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From the forums

TRAINING OR CRUELTY?

Regarding the article “NCOs charged with mistreating subordinates,” [Aug. 31] we are at war. Men and women die on the battlefield and in training. If we start a touchy feel-good attitude towards combat training, we will not be able to “harden” folks to the point they can function in combat.

In my father’s Army they used live fire and explosives to help “train” folks for combat. If you got your rear shot for not keeping it down, then it was your tough luck.

These NCOs may have crossed a few lines. However, I would suggest they receive Article 15s with reduction in rank if they truly did something outrageous. Otherwise, they were just doing their jobs.

— DAG48

SOLDIERS PUSHED TOO FAR

It is obvious that many soldiers are simply pushed past the breaking point with no end in sight and nothing to look forward to but another year in the desert.

To work 12 hours a day in garrison, and to spend 30-60 days of your precious “dwell time” year home at [training] leaves you little left in the bank physically or emotionally when it comes time to deploy.

Many times soldiers who are deployed see their work, their sacrifice and their being away from home as a total waste — a waste of money, of lives and of time away from their family.

They return home after a year, many having lost a comrade or two with nothing to show for their year in a counterinsurgency gone quiet (as in Iraq). No clear markers of victory or accomplishment. Just the promise of another year at home before coming right backto do it all over again in 12 months. For a private first class or a specialist who still owes four to six years on a contract, it seems overwhelming. Overwhelming enough to reject the Army life by violent exit. Suicide.

—Army Pilot

EXPERIENCE TRUMPS DEGREE

I’ve always found the military ranks weird. You can be enlisted with a lot of time in service, maybe even have a bachelor’s degree, yet someone with just four years of college and no experience outranks you. How does that even make any sense at all? To me, it feels like it’s a slap in the face to all the time and dedication you put into the service.

Here is what I would change: Once you make sergeant first class (promotable) you can opt to become a second lieutenant, even if you have no college experience. But you must obtain an associate’s degree to get past captain.

You have already earned your place as a leader — becoming a sergeant first class is no easy task. You deserve to “outrank” a fresh graduate because you know more about the Army and your job.

— JStatus330