What do you guys (Marines) think of this?

[gimpy]

Corps names first woman to serve as MEU sergeant major | Marine Corps Times | marinecorpstimes.com

I couldn't imagine having someone in charge of combat arms units that had no background in it while I was in.

 

[Hink]

Absolutely no different than taking a career 0311 with 20+ years' experience picking up that 9999 MOS and dropping him in the first open victor unit with a spot - just happened to be VMA-223.

The 'wingers were used to the 10 hour days, five to six days a week to maintain a 500+ flight hour per month goal, and the SMaj wanted to keep that up but also have two hour a days unit PT, no third class PFTers, and no pizza boxes in 'his' unit. Oh, and no non rate would ever 'rate' (his words) higher than 4.5/4.5 pro/con.

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(Change thought)

I believe every person in a leadership positon has something to teach those who are subordinate. In this case, I learned a lot about what not to do. High level goals should be flowed down, with more specific, detailed goals the closer you get to the first line 'mechanics' so to speak. But to flow down goals, there must be an understanding of the type and volume of work performed. Goals should pertain to that work.

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(Tieing it all together)
In the first case, the SMaj was not well repsected, because (1) he did not understand the type and volume of work, and (2) his goals and those of the commander differed enough as to result in direct conflict at the lower levels.

So back to the point - as long as the leader thinks 'their' thing is the most important, there will be division in the ranks. Never forget mission accomplishment & troop welfare. Welfare is more than beans and bullets. Keep your troops motivated and the mission will be accomplished. Ignore the intangibles (work/life balance, morale, et.al.) and the troops will do just enough to avoid getting yelled at.

 

[Redmanss]

Gimpy, I don't know when you were in but across my time, 92-06, First Sergeants and Sergeants Major came from all MOSs, feeding into one single MOS 9999 that could be assigned to any unit, anywhere, women excluded from actual Victor units. I always saw a pattern of air wingers getting sent to the grunts and grunts getting sent to the wing. Helps bring the balance back I guess, but I never got it either.

Also, this SgtMaj is hardly "in charge" of combat arms units, nor is any MEU SgtMaj. I did three LF6F MEU(SOC) deployments, and hardly ever saw them at all. Certainly never saw any of them in the field, but that's just it, that's not their job. They're admin, make sure the enlisted aren't getting fucked over, keep the comms going with back home, deal with legal matters, or whatever else is needed as may be necessary. The MGySgt is the one working as the Ops Chief effecting combat operations, not the SgtMaj.

My main recollection of the MEU SgtMaj from my last pump, time to remain nameless, comes from two incidents. One where he went high and right because I EPD'd two Corporals for a couple days cleaning bilges down below instead of running them up the flag pole, and the other time when he came after my Platoon Sergeant for fucking up the biggest shitbag I ever saw (wife beater, druggie, deserter, etc.) in "self defense" of liquid courage stupidity instead of letting him get away with it. I hope this latest selection, regardless of what is between her legs, is a step up from that pussy piece of shit.

In any case, they would blow a vein if they saw us in the field, what with all the poor shaves, hands in the pockets, not wearing our covers and having dirty boots. I even walked while smoking... Oh the horror!!!

 

[Greg Langelius *]

The strength of the unit comes from the stability of its base, not the sharpness of it peak.

Greg

 

[gimpy]

I was in the Army from 00 to 06. I hated when I got stuck working with POGs. I had a top that was a shit for brains grunt hating puke. He stopped me from making E-6 because he thought it was bullshit how low our promotion points were. Then again, I had a CSM for a while in a line battalion who was 11 series and was probably one of the worst human beings I ever met. I don't know how the Marines handle leadership, but I never had any senior enlisted while in an Infantry unit who weren't Infantry.

 

[Redmanss]

Okay, I see where you're coming from now. In the Marine Corps when you are a Gunnery Sergeant, you choose what route you wish to take, noted by a "F" or a "M" on your fitness report. First Sergeants and Sergeants Major feed from all MOSs, and are a completely separate MOS of 9999. Like I said above, their duties are not the combat employment of a unit, more morale and welfare of the troops along with ensuring the maintenance of good order and discipline. As a SSgt and CAAT Platoon Sergeant, the only time I dealt with the SgtMaj was when one of my Marines were going to see the man.

Master Sergeants and Master Gunnery Sergeants remain in their MOS, becoming Operations Chiefs and whatnot. They are the ones directly involved with combat operations, working as a Weapons Company (MSgt) or Battalion Ops Chief (MGySgt). Line companies have the "Company Gunny" who does the same there. These are the ones I coordinated with on a daily basis.

Once you feed into one side, you can never cross over to the other, kind of like the blue or red pill. You basically are choosing whether you want to inspect field day or inspect gun drills. Now I got out as a GySgt, but take a wild guess what my FITREP said...

 

[sulcop96]

As a current First Sergeant in a Combat Communications Squadron I have about zero clue what the people in the trenches do. I was a grunt and I know 03 but my duties now are not technical so I do not need the expertise in the field, and I have great appreciation for the men and women who do. I have Platoon Sergeants who KNOW what the job is and I trust them to advise me when something, or someone warrants my attention. As Greg put it above, they are the stability, my job it to support, buffer and assist and take action WHEN and HOW it best serves that particular unit. I have seen First Sergeants and Commanders mess up a unit because they forget that they are just there renting space. My next assignment may be to an Air Operations Group or even Security Forces so my role will remain the same. Let the NCO's do there thing, kick someone in the ass ONLY when needed, make sure the Commanders vision is understood and followed and when necessary make sure the Commander knows his vision may be fucked up. So I see no reason why a Person Other then Grunt cannot effectively lead any combat arms unit any more then a stupid grunt 03 can't help lead a Combat Comm.

And for reference I am currently Guard but served 83-89 in 1st Marines as.... 0311.

Sully

 

[Greg Langelius *]

What we are seeing here, be it for better of worse, is a natural consequence of individuals being coerced in unending repetitions of multiple deployments. When they elect to leave their time in service, you only get to choose from what's left. Thank goodness for the flow of fresh blood into our military; and again, it enters from the bottom.

An NCO, any NCO, is a conduit. That conduit can convey sh*t uphill or downhill.

When I was an NCO, it was only for 13 months. But my conscious decision was not to be a sewer, but rather to be a power line, conveying energy in both directions. Failing that, resistance drains a unit.

Greg

 

[pahker]

Good for her. Wish her all the best.
Semper Fi

 

[hank440]

WOW I never thought I would ever hear an air winger bitch about anything LOL

 

[usmc02xx]

I even walked while smoking... Oh the horror!!!

FUCKING COMMIE BASTARD, Chesty Puller would loose his mind on you!!

 

[Hueyguy]

If she's the meu smaj, who's gonna make the damn sandwiches? Or is her office going to be adjacent to(read: inside) the kitchen? Just kidding, put the pin back in.
Really, though, I would not have a problem with gender equality if it was real, but it's not. Remember Kara Hultgreen? They ramrodded her through flight school so fast she couldn't properly perform EP's and died because of it, taking an F-14 with her. That was politically motivated, just to show the public the Navy has women combat pilots. I saw females come through schools and quit their MOS(but not get sent to a new one) because they could not hack it(carry, mount, and operate a machine gun, load/transload/move full ammo cans, etc). Some I've seen purposely get knocked up to avoid deployments.
The lady filling the MEU SgtMaj billet has never ran the same PFT I did; did not go through recruit training the same as me; yet she will occupy a billet that is not gender specific. I like the idea of women serving beside men, but don't give us different qualifiers for the same position, that is purely un-American. Same tests, same training, same jobs. That's equal, and fair.

 

[USMC SgtMaj]

I'll comment on this after I retire in a few months, going against the grain these days will not get you anywhere except "Breitbarted" so I'll keep my mouth shut about this. My wife and I are both Marine SgtsMaj and there's no way I'd want my wife in that billet.

 

[Darkside-Six]

The lady filling the MEU SgtMaj billet has never ran the same PFT I did; did not go through recruit training the same as me; yet she will occupy a billet that is not gender specific. I like the idea of women serving beside men, but don't give us different qualifiers for the same position, that is purely un-American. Same tests, same training, same jobs. That's equal, and fair.

completely agree! well said.

 

[Gunga]

I Don't think it improves the units combat readiness or efficiency.

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

Will make for an interesting pissing contest.

 

[Switchblade]

The best female leader I ever had, I fucked. Marine Second LT, met her out in town, hit it like it was easy(it was), then about dropped my bearing when we were being inspected Monday morning, and guess who was inspecting(FUUUUCK, oh shit dammit motherfucker I am COOKED!). She was introdeuced met each of us, spoke with us, adn not one word ever came up on anything. Luck? Hell Yeah! For both of us!
Aside from her, the only leadership position ever occupied by female while I was in was S1 NCOIC. Ground Flight officers stayed on the ground.
If this female SGM is worthy of a position in a MEU, someone either thinks she is that good, or it's just one more sign of a societal bungle that will end as the Roman Empire's Senate ended