Years ago you made a choice that would change your life for the better. You signed a contract, left behind your family and friends, and stood on those infamous yellow footprints, unaware that the next three months would prove to be your toughest. The cards had been dealt and you put every chip in the pot, hoping that you would walk away having earned everything you worked so hard for. And you did. Graduation day came and you stood among the ranks of the finest fighting force in the world. Your heart swelled with a multitude of emotions: pride, a sense of belonging, and immense self-respect. But years later someone tries to take away everything you’ve earned and felt about yourself, dragging you down over the smallest discrepancy; this is not a correction or a teaching moment, but a daily degradation of character and humiliation. All this coming from someone you’ve looked up to since you hit the fleet; your staff non-commissioned officers (NCO) and non-commissioned officers. There is a line between a tactful correction and humiliation in front of your peers.
We’ve all been there: walking through the on-base convenience store and from behind suddenly a voice barks “Hey there, Devil! Come here!” Next thing you know, someone you’ve never met is putting you on blast in the middle of the PX. You spend the rest of the day racking your brain, trying to figure out what went wrong and how it could’ve been prevented. One thing leads to another and it becomes more difficult to do your job. Your mind is so sidetracked you start falling behind and the workload adds up. Your section members start to take notice and soon you’re finding yourself singled out. The section chief or your NCO has one of two options: take it high and to the right or try to find a solution to what is getting the better of your work ethic.
There is always room for improvement, but there is a mental capacity limit. There is no threshold to the bounds of learning something new, but yelling, losing your temper, and letting the trickle-down effect be passed to yet another Marine only goes so far. To create a more effective force, we need to understand that individuals have different styles of learning. While some may be receptive of being put on the spot, others may not be.
With greater rank there is more responsibility and more everyday issues that may call for teaching. There are moments during the working hours when outside stressors may affect your methodology for handling certain situations. The Marine who has been corrected on multiple occasions for the same discrepancy may need to have the high and to the right approach used. On the other hand, first-time offenders need not be made an example of simply because something else may have set them closer to the edge that day. The easiest way to approach the situation is calmly, not making a beeline to the Marine while staring daggers through his or her soul. By pulling them aside you can engage them in a one-on-one correction without the distractions of peers or junior enlisted. The simplest way to begin steering them in the right direction is by raising a question like “Were you aware that according to MCO P1020.34H, your sleeves need to be a certain distance above the elbow?” Depending on the Marine’s response, the conversation can go one of two ways. If they were not aware of, enlighten them. But should they come across as disrespectful, give chastising words where they are due.
This is not about going soft on Marines or about our Marine Corps becoming cowardly; it is about furthering our capabilities as a force through less stress and more teaching. We can think of guidance as watering a plant: not enough water and the plant dries out, while too much water cuts off its air supply, causing the plant to drown. A firm yet fair voice goes a long way teaching the future of our Marine Corps. The next time you find yourself in a situation about to correct someone stop and think: Has this happened before or are they unaware of their wrongfulness? Can I use this moment to ensure it doesn’t happen again or could I possibly distract from the lesson being taught by using the harshest words in my vocabulary? I believe that the Corps can change for the better while remaining mentally resilient.
