Without a doubt, the best Sergeant Major of the Army we have had in the last three decades has been Sergeant Major Daniel Dailey. He was a Soldiers’ Soldier. Why was he the best? Simple, he increased morale, productivity, and efficiency by giving Soldiers what they wanted, all while costing the Army no money. Want examples? Here you go…
1. SGM Dailey gave us black socks. Black became the most prevalent color of athletic socks replacing the traditional old white tube sock that the Army so beloved. As a result, finding all white socks with no logos became increasingly difficult as retailers no longer sold this low demand product. This was also compounded by the fact that retailers did not make high quality running socks in all white, which also came above the ankle (an Army uniform standard requirement). So, what did SGM Dailey do? He said, “hey soldiers, go ahead and wear them black socks” (probably not a direct quote, but close enough). This move cost the army no money as soldiers already had black socks, lifted the morale of soldiers who wanted to wear black socks instead of white socks, and allowed for soldiers to wear better quality socks as manufacturers WERE making high end running socks in all black.
2. Rolled sleeves. When I was a young lad in basic training at the geriatric age of 18, we had an issue with soldiers falling out as heat casualties. Drill Sergeant said it was because we were not drinking enough water. I thought it was because we were wearing pants, a jacket and black boots in 100-degree weather. Turns out I was right. We used to roll our sleeves. The ACUs came along and sleeve rolling went away. But by some miracle, Dailey did an assessment and realized Soldiers want to roll their sleeves and show off them guns. It cost the Army no money, lifted morale, and so he did it.
3. Headphones in the gym and on closed tracks. The Army had an unhealthy, obsessive relationship with “safety” for a long stint, requiring Soldiers to do preposterous things like wear PT belts wherever you went. One of those issues was banning headphones while working out in the gym or running. But here comes Dailey…saying, “hey Soldier, I’m just glad you’re working out and not being a big fat fatty. To reward your effort, why don’t you go ahead and wear those headphones in the gym or on a closed running track” (once again, probably not verbatim what he said, but you get the idea). And wouldn’t you believe it, it cost the Army no money, lifted morale, and didn’t even violate safety (though I wish it did just to stick it to those risk averse weenies).
4. Brought back Tattoos. In a very…[don’t say Nazi, don’t say Nazi]…uhm, controlling way, the Army under the not so brilliant direction of a certain SMA began to document all Soldier tattoos, banning soldiers from getting new ones and tightening the restrictions of those with certain tattoos from getting in. And then SMA Dailey came to the rescue once again. He reversed that policy, showed that the Army was not going to be all fascist controlling, and let Soldiers have tattoos. It cost the Army no money and raised morale.
So, why is this important? There are so many places where the Army can pick up some small wins to help Soldiers, but they don’t. My challenge to you is to identify those things and bring them up to your chain of command to fix. If you’re a commander, look for ways in which you can improve your Solders’ lives by lifting arbitrary restrictions, especially when they cost the Army no money. I for one say we start by allowing beards! Hey, I can dream…
Love this article? Great! Let me know and I’ll produce more. Hate this article? Well, it’s probably ‘cause you hate improving the lives of your Soldiers. Why don’t you go ahead, respond, and let me know why I am wrong.
*This article was written by FUBAR 6. All opinions expressed in this article are that of the author. This article is not endorsed by the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or any other state or government agency. Comments to the author can be submitted below.