he was part of Special Boat Unit 11, and he served as an E-7 sergeant first class, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Specialist, and a Ranger while in the Army.
Latest posts by Bill Howard (see all)
- What’s Missing in Today’s Military: Integrity - March 20, 2018
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