Is maturity taking back seat in NCO ranks?

[unhappycamper]

The Center for Naval Analyses, after reviewing data for corporals, sergeants and staff sergeants going back more than a decade, found that promotion flow points — the years of service at which a Marine is promoted into the next rank — “are no faster and no slower” for most military occupational specialties. The data did not include final numbers for fiscal 2007 or projected numbers for 2008.


Is maturity taking back seat in NCO ranks?
By Gidget Fuentes and Trista Talton - Staff writers
Posted : Saturday Nov 24, 2007 6:47:07 EST

Lower cutting scores are generally regarded as a good thing. Drop the numbers and prepare to see smiles all around, as promotions mean more money, more freedom, more authority — all morale boosters.

Let them drop too low, however, and you run the risk of flooding the fleet with immature and inexperienced leaders who must bear the burden of greater leadership. It’s a numbers game the Corps now faces as promotion opportunities for enlisted Marines soar, thanks mostly to the Corps’ push to add 22,000 additional Marines to the force by fiscal 2012.

In many circles, the move is being met with criticism.

“The score for corporal dropped down to a 1419 this month for us , allowing plenty of to pick up, making many of the Marines who got it with a 1650 just a little sour,” wrote one corporal, nicknamed Cardeezy, in a posting to a Marine Corps Times online forum.

But concerns aren’t limited to the junior Marines. Even some of the Corps’ senior leaders are wondering what effects massive promotions now will have on the Corps later.

“As the Marine Corps increases its enlisted end strength, some general officers have expressed concern that the time to promotion has shortened,” reads an October memo from the Center for Naval Analyses, sent to Lt. Gen. Ronald Coleman, deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in Quantico, Va. “If Marines are being promoted faster than normal, it would mean that the typical Marine in a particular grade (a sergeant, for example) now has less experience, than a typical sergeant in the past.”


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/11/marine_baby_ncos_071124/

[Maq]

1. Shake and Bake Sergeants

I was there and the best description of the last years of the US Army in Vietnam was Mute Mutiny. The only goal was to get high and survive. There weren’t any Lifers left except the First Sergeants, Colonels and Generals punching their tickets. Shake and Bake Sergeants and Officers were trying to survive, too. There were crazy Swift Boat types around but they were weeded out of the Army in the field by 1969-1970.

What is shocking about the numbers above are the 24 Majors and Colonels killed. My company spent a year trying to pacify a valley in II Corps. Both Captains made it through their 6 month tours in the field. A few enlisted make it 9 months and made it to the rear. All the rest were medivaced, literally hundreds of soldiers. Even the lightly wounded never came back. The Majors and Colonels were all at battalion or brigade level and never ever were on the ground in danger.

This is just one more indication that Iraq is a hell of lot more dangerous than Vietnam except when crazy officers sent the Grunts charging up hills against main force NVA.

The one true thing about War is that the State and its lapdog media will not tell the truth. War: Realities and Myths has one of the best description of those drawn to war. The real question is why do old men want power so much that they can glory in killing 1698 fellow Americans. How could the Generals be so addicted to power and status that couldn’t tell their civilian leadership what a fools errand they were embarking on that got 147 of their fellow officers killed.

Posted by: Jim S | Jun 12, 2005 12:18:41 AM | 28
SOURCE: http://www.moonofalabama.org/2005/06/fragging.html