INCIDENT IN THE BARRACKS (Continued)
About an hour later, Staff Sergeant Butler happened to see Mendez in the
company area. Amazed, he asked him why he was wearing the key. PVT Mendez
related the "lesson" he had received from Sergeant Boyer. Staff Sergeant Butler
knew about Mendez locking himself out, but had thought nothing of it. He saw it as
the kind of human error everyone makes periodically. He knew the commander
was not concerned. With one brief look into PVT Mendez's eyes, he saw the
damage that Sergeant Boyer's poor leadership had already done to this soldier's
confidence in his leaders. Because of the treatment he received from one of his
superiors, PVT Mendez regarded even Staff Sergeant Butler with a certain
suspicion.
Staff Sergeant Butler was now enraged, but he controlled himself and set a
calm example. He told PVT Mendez that he had been treated in an inexcusable
manner, and he would take immediate corrective action. Taking PVT Mendez with
him, he found SGT Boyer and gave him a look that showed his disgust for what
Boyer had done. He quietly ordered SGT Boyer to immediately remove the key
from PVT Mendez. SGT Boyer objected, saying he was within his rights and was
giving PVT Mendez "extra training" within the guidelines of the definition of extra
training.
Staff Sergeant Butler added a little volume and intensity to his voice and told
Boyer that if he did not remove the key he would be disobeying a lawful order, and
that he would press court martial charges. This last statement got SGT Boyer's
attention. Boyer immediately removed the key. (Staff Sergeant Butler was
intentionally using legal, coercive power on Boyer to initiate changes in his
behavior.)
Staff Sergeant Butler dismissed Mendez to return to his duties, but told him to
report to his office at 1600 hours. He then took Sergeant Boyer to his office, told
him to sit down, and said: "We have talked about how to motivate soldiers and how
to reward and punish them. You have never agreed with me. You want more
power to punish, and you think we ought to be able to physically punish soldiers.
Well, your beliefs and methods of motivating soldiers are not only illegal, they are
wrong. Already, they have caused serious problems in your squad. Most of your
soldiers do only what they must to avoid your punishment. They resent you for the
way you threaten and talk to them. You nearly ruined Mendez today. He is one of
the best soldiers we have, and the kind we need to stay on as a professional.
Don't you understand that in combat, people fear death more than they fear what
you can do to them? Don't you understand that you don't get the best out of
people through fear? What makes you think you are any better as a human being
than they are?
Figure 1-2. Incident in the barracks-counseling exercise (continued).
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