Why do Army SNCOs have little self intiative or decision making ability?

Question

On my last deployment I was amazed a how little Army SNCOs were allowed to think outside field manuals. I was not impressed as a SNCO int the AF where we are expected to make things happen on our own initiative

Answer 1

'Flag' somebody with your rifle in front of one of these SNCOs and note the initiative they take in correcting you.

When I was a 1SG I only corrected a troop if there was an immediate need for that correction. I would normally find that soldier's NCO and chew him out.

BTW - by the time you reach SNCO status you will have learned that what is in those Field manuals was put there as a result of a painful lesson somebody else learned.

Answer 2

The AF & Army are quite different on this point.

Think about the commissioned officers. In the Army they are all trained to infantry standards as a baseline. That's aggressive dominant engaged leadership. And, it happens closer to the bottom of the chain. In the Air Force, it's much more corporate. They make basic officers & then shape them according to their job. On average, you aren't going to get those dominant types until captain, and then only in a few area. That means a LOT more leadership/mgmt and especially initiative is left to SNCOs, especially at the Sq/Flt level.

Beyond that you have to understand the lack of WOs in the AF. SNCOs do those positions. The AF takes and retains a lot of smart folks & educates them a LOT along the way. You know as well as I do that a new 2Lt walking into an NCO mtg may well be the least educated in the room. That's not at all common in the Army. And the trajectory of the AF NCO PME system is designed to end at that higher CWO4-5 level.

It's not that they are overly bound to field manuals, it's just that the creative thinking occurs with junior officers and WOs moreso than w/ NCOs. The lines btwn the layers are a lot more prominant than in the AF system. Personally, I think the AF has it right, but it'd be a real hard to emulate that in the Army.

Answer 3

First thing you learn about science is that anecdotal evidence......such as your limited experience with Army SNCO.....is not a good base on which to make a decision or a factual determination.
I spent 30 years in the Army.....25 years as an enlistedman....22 as an NCO and 16 as a SNCO.....I have found the degree of initiative varies from unit to unit and is contingent on the quality of the officers in that unit.
Your gross unfair exaggeration is a slap in the face of a lot of very good professional SNCO's

Answer 4

Get a grip - just because you met some Army SNCO's who are idiots doesn't mean they all are! Most think outside the field manuals all the time!

Just more interservice rivalry BS.

Answer 5

I find the same thing, and I am on the other side of the globe. I believe it may have to do with SNCO's being old and well beaten into their ways. They figure "this worked in Gulf war one!" or for me "This is how we did it down south in 1998!" and that is all there is to it. They can not see past doctrinal manuals and previous encounters.

Answer 6

That was supposed to be one reason the American Army did so well against the Iraqis, that the SNCOs could act on their own if their higher-ups couldn't advise them.

Well, so much for that, no matter how much people try to boast, experienced and talented leadership is hard to find or replace.

Answer 7

I don't know where they came from, but The SNCO's I knew were awesome, and had allot of initiative...

Answer 8

too much reliance on their officers. Its not all of them though, I've seen some outstanding SNCOs but lately, especially with the quality of people thy're getting now, its gotten pretty sad. The Marines and Navy and Coast Guard don't have that problem though, they're taught early on.

Answer 9

Army S.N.C.O.'s don't have to impress the likes of you who think you know it all, thats why they are carrying the rank punk!

The mantra is. "BY THE BOOK!" and not "Well, m.c says do this, m.c. says do that"!!