. . . . the worst of it is they DON'T ASK FOR HELP. the upperclassmen are willing to help plebes, but we're not going to seek them out to help them.
Is2day4him - I understand your statement above, but I'm trying to figure out what are the duties/responsibilities of upperclassmen in a plebe's chain of command in looking out for the plebe?? Does the Squad Leader, Platoon Commander, Company Commander or Company Officer pay any attention to how a plebe is doing academically?? If a plebe is having academic trouble, is it the responsibility of any of these individuals to call in the plebe and try to figure out what is going on, what is wrong and suggest a course of action??
It seems to me this would fall under the heading of basic leadership. You seem more than ready to complain about the rudder orders you get from above, thereby preventing you from having freedom to exercise leadership responsibilities. It seems to me this is one area upperclassmen could accel, assist a struggling plebe and possibly prevent a setback or attrite.
as MIDN officers we do have an entire chain of command style system for watching out for the plebes academics. this system has been revamped since i got here, which has resulted in higher retention rates. however, sometimes the way things go there are no numbers to show that the plebe is struggling until it's too late. often times they're the only one that knows they're falling behind, or even more often times, they don't even realize that their grades are suffering until it's too late for redemption. this academic alert system and mandatory study halls have helped quite a bit, however, it's no one else's responsibility to help a kid if he/doesn't ask for it. we'll help at any time, but we have to be aware that there's a problem. i have a large number of plebes that i check on to make sure that they're doing well with their grades. so i'm not someone that just sits and complains and doesn't do anything. i, and many of my classmates, do a lot to help the plebes out, but it goes unnoticed by most, and that's just how i like it. we don't want to see anyone fail. some of these kids though get in over their heads and as was said, can't swallow their pride and get assistance.
and at this stage in the game, there are still a lot of plebes barely hanging on. we, as 1/C are up to our eyebrows in license prep so we're more than swamped with our own academic worries right now. there are still plenty of outlets available for those that need it.