Are you leaning towards ETSing instead of reenlisting? The alternative is often an appealing option, but is the grass greener?
I’ve come about as close as possible to ETSing myself, only to reenlist within a few months of separation. Here’s a list of 10 reasons Soldiers ETS, many of which are reasons I intend to follow through with my ETS this time around.
Let’s start with a few positives.
Accomplished their Army goals
For many folks, the Army is a stepping stone, a means to something greater. That may be career training or discipline gained through serving or education benefits gained through the GI Bill.
If that was the purpose behind serving, gaining that experience or benefit may be all they hoped to accomplish.
For others, it may be leadership experience to apply in another career. In the civilian sector, the leadership training and experience gained are extremely valuable to their business.
Pursue Their Dream
Pursuing one’s dreams while serving can be challenging. Many times, the dedication the military requires of its service members eats up a lot of their time.
I’ve certainly tried to divide my time to pursue dreams while serving, but find that both pursuits fall short of my standards. Add to that a family and it becomes even more difficult an endeavor.
Alright, now let’s see some of the more common, negative reasons Soldiers opt to hang up their uniforms.
Didn’t Meet Expectations
Tell me if you know someone like this. They’ve watched all of the iconic war movies or shows from Band of Brothers to Saving Private Ryan and beyond. They join with delusions of heroism and brotherhood only to find that it isn’t all guts and glory.
Sometimes, as many of you know, it’s area beautification, red cycle tasking, or drowning in administrivia. All of that is still important (ish) to the Army’s overall mission, but it isn’t advertised.
In a lot of MOSs, you only have the opportunity to train in garrison. Unless you get the chance to deploy, you may never actually do your job.
Lifestyle
0530 wake-ups aren’t for everybody. Daily PT isn’t for everybody, either. That’s the reality of the Army lifestyle, though.
Some Soldiers dread the rigamarole of an Army day, while others eat up all of the downtimes that exist to scroll Reddit on their phones.
The Army lifestyle is often a bit restrictive. You don’t have much control over your schedule, can’t travel beyond 250 miles without a pass (generally), and certain activities require extra approval (I.E. riding a motorcycle or traveling outside the U.S.).
Favoritism
Soldiers often witness or perceive favoritism within the ranks. Not to say that it doesn’t exist in the civilian sector, but Soldiers rarely consider that.
While the Army has policies regarding fraternization, it’s pretty poor at implementing them at lower echelons. If a Soldier is close with their first-line supervisor, that may create an opportunity for favoritism.
Leaders may grant more opportunities to their favorites, shield them from undesirable tasks, or even influence promotion. All good reasons for a Soldier who doesn’t receive the same treatment to become disenchanted and give up on the Army.
Incompetence
Have you ever thought about the difference between a job and a career is? For me, it’s about being a professional which, in my opinion, is all about attitude and approach.
Professionals embrace lifelong learning and apply a set of ethics and standards to their careers. This makes it more than just a job where you provide a service in exchange for payment.
Not everyone in the Army is a professional. It can be infuriating when you take the approach of a professional only to have those around you put forth minimal effort.
The Army promotes based on potential, but the system isn’t always effective and oftentimes Soldiers become leaders before they’re ready. Those ill-prepared leaders then fail to train and prepare their subordinates which has a chain effect.
Double Standards
Everyone has probably been to a unit where either Officers or Warrant Officers don’t show up to the formation. While it’s commonplace, it’s a small example of a double standard.
The height and weight standards are also double standards due to a flawed, in my opinion, method of determining body fat percentage and outdated height to weight ratios.
Most egregiously, punishment for misconduct by senior officers is drastically different from that of the rank and file. Carl Castro, retired Army Colonel and Director of Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR) at the University of Southern California wrote an article in October 2017.
He wrote discussed the difference and posed the following question.
Why is one set of moral and ethical standards applied to officers, while an even higher one is applied to our enlisted members?
Lack of Individual Responsibility
Serious incidents, like DUIs or drug abuse, carry heavy individual responsibilities. In general, though, wholly individual events are treated as a collective failure.
Take for instance height and weight standards or physical fitness. A leader can only do so much to promote a positive approach to these events. I routinely tell my Soldiers in these situations, I can’t take the test for you…
One of the burdens of leadership is taking responsibility for these individual failures as if they were your own. It wears on you and can lead some out the door.
Culture
The Army is a microcosm of our society. While slow and resistant to change, it eventually turns to follow our societal trends.
The Army culture has changed drastically, even in my short 12-year career, it still has some room for growth. For example, Army reports of Sexual Assault from 2010 to 2019 more than doubled per a DOD report published in 2020.
Hazing, Equal Opportunity violations, and Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP) violations still occur too regularly.
Not all leaders take these seriously enough, nor do all victims feel confident in their leaders to come forth and file reports.
Toxic Leadership
Lastly, but most importantly, Toxic Leadership. The Army grew tired of this term and recoined it as “Counterproductive Leadership”. This shift places the label on the inappropriate behavior rather than on the person.
I’ve served with many well-meaning leaders who, bless their hearts, tried their best. I’ve only worked for one such toxic leader, though. Worst of all, it was during a deployment.
I had zero faith and confidence in this leader, as it was apparent they had none in me either. My mental and physical health deteriorated quickly.
Luckily, I had an excellent team surrounding me who both supported me and commiserated in my pain.
The effect of toxic leadership has serious effects and even leads some towards suicide. So, it goes without saying that it can certainly be the cause for someone to ETS.
If you’re still considering reenlisting, check out our list of 10 Reasons Soldiers Reenlist. And, if you’re enjoying the content, check out our other articles and click subscribe below.
