1SG Katrina Moerk gets ARCOM for trolling
No this is NOT satire, it’s not the Duffel Blog, it’s Military.com and it is about 1SG Katrina Moerk who got an Army Commendation Medal for scolding other soldiers in a social media chat room;
First Sgt. Katrina Moerk, now the first sergeant of Charlie Company, 741st Military Intelligence Battalion, was browsing a social media network’s community page earlier this year, when she came upon a video that she found offensive and sexist. When she commented as much, several respondents attacked her with insults. Some of these respondents were wearing uniforms in their profile photos, the first sergeant said, so she wrote to them directly.
“I looked them up, introduced myself and explained to them why they were stupid. And I [copied] the director of the Army SHARP program to help their units improve their SHARP training, because it was obviously lacking. And it’s kind of blown up from there,” Moerk said.
[…]
“I tried to explain why I didn’t care for it,” she added, “and [said], ‘If you don’t know who you’re talking to, be careful what you say in an open public forum on the Internet,’ and it just made it worse. When I started calling them by rank, they figured I was in the military and made jokes about calling people out on the Internet, or [that] pulling rank on the Internet is like calling somebody out in a bar.”
Things died down online, she said, but Dr. Christine Altendorf, the SHARP director, brought Moerk’s email to the attention of Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, then the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel. Shortly thereafter, the Army launched three administrative investigations, because Soldiers from three separate major commands were involved, either through producing the video or making inappropriate comments.
Her sergeant major called her the epitome of what an NCO should be. Lucky for her, an Army First Sergeant didn’t have more important things to do than to troll the internet looking for trouble. I come across things on the internet that offend me and I click away, I personally boycott that website, I don’t turn into a nosy scold. Lucky for her she clicked into something that the Army leadership is focusing on these days.
I have three ARCOMs from my two decades of service – I earned mine by doing my job and working towards the successful completion of the unit’s mission. Silly me.
ADDED: Here’s how she trolled the social media. She trolled me looking for me to grunt and call her names;
Category: Army News
Everyone sing it with me….
” Cause I’m a Fobbit
Do what I gotta do…..
Cause I’m a Fobbit
Do what I gotta do……”
Hell! She should have gotten a Bronze Star at least for that close cyber combat!
Gee, if only those internet thingies had been available when I was in the Navy. I coul dhave had so much fun turning sailors into quivering jelly.
Be careful in what you post on here, my fellow TAH’ers!! You know it’s going to be monitored, and some comments will be used as power points for an upgrade of this ARCOM to at least an MSM at the end of tour, or gasp!,should I say it, a BSM ? ?
No joke, Claw. There may be a Soldier, Sailor, or Airman “in” North Korea right now putting one of his lives on the line.
I am waiting for the day when medals for valor will be awarded for cyber combat.
This is just a step in the “right” direction.
Given that all services are heading to a more drone/Un-manned footprint it’s only a matter of time until some sort of cyber/UAV medal gets approved (and hopefully not put ahead of awards that require a physical presence)
Actually, I already recommended the correct solution. Use the existing noncombat decorations, with a special device for Remote Execution of Military Force. It would be a letter “R”, and would be called the “R-device” – short for REMF-device.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=35249
Maybe they should create a special award for this type of action. Put it right up there next to the Bronze Star because, you know, trolling the Internet is so dangerous. Heck, you might end up at a site like DU or Little Green Footballs.
Instinct, just thinking about that makes shivers run up and down my spine.
Bronze star with (T) device for trolling.
So 3 Soldiers being investigated for saying crass things on the internet is worth an ARCOM.
If I spend one afternoon on the internet, I bet I could find a Legion of Merit worth….
While I can agree that Soldiers on social media need to be mindful of what they do and say, giving a 1SG an ARCOM for this is an example of why the Army’s award system is so screwed up.
This is a good reason why Facebook is so dangerous and why its private and I don’t have my real name or affiliation to the military or government on it so I can say what I want. Because, who’s to say someone doesn’t see my page, get offended and go whining to the chain of command to do an investigation? (Just like this situation)
So, Step one for her was tell the Soldiers they were wrong. Step two is, tell a 3-star? Fucking seriously? When I was a 1SG, if I saw a troop doing something out of line, step 1 was on the spot correction, then step 2 was go talk to their 1SG about it. I don’t get where she needs to raise this to Pentagon level….
What the hell is everyone’s problem with the way she did what she did? With the so called sexual problems in the services and on campus, it would seem to me that someone has to call these ass hats out.
Social media should stay clean. Why – just because.
Sometimes I wish one had to at least sign their real name, phone number and address when they post.
Crap – here is mine: Jim Strieter, YNC USN (RET) 989 893 XXXX
XXX xxxxx, Bay City, MI 48708
Hope I do not hear from anyone with a grudge from the past.
BZ and Happy New Year
Ok-here’s what bothers me about this: without knowing the nature of what she was complaining about it’s impossible to know whether it was out of line or not, but we constantly see examples of feminists making mountains out of molehills. There was the example of the scientist who landed the satellite on the comet getting complaints about the shirt he wore to the press conference or the newly found incidence of “manspreading” which I will let Ace explain-http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=353942
Or as Breitbart explained this:”…is a movement…determined to abuse and antagonise the male sex at all costs and for whatever perceived or outright imaginary infraction it can conjure from the vicissitudes of everyday life. It is offensively trivial, and those associated with it ought to be ashamed.” http://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/12/22/what-is-manspreading-and-why-are-people-angry-about-it/
Sorry-seen too much trivial whining or outright propagandizing from this particular movement to take it seriously any more. They’ve lied about the so-called wage gap and grossly inflated the sex assault statistics on college campuses. They’ve earned my mistrust and any complaints, such as this one, from that quarter are met with suspicion on my part.
Soldiers in uniform talking inappropriately online absolutely should be called out. It’s probably because she’s female that everyone is having a horse over it. Since when does calling out bad behavior make an SNCO a ‘nosy scold’? If it was a male 1SG these comments would be different and we all know it. I’m glad someone showed some leadership in bringing these assclowns to the attention of their commands. Bet they’re not laughing now.
If you want to go be a sexist racist shit-talking asshole online, change into civvies first. DUH.
As far as I’m concerned, she can call them out all day long. That’s what First Sergeants do. What I and many here are giving out about is the absurdity of awarding an Army Commendation Medal for something that is her job.
If I had been awarded an NCM for every time that I jacked up a junior Sailor as an LCPO, I wouldn’t be able to walk straight.
If it was a male 1SG he would catch way more hell for his actions. Pretty sure they are keeping the insults lite because it is a female. A male 1SG would be called every form of the female reproductive system. And would probably be held to the old time tradition of snitches get stiches.
Problem is, Misty, that “inappropriate” has no set definition. What you or I might consider normal would be cause for third-degree butthurt by someone else.
I was around when they had the “traffic light” commentary just after Tailhook–and don’t get me started about THAT whole fiasco.
Bottom line, what was said/written might have been inappropriate. Then again, it might not be. I think some people do have a tendency to be a bit overbearing and sensitive, to say the least.
You know people who fit into the “gets butthurt way too easily” category. If you don’t, chances are you’re that person.
(Not ‘you’ personally)…Be a nasty jerkface online all you want. Be the biggest hairest most offensive troll you can be, if that’s what makes you feel like a man…but if you do it in uniform and you’re identified, YES, you should be called out and brought to the attention of your command. I don’t see what the issue is with a weensy little ARCOM for a 1SG. Not like it’s promotion points or anything.
The point as I see it, Misty, is that you don’t get a medal for doing things like this, not when it’s basically part of your job. (I say that from the Air Force perspective, where ribbons really are given out like candy sometimes.)
Misty–yeah. No. Not always called for.
The past 9 months or so have been pretty interesting, to say the least. Why? Because a phony fucker decided any criticism of him was a “death threat” and sued me, contacted my family, my employer, sued my employer, etc.
So yeah, you can see where I won’t have much sympathy for the First Sergeant, playing her little games, and doubly so for her being rewarded for it.
There are times where someone is obviously crossing a line–look up the case of (thankfully former) Petty Officer Lord:
http://q13fox.com/2014/08/13/navy-finds-bremerton-based-sailor-guilty-of-threatening-over-social-media-to-rape-female-recruit/
Then there are cases where it comes down to someone being a special little snowflake and being offended by the mere presence of a man. Yes, I would opine that the YouTube video falls somewhere in between, but closer to the latter than the former.
Bottom line, unless there was a clear case of harassment, etc., she should have simply notified the offender’s CSM or 1SG and left it at that. All she did here was bring to light the fact she’s incapable of using the Chain-of-Command for that which it is intended.
Lemme guess, Chief….. you were one of those Diversity Zampolits from Milington’s Marauders? Your attitude, and that of the NCO in the article, is exactly why our Navy is in danger of losing a serious engagement at sea. With all the worries over who gets butthurt, which special snowflake gets appreciated this month, the workshop after fucking workshop, seminar and PPP, there’s damned little time left for actual warfighting training. I want a Navy where the men (and women) are treated as adults, and not monitored like adolescents 24/7. I want a Navy where the sailors can cuss a blue streak to vent their emotions, not where they have to go to group sessions and act like they’re in an AA meeting. Sailors ought not to have to file a “Liberty Plan”. Let them go, blow off steam, and if they fuck up, they can tap-dance in front of the Skipper at mast and explain themselves. Lastly, stop treating what was once a magnificent Navy likes it’s some “global force for good”. No, it isn’t, and it shouldn’t be. Our Navy exists to do three things: Control the sea lanes our commercial ships use for commerce, kill people, and blow stuff up. That’s it. We’re getting Little Crappy Ships rather than the destroyers and frigates we need. We’re getting frankenships like Zumwalt that will likely turn turtle the first monsoon she can’t outrun. WE’re getting the P-8, an abortion of an expensive replacement for the perfectly good P-3, rather than keep the P-3 production lines open. We shelved the S-3, the only mid-range ASW airborne platform we had, and replaced it with….. NOTHING! We do not have enough supply ships to keep the fleet replenished in an extended action, nor do we have sufficient escorts to protect those fragile assets. In short, we’ve squandered over a trillion fucking dollars on “feel good” systems, while letting the real combat vessels dwindle in number with no adequate replacements. Yet, we have time for all this “personnel enterprise” bullshit. It’s not the Navy’s job to be a social engineering petri dish, nor a… Read more »
Shipmate, thanks.
As far as ““global force for good” is concerned, I laugh every time I see one of those commercials.
One time the cousin of a friend of mine asked him, “what do you little Sailor boys do exactly?”
His answer, “Put hot lead on hostile targets.”
About sums it up, but we won’t see that in a commercial. Best Navy ad I ever saw was “Life. Liberty, and the pursuit of all who threaten it.” Yeah!
How much you wanna bet some skimmer fag gets all butthurt when you use the term skimmer fag?
And is that one word, or two?
No doubt submariners are chastised for calling themselves Steely-Eyed Killers of the Deep. Hell, you can’t even call the non-quals nubs anymore.
Don’t say skimmer fag, that’s gay dude.
Yeah! The proper technical term is “skimmer PUKE.”
“Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of all who threaten it.”
The only bumper-sticker on my car, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nicely said. couldn’t have said it better myself. Shouldn’t be just the navy, but all the branches.
Social media should stay clean just because ? Sorry but people should be able to post what they want within reason and not against the law. Other than that, who are you or anyone else to dictate what gets posted on social media? Much like the argument about stuff on TV that people don’t like, if it offends you change the channel or turn it off, and leave the rest of the majority alone.
Pretty sure when you signed that contract regardless of branch, you signed away your right to be a fucking dumbass. You not only represent the United States Government, but the branch you are serving in. Being a jackoff on social media while in uniform not only brings disgrace to yourself, your fellow men and women, and the military, but also shows a lack of discipline and manhood.
No, you still have the right to be a dumbass, but you don’t get to abuse the privilege. And if you do, you get hammered for it.
Sorry, but the UCMJ and various service regs haven’t outlawed having an opinion. YET.
My issue is, from her own side of the story, that she went to the Soldier and they basically told her to F Off.
Her next step was to go to a fucking three star General? Really?
She should be counseled for not using the NCO support channel and/or chain of command properly. That is why she’s a troll.
Precisely. Has I not liked the way a PFC was calling me out of my name in the unit I was with, I’d counsel that PFC. If the PFC told me off, I’d go to their First Line Leader. I wouldn’t go straight to the Battalion Commander.
At the same time, since I was just doing something that isn’t even in my job description, but is an unwritten policy concerning the duties of an NCO, I wouldn’t expect to get a medal out of it… especially if I decided to tell the entire Army Chain of Command to go frak itself by going straight to the grand high inquisitor of EO complaints.
Good God….the courage, personality and values of POTUS has trickled down to the 741st Military Intelligence Battalion.
We’re in good hands…..aren’t we?
“…a nosy scold.”
The job description for a lot of CSMs.
Well, it is Fort Meade,Maryland and this outfit is known as the “Silent Warriors”, need I say more?
You got that right. I was a Navy cryptologist who, thankfully, was never stationed at the “Fort.” Cryppies used to joke that those who worked there just picked up their AFCMs as they checked in to the command. Sure didn’t seem to matter what they did during their tours. A while back, a Fleet guy wrote to Navy Times in wonder at the number of MSMs, NCMs, AFCMs, etc awarded to junior CTs. He was absolutely right. It is ridiculous.
When I was an XO and was doing a check out from the command, the PO3 demanded to know why he ONLY got a NAM.
I promptly wished him luck and booted him out of my office.
In a related story:
Seaman Apprentice Dumbfuckski was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for hanging out in the male aft head of the USS NIMTZ, gazing at Sailor junk and reminding everyone to flush the urinal after each use.
When asked why he was in the male aft head, gazing and reminding all to flush he replied, “because we don’t have a transgendered head back aft yet!”
Dude stop it. Thread winner.
lmao.
You sir have won the internet.
Don’t laugh. When I was on the HOLLAND, a MSSN got a Navy COMMENDATION Medal for–are you ready?–driving Bill Clinton around Pearl Harbor for ONE DAY.
I’ve known retired CPO’s who don’t have a NCM. For an E-3 to get one was laughable. And her reaction on CCTV when the CO pinned it on, while she was chawing gum at the time, pretty much said she didn’t give a shit.
My sea daddy had a warrant officer instructor in OCS for navigation who, in an over 30 year career had ONE personal decoration. A Navy Achievement Medal.
What, you may ask, did he get it for?
Since you insist, he got it for saving his ship from sinking!
Now I know that’s nothing compared to jacking up some non-rates online, but that’s why it was only a NAM.
She was probably chewing the gum to get the cigar and Bill Clinton taste out of her mouth…
What made it worse was the fact that she made MS2 (E-5) in VERY short order.
And she could burn water.
Gives a whole new meaning to motorboating?
So, can someone tell me the community pages she was browsing so I can go have some fun? Fucking POG’s and their butt-hurt bullshit….
What’s next, punishing grunts for using harsh language in a firefight?
“The epitome of an NCO” – but not a SNCO. I would even disagree with the NCO aspect actually, vehemently.
lol bro, your post brings me back to 2009 in Mosul, Iraq. No shit there we were on our patrol and we get an IED attack RIGHT outside of a MOSQUE. Not only did my gunner see the guy who did it, but the wires were still hanging over the wall. We bust ass and take these fuckers down. (No U.S. causalities) Sadly one dude got away, but the entire group of people in the mosque came out so we started to question and put them in that stupid finger print and eye database bullshit. One of my dismounts was giving this dude the third degree and my commander was like no fuck that told him to get back in the truck. Once we got back to base he was called to the commanders office and given a art15. Who the fuck does that. POG’s fucking pogs. Worst most toxic leadership ever.
Was the 1SG surfing on government time on government computers? If so, she should be smacked down.
As for social media trolls, I have received “guidance” relating to a comment I made here because some individual read it and tattled to higher.
Actually, these days you can get to facebook and twitter from a government computer. That changed a couple years ago which is ridiculous.
And there are actual official military pages on all social media….
SMH….
I though the AAM was the throw away “great job” award?
+1000 on the, “Don’t senior NCOs have more important shit to do?” comment.
And Sergeant, if you’re THAT thin-skinned, might I suggest you turn off the computer and find another hobby. Even certain non-CPOs in the PNW think you get butthurt too easily.
And to think all I had to do to get an ARCOM was spend a year in Afghanistan.
Silly you. You could have done it sitting in the comfort of your own home…while wearing your skivvies.
ARCOM with Cheetos device.
Saw this award on the SMA’s FB page. I feel that an ARCOM is ridiculous.
I’ll reserve judgement on her actions since I didn’t see the post, but most often these get out of hand when someone gets offended and engages the author. Inappropriate? Report it and move on.
This 1SG likely saw it as an on the spot correction, but I’m betting many of the posters were out of the service. She was able to ensnare a few who are still in the Army. smh
So what you’re saying is that instead of just me painting over all the remarks in the bathroom, I should start keeping a keen eye on who goes in and if there is anything written immediately after and report it if it is deemed “offensive”. Knowing that even a sneeze could be offensive, it’ll be everything.
If you did that every CSMs “paint” budget would go to zero dude. Can’t do that.
In Afghanistan the BCT CSM was constantly pissed off at seeing stuff written on the stall of the shitter. So he sent out hate mail about it, put up signs, etc. Had it repainted multiple times. He then took the doors off the shitter (yes, really. In a BCT HQ building). That still didn’t work, so he ended up having them painted black.
Painting it black doesn’t do anything either. Somebody will always find a way. The individuals got reported on one forum. They’ll just go to another one. This didn’t solve the problem.
What-
No Purple Heart for a chapped ass?
YGBSM.
If she’d overheard comments like that in the office or the field and had made on-the-spot corrections, would she have gotten an ARCOM? Highly unlikely…she’d have been doing HER JOB. It wouldn’t have even merited a “well done” from her CO.
That’s what I was thinking. Due to the high rate of military sexual trauma today, I’m glad she’s doing her job and correcting soldiers. I don’t get how it merits an ARCOM though. However, even on deployments our senior enlisted got the bronze stars etc for doing things like, running a mail room. So, I’m not surprised she got the award.
Im not as surprised with her getting an award. You just got to be in the right place at the right time. I guess she gets her special pony award to make her feel all warm inside. It is her job to correct this stuff in person. Just reporting it and talking back to them is not enough for this award sitting on her butt. However apparently nowdays it is.
“even on deployments our senior enlisted got the bronze stars etc for doing things like, running a mail room.”
I saw a SNCO get a BSM in Iraq for not accomplishing his sole mission, to get a radar up and running. He spent a entire year on it and scrapped the thing in the last month of our deployment.
We had a 1SG in our battalion who got fired the first 30 days in theater because he was so horridly bad. They shoved him into an “Iraqi Army LNO NCO” position. Not sure what that meant, but he got a BSM for the tour. So, after getting relieved for cause, he still got a BSM. (Oh and after being relieved, they let him wear his diamond the entire rotation.)
You’ve never heard combat arms talking, have you? It gets pretty raunchy. Does that make every infantryman a rapist? No, it makes them males in a high stress job blowing off steam with inappropriate comments.
No matter what the media would have you believe, not every service member is a rapist. That is as stupid as saying every inner city black is a gangsta. It is nothing but stereotyping. However, that hasn’t stopped them from mandating regular “don’t rape anyone” training for everybody.
First, do you think those with the actual inclination to rape will pay attention to that training? Second, do you think that the military is so undisciplined that they would just go all Deliverance if it weren’t for that training?
Perhaps what she did was warranted, but her skipping how many levels of the chain of command should have gotten her female-parts slammed in a drawer as it would have if a male had done it.
If she had the names of those involved, it would have been a simple thing to search them out and inform their chain of command. That would have made more sense than running straight to the flag ranks to tattle like a schoolgirl.
I’m a civilian. I get here from Facebook because I once liked one of the Stolen Valor posts. I can understand the irritation at the awarding of the ARCOM. But it doesn’t say that the 1SG sent anything any higher up than to the officer who could make things better. As someone above in the comments said, just watch the way you write in a public forum. That IS the point of the story and someone like me who respects and admires ALL of you just might be reading.
Hi Mike- Thats because those that have served know that out of sight out of mind. But when people with rank get stupid- it becomes systemic and the “carp” rolls down hill.
She “personally sent messages” that means paper trails- and access to military white pages. people are gonna get stomped or made example for rank and file.
I agree with jonn- if i dont like a page, i click away. she was dumb enough to walk in a minefield- now she will never be trusted by lower enlisted.
Michael, the problem isn’t that she corrected, or attempted to, soldiers that she felt were inappropriate. The problem is that she was given an award for doing what she does daily, which is being a PRK 1SGT. The second problem is that she jumped the chain of command and completely undermined any authority the other 1SGTs had with their own soldiers. It doesn’t work that way, at least not when I was in. On the spot correction, Top to Top (1SGT is also called Top if they allow it) and at that point the situation is handled by the soldier’s chain of command. I have NEVER seen a 1SGT with direct access to a 3-star. There is ALWAYS at a minimum at least 1 person between them and typically 3-5 person buffer. The Army Commendation Medal is supposed to be a prestigious award for people that go well above and beyond the scope of their duties and responsibilities, like temporary assigned duties to unfuck unit readiness that was dumped into their lap by an outgoing soldier. It’s not intended to be award for someone keeping the Commander’s coffee pot filled with fresh brew. Just like Jonn said, you have the option on the internet to leave if you do not like something. If you choose to stay and continue to read then you are accepting the content, and therefore SHOULD lose your entitlement to be offended. I, as I’m sure many others do, thank you for appreciating our time in the service. But let me ask this of you so you gain a greater appreciation for why so many of us get pissed at situations like what this 1SGT did. Find the write ups for awards given for ARCOM, NCM, AFCM from 40 years ago and compare them to the write ups of some current awards. Read the write ups for BSM, SSM and CMoH from WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam and compare it to some that are written up from the past 10 years. Feel the rage when REMFs get shit they didn’t earn by their own blood, but… Read more »
Just one more bit of proof that the big Army is far more interested in SHARP training than combat training. Sure, I’m a Pentagon pogue now, but the last time I shot Army weapons qual was 2010, and no one seems to care, but, if I were to miss one of our quarterly SHARP sessions, our Chief of Staff would be up my O6’s ass, and it would all roll down hill from there.
Man, I am so thankful I am retired as of 1 May. This kinda bullshit just keeps increasing. For an organization that is supposed to be about killing people and breaking things, we have sure wandered down a funny road to crapville.
I did not know you could become a First Sargent at nineteen years of age. It must be one of those programs were you talk your friends into joining up to for the rank.
Or maybe another Teresa King.
Impossibru! Everyone knows that there are not quotas or set-asides in the military! No politically-based promotions or decisions!
Our Dear Reader has ensured we are in the most transparent military and administration EVAH!
So she gets an ARCOM for snitching on Soldiers social media posts, yet her unit page has this…scroll down a bit and you’ll see a pic of two guys wearing just chaps.https://www.facebook.com/groups/81429343890/
Thank the Lord I don’t have FB anymore!
That’s not her unit page. She is assigned to the 741st MI at Fort Meade,not the 110th MI at Fort Drum.
Yes, thanks for catching that. I wonder if she reported the 110th’s FB page?
Its another MI unit, so she probably won’t.
Disregard previous, her current unit is 741st MI BN.
Oh, shit. You guys aren’t even coming THISCLOSE to the crap I had to put up with from fleet sailors just off a ship after 90 days out.
Do I feel sorry for this hypersensitive little striper that she got hammered? No.
Do I think she should have reported it?
Hmmm…. if she was threatened with some kind of physical harm for telling these dickless wonders to behave themselves, then yes, because that is inexcusable.
HOWEVER (and I use that term advisedly), telling people they’re stupid when she meant obnoxious and sexist pigs is what made those blowhard asswipes hammer her, isn’t it? Isn’t a 1SGT an E-5?
This chick needs to develop a sense of humor and then let them have it in person and ask them how they’d like to be discussed as if they were nothing but meat on a platter. She sounds like a whiny little girl to me, and probably has a voice that reminds you of a 13-year-old who just found out the real differences between boys and girls.
If anyone can let me know what that chat room is, please do so. I couls have so much fun there.
Ex-,that’s the whole point of her award. She DID NOT confront them in person or do an on the spot correction. Here’s their unit’s official mission: “The 741st MI, a subordinate of the 704th MI Brigade, conducts signals intelligence and computer network operations to support Army decision makers and shape future intelligence capabilities.” In everyday layman’s terms: They are Troll Central. Face to face or personal??. Nope,will never happen.
Oh,Ex,I forgot to add this. In the Army a 1SG is an E-8, or at least an E-7(P).
She’s an E-7? She looks a little young for that, but maybe that’s just my perception. I never once saw an E7 (Chief Petty Officer) who looked less than 40, WAVEs included.
She’s an E-8.
In the Army, you “can” make E-8 by 12-14 years TIS. TIG is 3-4 years.
In some MOS’s, you can get loaded pretty darn quickly because there is less competition. In her case I’m going to guess she’s at about 15 years which would make her 33ish if she joined at 18.
I’m surprised she didn’t get a purple heart, you know for getting all butt hurt on the internet.
So, where’s my ARCOM?
Oh John-she can’t be a hypocrite, she’s a special little snowflake.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
I think you rate an MSM actually.
Jonn, another aggressive action like that and you’re on the way to a DSC.
Ah the old asshat comeback. I prefer the more refined Rectal Fedora myself but to each their own.
Oh and 1SG,
The Ribbons and metals you wear are your resume. When soldiers deploy to combat zones and come under fire they get an ARCOM. You got pissed off at a web site, maybe rightfully so maybe not, however it does not rate an award that devalues all those that served before you same award.
You are welcome to your opinion but you seem to have forgotten, most of us have served and served honorably. You Mam need to step the fuck back, or step the fuck up and be the soldier that you pretend to be.
“When soldiers deploy to combat zones and come under fire they get an ARCOM.”
Not if we have dick admin officers who openly discriminate against non-Infantry.
I was put in for several awards for my service, but I never received a single one of them. After nine years in, I had a total of seven ribbons on my rack.
I’m not mad, just saying that the Army is screwed up when it comes to awards. Hell, because there was technically no “enemy action” when I was blown the fuck up, I wasn’t even awarded a PH.
Well, that pretty much confirms my suspicion on how this went down: She saw something that offended her, jumped in the thread and started name calling. When the posters did not heed her, she found a few who were on AD and turned them in. The internet police thought it’d be a great example and awarded the ARCOM.
Yeah, I just had a little conversation with her and she tried to get me to call her lady-part names and I didn’t fall into her little trap. I’m sure my name will be on some general’s desk on Monday. By the way, she’s trolling this thread looking for trouble, so watch yourselves.
What trouble can I get into because of her trolling? Handle this new Army Jonn, I left it just before it got bad.
Seriously though, If she doesn’t understand what she did wrong, then she completely slept through all her leadership courses.
“I’m sure my name will be on some general’s desk on Monday.”
Yup. I can hear it now. “Not that god damn Lilyea again!”
So, would it be a bad thing if I call her a disgrace to the military for being a professional troll?
I’ve read historical documents from ancient times about military being raunchy. Heck, in the military quarter of Pompeii, there was graffiti on the wall that said things like:
“Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7th legion, was here. The women did not know of his presence. Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.”
“Gaius Valerius Venustus, soldier of the 1st praetorian cohort, in the century of Rufus, screwer of women”
I’ve read similar limericks from the Crusades, from the Revolution (both sides), the Civil War, and from the mouths of modern Infantry.
This doesn’t make them bad, it makes them human. To try and change that will take more than whining to a 3-Star General.
Fuck it, Jonn. In the words of General Shinseki, “Who knew an infantryman could write?”
Oh, and 1SG? Go ahead and contact my C-of-C. NRD Los Angeles was my last command.
In 1999.
I hope she is. I am so hard to find, I flush more leadership down the shitter first thing in the morning than she will ever possess. I am hardly done with this whole crowd. I want to know why she is excluded from following a chain of command. Why did they give a personal award to someone for what I believe was misconduct. I want to see if she or any member of her command can justify this award. I can only hope she displays her courage to ‘look me up’ and ‘call me out’ and ‘put her foot down’ with someone she doesnt outrank. I am waiting.
So where are you at 1StSgt? I am calling your conduct into question. I am calling your integrity into question. I am questing your fitness for duty, your questionable judgement, your ability to lead into question. You have my email, my phone, my facebook, I want to hear your justification for what I judge is misconduct by SNCO.
Asshat? Oh, I see how it is. She dishes it out, but can’t take it.
Besides, I thought we were dickweeds, not asshats.
…What NH Sparky said. If 1SGT Moerk’s conversation with Jonn is accurate(and sadly, I believe it is), something has gone very, very seriously wrong with the United States Army.
Mike
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if Top here belittles and verbally berates subordinates in an attempt to elicit a response, isn’t that considered an abandonment of rank for which she can be held accountable under the same rules she used to run some troops up the flag pole? Kind of hypocritical if you ask me. If I’m right that is.
I believe you are thinking of UCMJ Article 117, Provoking Speeches or Gestures:
“Any person subject to this chapter who uses provoking or reproachful words or gestures towards any other person subject to this chapter shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Aw crap! Suppose I better go inspect my FB now. Prolly got a nassy from her as well.
[…] wow. 1SG Katrina Moerk gets ARCOM for trolling : This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here __________________ For some, war is hell. For us, it's […]
Sorry I got to go their.
Three cups of cups of coffee and some fudge that would kill a platoon of diabetics.
Did the First Sargent find a picture of herself as a drunken PV1 in the barrack’s?
Once those things get on the Interweb that’s it.
Not sure if you’re doing it because its her, but dude its killing my OCD:
Sergeant….not Sargent.
Tank you.:)
Eric, I would never want to mess with your OCD, but it’s, “but dude it’s killing my OCD” not “but dude its killing my OCD.”
You’re welcome. 😉
So I was involved in the 15-6 that started because of her and I was found not guilty so here is a part of her Email that she sent to all of the soldiers who were involved in it
“You are male Soldiers, who I am sure have never been stalked, isolated, held down, or sexually assaulted. You have never arrived to a new unit and been referred to as the “new meat.” Nor will you ever.”
As you can see it violate Army EO program but in the new Army if you are a white male you lose every time.
Male privilege!
Sounds like if you’d been doing any “manspreading” you’d be on your way to Leavenworth right about now.
Count your blessings.
And the plague of “professional professionalism” continues to spread throughout the DoD. Even more disgusting now since it’s being both encouraged and rewarded.
Yup, 10 years ago it was all ” Warrior this, and Warrior that,” Now, it’s the Excellent Army of Excellent Excellence.
( Apologies to the DB. 😀 )
Okay, I’ll play, since nobody has yet.
I know I’m just a squid, but unless I miss my guess, isn’t the combat patch on the right shoulder? And I can’t see her shoulder, but were I a betting man, I’d venture to guess that shoulder is bare.
YMMV.
There is a different picture of her online (do a google image search for her name). She isn’t a slick-sleeve, but a higher definition version of the image John posted here reveals a pretty high quotient of smug on her mug.
She has a couple of deployments according to someone who knows her.
Wow – this isn’t your typical ARCOM presentation: “Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and senior Army officials met with a senior non-commissioned officer Dec 15 to thank her for leading by example and defending Army values, despite facing harassment…” (From the linked article.) That’s like a super triple ARCOM with extra awesome sauce on top!
I only have one thing to add:
CA-CAW!
CA-CAW!
OVER!
As a former “consigliere” of the E-4 mafia, I hope the entire internet keeps digging until they find shit on this bitch.
This may require a joint service initiative. You may want to reach out to your Marine Corps counterparts, the Lance Criminals.
CA-CAW!
Hey, I got a Bronze Star and a ARCOM/with “V”
Of course I got it on the battlefield getting shot at. Never knew I could get one for bitching about my fellow soldiers. I think my way was better.
She did the right thing, not her fault someone gave her an ARCOM. we are soldiers 24/7, and are expected to be soldiers 24/7 when in public. all you dinars ours that can’t understand that public forums are different from private rooms need to pack it up. New Army, new troops, new day. change or die, dinarsours, change or die.
Yep, until the next war that kicks off and they have to rebuild manpower in a rush and they take back all the Un-PC re treads to actually go overseas and do the job.
THen it doesn’t matter, oh, until the drawdown that follows the end ( socalled) of that war.
19K 1985 -1989
88M 2005-2010
and nope, never made e-5 couldn’t pass that ALL IMPORTANT PT run,but I was good enough to haul my ass up and down those MSRs doing convoy escort.
Again, its not that she didn’t do something “wrong” per say.
Its the fact that step 1 was: address directly, step 2: Call the Pentagon!
In Basic Training I got yelled at once because I asked the 1SG if I could do something and a Drill said, “why the fuck didn’t you ask me?”
Her second step, if she was able to find out who the Soldiers were, was to address it with their 1SGs.
In this case, she didn’t give ANYONE in that chain (From the Soldier’s FLL all the way up to the Freakin’ Pentagon) the chance to address it and fix it themselves.
If the chain told her to sod off, then okay fine. But she didn’t give them the opportunity to deal with it. (So a 3-star has to correct Soldiers these days?)
Excellent and very important point. If I were her CO, I would have been pretty pissed.
If I may…
Is it the right thing to go straight to a Lieutenant General with a complaint for a soldier’s conduct or to go to their chain of command?
Last time I checked, unless your direct supervisor was a 3-Star, you didn’t skip that many ranks because you were butt-hurt because Joe said something disrespectful.
I may only have been an E-5, but I still knew better than going to my Battalion Commander if a PFC in another company said something bad. No, I informed their first-line leader to correct the problem. I didn’t turn it into another Army-wide briefing because I couldn’t be troubled with wearing my big-boy pants that morning.
So I don’t get a medal for deploying to Afghanistan……but she gets this for….okay.
This is also not about being “politically correct.” this issue is about public behavior. cudos to a good NCO who gets it.
Doesn’t matter, she will still get the same promotion points as one earned in combat and it will earn her an Excellence in one of her NCOER blocks !!! The more time goes by, the more the shit stays the same !!! U.S Army 1966-2008
Well that’s definitely something she can brag about. She gets a SILLY AWARD for trolling, while REAL soldiers get that medal, for doing something meaningful. I wonder what her next award will be for. Keep the photographers standing by. She has that self satisfied gleam in her eyes
If the soldiers were dumb enough to use their real identity to say inappropriate things about the Army, then they needed the ass chewing. Did she deserve an ARCOM, hell no but being a female they probably needed to get a box checked. She is not the only one who trolls the internet and if this gets enough publicity – not for the old fart readers of this blog, but to the kids who do all the social media, maybe they will be smart enough to cover their butts.
I don’t mind an NCO doing their job on duty or off. Many NCOs would jump at a soldier misbehaving.
The Internet makes it a bit tougher to police. Do you say something? I’d imagine so especially if the troop was broadcasting his/her service. I mean young troops always liked to believe when off duty regs and orders didn’t matter. They do no matter what. But the internet complicates this. Both in how to police and how far to go.
I do think the award is bullshit. Does this command give awards on finding drugs or other things during health and welfare? Does it give AAMs for spot uniform corrections?
I once caught an active duty soldier pretending to be a war hero on Facebook. I sent my research to his squad leader, who thanked me and dealt with the problem.
Recently, someone sent me some stuff about a young buck sergeant who was acting up on social media – I sent my research to him and told him the he’d come to my attention. That seemed to put an end to it.
I didn’t send all of this stuff to Chuck Hagel or put it on the blog, I dealt with it like an NCO should.
Bingo! Give that man a kewpie doll!
A huge reason why I hang out here, is this man. However, my brother and sister veteran commenter’s (some whom I have met, including Jonn) are the rest of the reason I am here.
WOW army tax dollars at work. Almost as good as our two air force finance females getting bronze stars for being able to count
Kind of like these two beloved characters?
http://youtu.be/u7hTkzEwFZ0
This is where our forces are heading. Handing out Awards like candy, making the soldiers of today act like they deserve something all the time just for being around. Sad!!!#
Everyone gets a trophy.
We already get a Participation Trophy… it’s the Army Service Ribbon. Beyond that, I thought you had to actually earn what you wore.
Ohh god, I was Active Duty in the early 90’s and an AAM was a big deal never mind an ARCOM.
When I went Active again in Iraq, I was stunned by the Award system. Bronze Star for E-6 and above, regardless of position. ARCOMs for everyone else.
So I would like to Thank the 1st Sgt. for getting an award I had to endure actual combat to receive while you did literally nothing except for being butt hurt.
As far as I am concerned, you are a disgrace to NCO Corp. but what would I know.
Ok just one word for everyone here she was doing her Job…… and the word is OPSEC
I hope that comment was some kind of joke I am missing out on. She stalked members of a group on the internet. She contacted them personally and harassed them with her opinions. If I had done exactly the same thing the award I would be getting is called NJP. She should be charged with conduct unbecoming.
I don’t agree with the 1SG getting an ARCOM for trolling, however she shouldn’t be the focus on that point of contention…. the chain of command should bear the brunt of that negativity for publicizing the presentation of the award.
Good for her doing the right thing given the exposure of senior leader misconduct nowadays.
Soldiers should grow up and realize that they don’t have certain freedoms. Freedom of speech while serving does not allow you to violate regulations. If you don’t agree with the regs….. Get out. Read the various ARs that apply and you will see EO and SHARP apply on and off duty.
So, what are we going to do? Pick and choose what regs we will choose to follow?
This is where the erosion of discipline occurs. Again, if you’re in the military and spewing this crap, you deserve to suffer the consequences, especially for being such brazen idiots associating your social media accounts with your military affiliation. If you were a violator in my ranks, I’d oust you in a heartbeat. If you can’t adhere to simple rules, you sure as hell won’t stand in combat. how can you lead, yet harbor such hate or think that these behaviors are okay.
Steve, the overarching issue here is that this SHOULDN’T have been elevated to a 3-star level.
Her chain of command doesn’t seem to have had anything to do with this award. She got an ARCOM from a 3-star and met with the SECDEF.
As far as Discipline goes, her response to this (in my point of view) was a lack of discipline. Instead of going to her PEER (fellow 1SGs) she went to the Pentagon about it. (Per her own side of the story above) So, how is that professional or disciplined?
If a Soldier in my company does something jacked up, do I want Secretary Hagel to tell me about it? Hell No. She told those Soldiers’ NCO Chains and Chains of Command “Hey, all you go fuck yourselves, I’m tellin’ my 3-star that this MUST be all your fault!” (Which she, again, addresses in her own side of the story.)
If she was so capable of finding these Soldiers to contact them directly, then she should’ve been able to find their 1SGs contact info as well.
As I mentioned above, she should be counseled on how the NCO Support Channel and Chain of Command work. You try to handle issues at the lowest level. I’ve had other 1SGs or Platoon SGTs tell me one of my troops was doing something wrong. I was appreciative of that fact and them, so I could handle the issue. I’ve done the same thing myself because that’s what NCOs are supposed to do. Not taddle to a 3-star. WTF is that? Seriously?
First Sgt. Katrina Moerk, it is people like you that have made our military weak. Drink water suck it up, move on to the kitchen and make us all some sammiches
I’ll have a Rueben, use lean corned beef. 😀
Make your own damn sammich, Frank!
So when I get called a ‘knuckle dragging neanderthal’ by any female member I should ‘look up’ who they are and contact them with my personal opinions of what I think about them. Report it to their superiors and claim I was sexually harassed.
Are you kidding me. If the roles were reversed I would be charged with ‘Stalking’. She exemplifies the very stereotypes about women in military being in leadership roles. She is offensive to the countless women who are busting their ass to overcome this kind of nonsense.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, Sgt. Maj Leslie Hudson, and any other ‘senior military official’ that participated, should be ashamed of themselves.