Help Promote and Retain the Best

Dear Gene-Thomas,

After returning from almost a year in Iraq, I took my wife and kids to the base chapel on Mother’s Day and the chaplain had nothing whatsoever to say about the sacrifices military moms make....” Dan                                                                  

Dear Dan,

You are not the first person to render such a complaint. A former Commandant of the Marine Corps, upon returning home from a tour in Vietnam as a captain, brought his family to a base chapel where the chaplain spoke on Mother’s Day for 45 minutes about “The Anti-Christ.” When he shared that story with me on my first active duty tour, he said, “Whatever you do, chaplain, don’t use the same sermons you gave as a civilian. Make the scriptures relevant to the military audience you are addressing.”

In so far as the chaplain had very little to say about the outstanding job military moms do, why not make up for his omission by writing your wife a note this week complimenting her for being a wonderful mother? To help inspire you, consider what Chief Petty Officer Jeff Edwards said to his wife about being a great spouse when he wrote: “You are a patriot - the sort of citizen that all of us should be, but so few of us are. You live with sacrifice, because you believe in the rights and ideals that your husband defends. Although you wear no uniform, you are a part of that defense - a vital link in the chain of freedom. Although you wear no medals and will reap no glory on the field of battle, you are hero in the truest sense of the word. You are a military spouse.”

While there are many truly dedicated and talented military chaplains and counselors who do an outstanding job in supporting military families, there are some who are not always effective in meeting the needs of those whom they are called to serve. One of the reasons I wrote The Survival Guide for Marriage in the Military is for families like your own who need advice, encouragement and support that, unfortunately, is not always rendered.

The quality of care provided by chaplains, counselors and medical personnel at commands is dependent upon the professionalism, talents and dedication of the staff who provide these services. Although selection boards are supposed to help ensure quality control by retaining the best and separating those less qualified, this does not always happen. How many people know officers and enlisted that were passed over for promotion when other less qualified individuals were selected?

Military personnel and family members can help foster the promotion of the most qualified people by providing “customer feedback” to supervisors who are responsible for writing their subordinates’ evaluations. When was the last time you wrote a complimentary letter to the CO or supervisor of a service provider for a job well done? When was the last time you complained about less than satisfactory service in a manner that would help a command improve the quality of its services in a particular area.

Customer feedback is critical in helping to improve products and services, as well as to identify people who are a credit or detriment to an organization. Because military personnel and families do not ordinarily have the broad choice of service providers available to most of their civilian counterparts, it is important that they help get the best individuals promoted if their own needs are going to be met. 

The wife of a sailor at one of my past duty stations was misdiagnosed at a clinic for having a communicable disease that almost resulted in the dissolution of their marriage. Had the couple not complained to the head of the clinic, the medical provider at fault could have continued in her malpractice and jeopardized the welfare of other patients. 

Military personnel and their families sacrifice much and are entitled to quality care and services. When someone’s service does not meet your expectations, provide customer feedback with the goal of effecting improvements. Be eager, at the same time, to write complimentary letters when you are the recipient of excellent service. Such a response on your part will not only help those tasked with writing evaluations, but it will also help encourage the retention of qualified and dedicated staff personnel, many of whom can often make more money working as civilians.

Gene-Thomas Gomulka
“A voice for military families”
Columnist and author of works available at www.plaintec.net
Have a question?  Write Gene-Thomas at letters@plaintec.net