A brother with a problem. . .

[Books]

Alright All,

I have something here that needs some advice. This comes from my youngest brother serving in Iraq in a leg combat engineering unit. He is a PFC with just shy 2 years in the Army and from what I understand is a good troop: smart, works hard, eager to to a good job.

He just wrote me this (edited for language):

Hey there bro I have a question.
Well I missed an inspection for my platoon sergeant and got my bunk flipped. No big deal. Then I got counciled for it. My first ever.
No big deal.
Then the next day my 1SGT came in for another inspection and when he came to my room he was accompanied by my Squad Leader and Platoon Sergeant. 1SGT told my roommate Baffour to leave the room and then put his hand around my throat and backed me into a corner screaming at me.
I am not sure why but I think my PSG asked him to ruff me up. I'm not a bitch. I would never let someone do that shit to me even if you're bigger.
But I was thinking, (this is the upper leadership in my company that I am dealing with and they aren't supposed to be doing this but if I put my hands on 1SGT and tell him not to touch me I will have struck an NCO, and my PSG was there and he would probably jump me with my 1SGT if I did this.
Then I thought of the longer lasting reppercussions like loss of rank, getting kicked out of my squad and platoon and sent to our support PLT annd all kinds of shit and decided it wasn't worth it.
Now other soldiers are telling me that they are not allowed to do that sh_t and I should go to IG and get his ass fired. But leadership play favoritism a lot and they are all buddies so if I do this I am going to be f_cked with by my PSG etc.
This is not the first time he has done this. The first time he blew up like this was back in Kuwait when I left my weapon at the showers and I never even got a counciling for it but I just kind of blew it off as "oh well I deserved it".
This time I had already gotten my bunk flipped and a counciling statement and I figured that was it. At what point does 1SGT get involved. He was saying sh_t like "That's twice you've done me wrong!" and was talking about sh_t that happened a long time ago.
Once before we left Germany on our last couple of nights we were not suppposed to leave post but I remembered I had a bill to pay and it was for my German internet. I knew when left I was not going to be able to take care of it anymore and i was probably going to return from my deployment wth something big to deal with. So I took a risk and caught the bus to Graffenwoerh to pay it off and come back and that is were I ran into him.
He was bringing up that sh_t and it was like 6 months ago and nothing to deserve getting choked. What pisses me off is from what I can tell, nothing warranted it.
Simply put it was gay, what should I do? Forget about it? Or go to IG?

>>>>>>

So there you have it. If this was your brother, what advice would you give him on this? Ive already got some ideas in my head, but there are many here with some great perspective and I would appreciate any and all comments offered.

Thanks in advance,

Books

[grog18b]

If it were my brother, I'd ask for a little more of the story. Seems like he might be holding a bit back, in the interest of brevity? Grabbing someone by the throat for a failed inspection is pretty "over the top". Personally, I would understand a good throat grabbing for the leaving the weapon offense. That's just me, though, I hate weapons related negligence.

If that's all there is to the story, sounds like it's time for a new unit. A PFC ( I can only speak for the 80s Army) wouldn't stand very long with a complaint, especially if those there in rank apparently supported the throat grabbing. We've all seen our share of slackers, and I've even been witness to a few wall to wall counseling sessions. It normally takes quite a violation for the chain of command to do something like this. Perhaps these days, the way would be to file the complaint, but all I can speak for is the advice I would give my own brother. That would be, time to put in for a transfer. (I might also tell him to stop doing things to draw attention to himself, like leaving base when told not to, and keep better track of his weapon...) Good luck!

[The Reaper]

I agree, you have one side of the story, and given the glossing over of the unauthorized absense and unsecured weapon, there is probably a lot more to this.

He can speak to the chaplain or IG about it, as the physical contact was wrong, but I expect he earned it, based on the story given.

Frankly, I would expect him to have a very hard time in the unit from now on, especially if he keeps screwing up.

This is going to escalate to a full on ass-whooping or UCMJ very soon. He might want to see what disobeying a lawful order, assault on a superior NCO, and AWOL can be punished with before he gets that far.

A lateral transfer seems to be the best thing, if he is a good soldier and not exaggerating. If he soldiers up and has trouble there as well, it probably isn't everyone else who has a problem.

You know your brother and how he is better than any of us.

TR

[Defion69]

Hey there Books....just reading this thread and if I may, will throw in a few comments.

First of all, I concur with grog18b in asking for a little more of the story. You know folks who are in some trouble might downplay their part or role in why or how they got into that mess. Maybe a "ok bro, level with me...wtf is going on?" Like The Reaper said, you know your brother better than any of us.

Now my take just reading his e-mail which you provided, the fact that he states "no big deal" a couple of times would concern me. I say this because my younger brother was a Marine and if he used the phrase "no big deal" after missing an inspection or getting a counseling statement then I would chew him up a bit. I think it is a big deal to have those things occur, especially when having committed such a grave error as disobey a direct order (not to leave the base in Germany). The fact that he brushes that incident off with "it was like 6 months ago" is an indicator for concern.

I think your brother is at a the moment where he should ask himself "if my PSG is at the point to where he is now choking me, what in the hell am I doing to deserve this?"

1. Leaving base when told not to do so
2. Leaving a weapon behind (enroute to a combat zone no less!)
3. Missing an inspection

Keep in mind, his PSG only gave him one counseling statement so far! Was the PSG pissed because he has let your brother slide a few times and now he feels like your brother is just shitting on him now? Just trying to wargame this a bit....again just like our brethren mentioned...there is more to the story that we do not know.

I know from experience that this is doubly complicated since it is after all your brother and not just any PFC asking you for advice. Good luck to you and your brother.

[Pete S]

I can understand physical abuse from a Squad Leader or Platoon Sgt, but why is a 1SGT getting involved in such a way?

Technically he could press charges for abuse but in the long run it probably would be better if he learned from the situation and moved on.

[Books]

Thank you gentlemen for the responses. My initial response (one that I still largely hold) is that no one lays a hand on my brother and doesnt get beating from me with a hose. I knew that any advice I gave would be tilted in that direction.

I agree with you all too about past behavior and about getting the other side of the story. I didnt know about the sneaking off post in Germany, but I did hear about the leaving the rifle (and the story of the subsequent smoke session/beating/tieing of rifle to belt). He's had some hard nosed SGTs in the past and my advice to him then, and now, is to stand tall, take his licks when he does wrong and drive on. Lord knows Ive made some mistakes in my past and have paid for them. No one likes it, but that's what happens in the Army.

No one though has ever choked/hit me before (combatives/fights not withstanding) and that is the part with which I am contending. I know that in the past this sort of thing was more common and perhaps the modern army mollycoddles its troops, but I would like to believe that there are other and better ways to control/manage/punish/reward LEAD troops.

Good idea too TR about contacting the Chaplain. Like you guys for me, a Chaplain would be a good perspective provider for him and help him chart his way.

Defion69: your point about the PSG maybe letting him slide and now his PFC returns his kindness with further slacking. . . hadn't thought of that angle. Good stuff.

He has plenty of barracks lawyers telling him Lord knows what. . . I'm going to paste this thread into an email for him to consider.

Thanks again; I knew I could count on PS.com to help light the way.

Cheers,

Books