Essay: What is more important for you, mission or soldier welfare?

THE MISSION OR SOLDIER WELFARE

How will the mission get accomplished if our soldiers are not taken care of? In today’s Army’s it is very important that we give our soldiers the attention and resources for what they need so they can perform at the highest level. In my personal experience I have seen more soldier’s get out of the army because of bad experiences they had with leadership. If NCOs take the time to assure there soldiers and help them with whatever it is they need, we will see harder working soldiers. The three main areas I want to focus on is family readiness, a good outlet for soldiers and speaking up when something is wrong. These topics are very important and will help soldiers feel better physically, mentally and emotionally if they practice them.

Keeping a happy household is very important for the solider and his family. If someone has a lot of issues going on at home and can’t be there often to work them out, the family will fall apart and probably end up in a divorce or even someone possibly committing suicide. Making sure the military spouses have a support group while there significant other is away for training or deployment is important because it gives them someone to talk to and relate to. If the spouse is happy and comfortable, the soldier will have peace of mind and will be able to focus on work so he can complete the mission. When the solider is gone it can be very hard on the spouse especially if they have kids. It is important that the spouse knows about all the programs for themselves and the kids because they can be very helpful. “The Family Readiness System is defined as the network of agencies, programs, services, and individuals, and the collaboration among them, that promotes the readiness and quality of life of service members and their families. For the Family Readiness System to be fully realized, Department of Defense asks that everyone who provides these services view themselves as part of the overall system (Military One Source, 2020)”.

“Having an outlet has always enabled me to balance my work energy and recharge my batteries but I never fully understood how varying such outlets can result in intellectual development and an overall appreciation for many of the people, places and things we take for granted (Forbes, 2015)”. Having a good outlet will let you clear your mind and relieve all that stress that has been built up from a long day at work or if you have personal things going on. Exercise is a great thing to use as an outlet, but it is different for everyone. Some people like to write, play video games, etc. You just have to find something that you enjoy and find at least one hour out of the day to make sure you get that time to relax and unwind. Time management is very important and a lot of people need to work on this so they can find that time for their outlet. This will prevent depression, anxiety and other issues that have a negative impact on our work life. My personal outlet is boxing. I find it such a great way to release any tension I have built up and it has always worked well for me.