We need to readdress/refine our original comment on the @TheWTFNation post on leaders making Soldiers write papers every & complete digital training all day to occupy their time. @CWOB_Ancient brought up a point and we got spicy on it, so here’s a deeper dive. Buckle-in 1/

We are seeing leaders who aren’t able to wrap their heads around this pandemic response. Decades of training has not allowed some leaders to recognize the best thing they can do for their soldiers is send them home and keep them there. This isn’t normal, routine or planned 2/

Instead it’s the unknown-unknown, which no trainer/leader put effort into planning for. We still disagree with @CWOB_Ancient on a “fiduciary responsibility” to train our Soldiers. But what we believe he’s getting at is our mandate as leaders to use our Soldiers’ time wisely 3/

So, we must use time/resources wisely to maintain some semblance of readiness while simultaneously adhering to social distancing, quarantine, and DA guidance. It’s a monumental task. There’s nothing inherently wrong with maximizing time. 4/

The key is focusing on maximizing time while recognizing it’s NOT going to be perfect, it’s NOT going to be dress-right-dress. Instead it’s going to be garbled Zoom meetings, phone calls, and actually letting Soldiers do their own things a lot of the time. 5/

Remember your #1 priority during this time is the protection of the force. And if you think that moral-crushing guidance won’t negatively effect the long-term health/readiness of the force, then you shouldn’t be in a leadership position. 6/

Instead, utilize your own time to think of what would be value-added to the individual Soldier and to the Army. Don’t waste their time. Use small snippets of time to keep them engaged, connected, and provide them something of physical or mental value. 7/

If I can keep my Soldiers doing Pt on their own everyday, and stay doubled-up on the bachelors/masters courses. I’ll consider that as a win.
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