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
Reality check on a coupla points:
Any AD type bringing discredit upon their branch of service deserves to be hammered for it. The media used is irrelevant.
Hey, Ms 1Sgt!! You seem to be adding insult to injury here, and taking undeserved accolades. New unit members have been called “fresh meat,” and other variations of same, for many decades. Your genitalia has nothing whatever to do with our history or traditions.
For the rest of ya: You just now figuring out that the majority of awards, at least the subjective kind, are awarded in ways which make little to no sense? It’s been that way for, like, ever. If it bothers you, perhaps you should consider a civilian career more suited to your feelings about bling.
In conclusion, life ain’t fair. Never has been, never will be. Best any of us can hope for is to be able to do our jobs in spite of that reality.
i will admit I only read a few of these comments and I was ashamed of them especially from military members or past service. “I am an expert, I am a professional” we are all professional soldiers 24/7, 365 days a year, even when we are home, what you post is just like saying the same comment at the work place. You may think just because it is Facebook doesn’t mean it can’t be used against you, you are majorly wrong, you need to read up on the laws of the country, ucmj, and the terms and agreements of social media sites before you start to “call” people out, and don’t even try to be little me, if your against what I said your arguments are invalid
What? There may be a point in there somewhere, perhaps even one with which we might agree. But how could anyone figure that out?
Translation needed on aisle 2!
Don’t think the issue is the fact that she reported questionable behavior from someone in uniform on a social media website. I think the issue is that she received an accommodation that many soldiers had to actually deploy in theater to receive, just by scrolling around on the Internet. Do you not see how that can piss people off, if not then your argument is invalid!
This comment was not about the award just so you know.
She doesn’t deserve shit. All she is, is a basic over ranked snitch. The Army has changed to much in over two decades that I was in. We are still in some sense a tough fighting machine. At the same time they are breeding new generations of candy asses! All coddled and babied. Cell phones, pizza parties, and Facebook streaming cams so parents can see their little babies play soldier. Twenty years ago we were soldiers who worked hard for our money, had pride in our uniforms, and most of all had honor! She has no honor! If anything no matter what was said it was outside of duty leave it where it is. If you have a thin skin join the boys or girls scouts club not the damn military….
“She doesn’t deserve shit. All she is, is a basic over ranked snitch.”
*PING!* BULLSEYE! Here’s your cigar, Sir!
She’s also another fine example of tht ass-kissing, sellout political correctness gestapo that continues to infect the US military. I saw EO Gender quotas like her that never left the wire in A-stan get BSM’s for good coffee and blowjobs in the rear while us Grunts got the standard cookie-cutter ACM’s I HOP she sees this and gets oooofended, others have tried to find me and have failed, this little part of the PC Gestapo can have a non-politically correct day AND WHOA, don’t strain yourself lifting the coffee pot, 1SG!!!
“and don’t even try to be little me, if your against what I said your arguments are invalid” SPC Jonathon Gay
Looks like you might have aced the SHARP training modules but you really need some remedial work on communication skills. No one is going to try to belittle you. Just kidding. Did you actually think that a preemptive call on potential argument was going to work? How old are you, 12? Let me ‘splain somethin’ to you, Lucy. If you are indeed in service, that ass kissing will not take you very far. You’ve got to have some semblance of communications skills in order to advance, and repeating PP presentations isn’t sufficient.
What did the English language ever do to you to deserve such abuse?
Damn it, troop. You beat me to it…Suppose I could cite him for “mangled” linguistic skills, I guess.
Reminds me of when I was an AIT instructor and trainees would talk about being “professional” because of their extensive 3 months of military experience…
SPC, you should re-read the larger issues people see here.
I remember when I was a trainee! We kept our moughts shut unless spoken to, otherwise a very grizzled SDI proudly displaying an 82nd ABN patch would park his big butt on your shoulders.
oops…moughts = mouths
Did the English language commit some heinous offense against you that you have to torture it in this way?
You sound like the nerd that was picked on in school. As a specialist at skill level 2 what are you a expert at? I am ashamed that you represent the new generation of the military. For the love of god and country grow a pair!
@Spc day, jonathan:
Ain’t you just the perfect snively little shit.
Fuck you and all your plaster saint bullshit.
Semper Fi, weak suck.
And this is why I miss my beloved Corps. This is a snap shot into the world the Army has become.
Shut up, boot.
I have thought about this a lot today.
We have a Military for a reason. At the end of the day their job is to go out and kill the enemy.
Every other thing that the Army or any other branch of the Military does is in support of that mission.
We train young men and women to set aside the basic belief that killing is wrong, that what they are doing is for the greater good. There is nothing politically correct about the mission of the military.
The First Sargent said herself ” Troops who are amazing while on deployment or mentoring troops in garrison are not good Soldiers if their private lives demonstrate a lack of character or integrity”
The problem is she measures Character and integrity by a civilian standard, not that of a warrior.
Now if the offending soldiers did do something that was not PC they should be correct, but not by a chair warmer, they should be counseled by one has has been there and done that.
My Questions are these, was she at the time of the offence on Duty? This matters because of her job. DId she use her rank to try and influence any Civilian? If so she was grossly out of line.
Did she jump the chain of Command? By her own admission she did.
Seeing what she wrote to Jonn calls into question her own Character, what I see is a temper tantrum in the making. She at this point is looking for a reason to be offended and get further recognition. After all it worked once, why not again?
She needs to remember that she is playing Soldier, Not being one.
She doesn’t understand how offensive her being awarded an ARCOM is to those that went to war. I can promise that that action is exponentially more offensive to the true warrior than any not PC video on the internet ever was to her
Oh my. Someone who understands the dichotomy between what is expected of members of the military, and the ridiculous, counterproductive requirements put into place by people with no understand or experience.
People need to realize that we don’t want civilians in uniform, and that the mentality required to do this service is not conducive to your feel good office environment. Bluntly put, if you’re that easily offended, then you’re not suited for the reality of military service.
*understanding
Thumbs up to you sir!
OCD is going OT today: Sergeant, Sergeant, Sergeant….
Sorry, I had to do it, thank you for your understanding and support.
If you want non-PC, look at Infantrymen in a bar after field training. The language was so bad that a manager came to ask us to clean it up because we were offending his waitress.
When he heard that we were all soldiers, he just smiled and said he’d get another waitress for us. We got a free round on him served by a former Marine.
She overheard one comment a guy made, turned to him, and told him some stuff my mama would have washed my mouth out with soap for. Then told him that he’d be cute if he didn’t open his mouth. He calmed down after that point.
The point is, a professional service member knows how to properly difuse a situation when they are not comfortable with it. A civilian only knows how to go running to the boss.
i hate when people get words wrong and spread incorrect information.
She did not get a medal for trolling. Trolling is saying things just to get a response from other people. She was responding to a troll. The people joking and then the people saying “hurtful” things to her were trolls.
1sgs can’t be proper trolls because people aren’t allowed to react to what they say.
And the “issue” of the award of the 1SG Moerk. I do not see an issue, -Arcoms- are handed out to top tank crews and top Bradley “top gun” crews. She was doing her job, even though she stumbled into soldiers going against the -SHARP- program. Since she is a 1SG there are -SOP-s a 1SG has to follow, if they see -SHARP- they are obligated to report it to the proper channels. The military has a no tolerance in relations to -SHARP- and she was awarded because a small comment or video turned into a major situation.
Yes, top performing Bradley and Abrams crews get ARCOMs, because they excelled at doing their job. Reporting a possible SHARP policy violation is not excelling at your job or MOS. She did nothing worthy of a commendation.
She didn’t report a SHARP policy violation. That involves contacting your unit’s SHARP policy NCO/Officer. No, she contacted the commander of the SHARP program. She jumped her entire chain of command and was given a Scooby Snack for doing so.
Last time I checked, the Army didn’t give commendations of any kind for blatantly breaking regulations.
AAwwwww, SPC Gay, I mean day, jonnnyfin,THE US ARMY IS NOT THE PLACE to go bawling about how your oooofended because of this candyassed snot-headed PC policy letter or another. If you’re still oooofended my little Sparkle Pony of a tinsel-farting glitter mouse, GO find yourself a stuffed care bear from your local Goodwill reject bin and share your feewings with it as you fill out an ID10T Hurt Feelings report!
I find that my medals make great Christmas tree decorations. Especially the bronze star at the top of the tree. There is no longer merit to awards because of undeserving people receiving them. Such as this situation. Yah can’t have my CIB or blue cord though. Specialist POG Day, you wouldn’t know about that kind of value would yah!
Spec, you’re mistaken.
She did not stumble across bad behavior.
She went looking for it. In reading her own description of what she did when she found those soldiers and their video, everything she did was calculated and intentional, specifically aimed at inflating her resume at a cost to someone else.
She could have merely reported them to their commands, which is proper but she did not. She sent them an e-mail and cc’d the head of the SHARP program. That is NOT proper in anyone.
I submit that she went looking for trouble and found it and took advantage of it, without thinking that it might backfire like this.
MI has a tradition of climbing your way up the ranks by using knives in the backs of your peers as hand holds. She’s demonstrated an ability to excel at that skill in the new cyber battlefield.
I earned 3 arcoms… One for my deployment, one for being honorably discharged, and one for getting top gun at Bradley gunnery out of about 100 Bradley crews… So I feel I earned mine. This dumb ass gets one for creating trouble and getting soldiers in trouble…
Who the fuck gets an award for being a rat. She did the right thing, but isn’t deserving of an arcom… Maybe a letter of commendation. But not a medal that cAn be awarded for Valor.
This is one courageous woman. She should not be rewarded with the Commendation Medal. She should be rewarded for showing such bravery with an assignment on the combat front lines (read: not a safe office location) against the terrorists.
Even better, a PCS to Ft Polk, LA!!!
Don’t do that to them, Polk is miserable enough already.
A question for the 1SG if she trolls here also: Were you physically harmed by the comments, prevented from performing your duties or were you only ‘offended’? And as a follow up, if being ‘offended’ impacts your performance as a soldier (especially a senior NCO) I suggested you either toughen the f*ck up or find a different career field.
And if this offends 1SG Moerk or anyone else, I hereby give the admin permission to share my email with them and we can discuss their incipient “nancyism”.
6 AAMs, 2 ARCOMs, and all the freebies to boot. I just want to note that she deserves this award just as much as, if not more than most awards that are ever given out. She is being publicly COMMENDED for her service in a situation that comes up all to often. Would I have handled it the same way? No, but this type of thing doesn’t mess with me as much as it may her.
What I’m getting at is that while people are so quick to post something sexist, selfish, or just plain ignorant here, fewer think about the impact it can have on the morale of Troops. As an XO and former NCO, I ensure my 1SG and I are always on the same page on all important matters, every day. Sometimes his safety briefings include social media and SHARP awareness in an effort to prevent this type of thing before it’s an article on a site like this (or US ARMY WTF).
Be a supporter of Leadership, not a clown, not a troll.
And when said “leadership” fucks up or violates core NCO principles?
A real leader will acknowledge when they were wrong and take steps to self-correct, not double down on the stupid.
You are definitely a non-Infantry fuck.
Ah, GT. Your subtlety, as always, serves you well.
Forget infantry, that right there is a gen-y-wine FOBBIT!
Can I have an AAM for perfect attendance?
Speaking as a non-infantry fuck MP, I hereby award you the 24 oz, ice cold Budweiser in lieu of the AAM for your honorable service and duty, going below and beyond . Drank up, troop. lol. 😎
Make it a Colt 45 and we may have a deal.
Done! One Colt 45 malt liquor, it might be sorta warm, though…and no, Psul didn’t handle any portion of it.
A hard dirty donkey punch is exactly what she deserves not a ARCOM. If you believe this is leadership I pity the “troops” that followed / follow your example. Troll public forums and pull rank to things you ELECT to read and disagree with. Then instead of handling it at the lowest level possible, you take the spot light and run to the highest level possible. Your comment is invalid. Don’t you have a inventory someplace to do lieutenant?
I didn’t realize the SHARP SOP was “step 1: direct contact with Soldier.” “Step 2: CC a General Officer in follow-up contact.”
This should’ve been her talking to other 1SGs saying, “Peer, here’s what he said…”
At this point, there are LITERALLY thousands of lost LTs and PVTs going to her office looking for the PRC-E8.
😀
Gee whiz, EllTee, are you accusing ME of being sexist?
‘Cause if you are, I don’t think that word means what you think it does.
The award is definitely overkill for what is, at most, a 1SG doing her job. What should have been one line on her NCOER turns into an ARCOM with Secretary-level involvement. Why the oversized response? In my opinion, it’s for PR purposes, to draw attention to the SHARP program.
I’m waiting to see if there will also be an oversized response on the other end of this. If there were current Soldiers who made inappropriate comments online, if they were handled through normal channels they would moist likely receive some good strong counseling. Will they experience more severe consequences because of the publicity afforded to their cases?
They will probably beaded a example of because this 1SG trolling. I like how she called them stupid they respond and she gets ARCOM what a joke
For a year or more now, a comment about SHARP is Mandatory on all NCOERs, so there is one on her eval already.
Like you said, she’s doing her job, but her execution is crap. I still say she should be counseled on the proper use of the Chain of Command and NCO Support Channels.
If you have to lecture her about proper use of the Chain of Command, she’s been promoted above where she should be by at least 5-6 paygrades.
Come on Sparky, stop confusing the issue with facts…
You would think that a 1SG would have more important things to do than troll the Internet and provoke Soldiers to make stupid comments, let alone call them stupid. Then said 1SG gets a ARCOM for it. So glad I retired cause this is a perfect example of how it is going reward a 1SG for trolling the Internet instead of taking care of troupe whet a waste
Wait a minute, did this trolling 1SG do all this on duty time or in her off time? Either way, she should not have been awarded this. Since when are soldiers allowed abuse & use a military computer to troll soldiers on duty time? And if she did after duty hours, since when are you award an atta-boy Army medal for doing something (like trolling) after duty hours? WTF?She said/quoted in that link above that it’s HER job to make HER soldiers better. Ok, so why didn’t you just troll the soldiers under YOUR command and leadership and NOT under SOMEONE ELSES command and leadership? Let’s face it 1SG Katrina Moerk, you are now a marked person in the US Army and will be forever known as the “trolling suck up – move up sergeant.” Now that’s a title I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck with nor known for while in the Army. So good luck to you with that
“Let’s face it 1SG Katrina Moerk, you are now a marked person in the US Army and will be forever known as the “trolling suck up – move up sergeant.” Now that’s a title I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck with…”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I ETS’ed from AD Army in the early 90’s because I saw too many politically correct Gestapo types like her getting places for knowing and blowing the right people over everything else as well as a few other things. I came back in to get deployed, and even in the ME, lollipop-up-the-ass politicians like her made life a pain in the ass for us grunts!!
What she did is right because it’s her job but the medal she got is bullshit. Some people actually have to go to combat or get there boots dirty to get those kind of medals and all she had to do was get on a computer on the internet. The army today pisses me off. And understand I just did 10 years and got out in October and have both an Arco and an aam, actually more than one but I actually had to see combat and actually get my boots dirty. Not her…
Here’s another thing, How big is a MI company? 80? 90? troops.
1SG your troops must be OUT FUCKING STANDING if you have time to go screw with troops from other commands.
I wonder what dirty laundry is floating around in her company?
Does anyone else notice the irony of her being in an intelligence operation ???
Army Intelligence ???
Or is it just me…
Watch the SHARP video, number 3 of 4. If it’s not the first video to play, just use the arrow to get to number 3. It shows someone walking down a hall. Wait until you see her mug. Is this the same chick as the one who received an award for whining? Looks like her to me.
http://www.sexualassault.army.mil/index.cfm
Well the ears look right, hard to be 100% sure though.
Finally, 1SG–“fresh meat”? Fuck, I wish I had been treated with such kid gloves.
Ask anyone who was on USS BUFFALO on the 1988-89 Westpac the morning I was introduced to the crew at morning quarters on the pier in Yokosuka how that went.
Oh yeah. When I showed up to my first rifle platoon, made basic training seem like a reasonable and pleasant place. “Fresh meat.” Please, that’s nothing. She’d make a great IRS employee.
Imagine the cow she’d of had being referred to as the “FNG” in my unit. Heh. Oh wait…she’d given the entire company an ART15. I’d still be mowing and trimming the lawn, painting yellow parking stripes, marking her’s so she’d know where to park her POV and then, go play MP for 8-12 hrs…
Not ‘fresh meat’ but ‘the new Chief’, Sparky.
Fortunately, no one threw that at me because I kept my nose to the grindstone.
http://terminallance.com/2012/08/03/terminal-lance-internet-authority-marine-corps-times/
It is just my opinion but while I don’t see anything wrong with her “counseling” the soldiers or even going to their chain of command for their behavior. I think that is perfectly fine and the right thing to do. Soldiers are supposed to be held up to a higher standard and each one of them knows this. Does it always happen? No, of course not. I think what seriously angers everyone here is the award that she was given. She should never have been given an AARCOM as her actions did not warrant that award. There are many soldiers who have been to combat and are not given that award. To many that is a huge slap in the face. Esp to leaders who do have soldiers that deserved them and no matter how hard their NCOs in their chain of command fight for it, the politics of the officer arm of the army wont give in, so when the chain of command on any base or unit does something like this it infuriates those who have really done the job, walked the walk and ultimately put their life on the line and had their award turned down or downgraded and someone sitting at a desk, trolling then turning people in (while I DO think it was the right thing to do) gets that award. The acts are not comparable and there were other awards or recognition that her command could have taken to reward her rather than slap every soldier that has ever served and earned theirs the hard way. Does that make sense? It really isn’t about HER, it is about her chain of command. They were wrong, they screwed up and other soldiers have the right to be upset about that.
I think the thing that burns my ass the most, even more than the ARCOM, was her complete and utter disregard of, and disrespect towards, every chain of command involved in this whole fiasco.
As a young boot, and throughout my career, I was led to believe, and taught those beneath me, that you do NOT jump that chain. She basically slapped in the face every officer and NCO who could (and should) have corrected the issue. Seriously, she might have time enough on her hands to deal with this, but does a 3-star? If so, we really have WAY too many flag billets out there.
As my first Leading Chief would say to me when I came to him with a (any) question, “Have you asked your LPO first?” This served to mentor/teach both me and my LPO about how to prioritize, learn to look up the answer BEFORE bugging someone else about it, and develop our own leadership abilities rather than just use the Chief as a crutch.
I hear you. That bothered me too. She gets butthurt on the internet and decides to kick that shit all the way to the fucking Pentagon. She could have easily contacted the “offending” soldiers’ chain of command and they could have dealt with it. This story has “hey look at me” written all over it. She’s a precious little snowflake isn’t she.
I got certcom in the marines for a training mission we were in the field for two months when we got back to the rear they gave all the cooks in the rear a navy achivemeny medal for cooking good for for the general. Glad i got out but civilian life is no different.
I just found a video of 1SG Moerk in action:
A quote:
Criteria
“The Army Commendation Medal is awarded to American and foreign military personnel in the grade of O-6 and below who have performed noteworthy service in any capacity with the United States Army. Qualifying service for the award of the medal can be for distinctive meritorious achievement and service, acts of courage involving no voluntary risk of life, or sustained meritorious performance of duty. Approval of the award must be made by an officer in the grade of Colonel (O-6) or higher.”
NFW that her actions rise to anywhere close to the level of performance or achievement that warrant an ARCOM. Maybe an email saying “Good, thanks,” but a MEDAL?
She’s showing her ass. She has her own blog and she accuses us (here at TAH) of calling her that “wh…” name, even though no one here has used that word in this discussion. I’m beginning to believe that the Army SHARP people have hung their hat on the wrong person.
Yeah, when you gotta run and make shit up, you know 1–you’re wrong, 2–you’re weak.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near this woman’s influence.
As I said earlier, she’s closer to the type who gets offended by all but the most innocuous commentary, and I’m not even sure about that.
You mean echelons above reality made an error in choosing their poster child Jonn? Oh come on!
That’s just crazy talk right there, Eric.
You make it sound like the Army has a sexual abuse educator who was, I dunno, running a prostitution ring or something:
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=35648
Nah, never happen.
I just realized, you said she’s showing her ass on her blog? What’s the link, I’d be curious to see…
got dark sunglasses? Er….eye pro?
Really?
I left her a meesage below.
If she’s that butthurt about being taken to task over her missteps in what she did, that’s tough bananas.
She hasn’t earned any respect from me. All I see is a spoiled brat who doesn’t like criticism.
Tough, shitbird. Left you a message below. Deal with it, bitch.
It is my opinion that she got where she is by “playing the game” of EO and PC gender quotas, thus she has to throw what mud she can find on others to make herself look good!
Hmm there flag display is not in regs….. American flag is supposed to hang naturally not spreaders in which means the rest won’t look like the others…. do I get a arcom for squaring her command away?
When’s the President gonna call and console her. Wonder if she’ll be the First Lady’s guest at the next State of the Union Address.
Gee whiz, I go away to do important things and return hours later to find that someone set the world on fire because she doesn’t know how to handle a discipline problem properly? Well, 1SGT Moerk (is that short for merkyn?), the first thing you need to learn about sexism is that what you run into now is NOTHING compared to what women ran into in the 1960s and 1970s. And I mean NOTHING. You have NO IDEA and all those asinine SHARP lectures will do nothing to stop it. Got that part? You have NEVER been subjected to the obnoxious behavior of a gasbag Boatswain’s Mate just off 6 months of sea duty who thinks all women are either lesbians or whores and treats them accordingly. You, little girl, have NEVER EVER gone to YOUR division officer to report said bad behavior and asked him ‘are you going to make him stop, or do I do it myself’ and gotten the response ‘You’re a 2nd Class, so let us know when you start selling tickets’. Moerk, you went after those guys because they were rude, crude and lewd. I get that. What YOU don’t get is that they’re soldiers, sailors, Marines and they are male animals, not prissy little twits, and this is what they do and how they act when your back is turned. And now? Oh, they really hate you because you’re a prig. Worse yet, YOU went to the trouble of finding out who they were with the intent of doing nothing other than getting them into trouble. That isn’t discipline, you silly bitch. It is what backstabbing, self-serving scumbags do and whether you’re male or female, it’s the same thing. In the Navy, it’s called riding your crow. NOBODY likes a sea lawyer. You didn’t do anything to deserve an ARCOM. Where’s the blood? Where’s the sweat? Where’s the shrapnel scars? All I see is a snippy little snitching twatwaffle who has no sense of humor and can’t handle men with bad manners. You could have handled it properly, but you didn’t, because you think… Read more »
I think I love you Ex-PH2. Where have you been all my life?
Thank you, Animal. I have always been around.
I have no use for spoiled little ballerina snowflake princesses and this one has all the maturity of a brand new set of Underoos.
She is truly a product of the social conditioning program that began circa 1992…
Hmmm,sounds like I took retirement at just the right time. 31 Dec 91 at Fort Carson.
Anyone else get a chubby from this?
You guys…!
You may be a bunch of dickweeds but I’d go anywhere with you.
May be? I’ll have you know I’m a certified dick weed.
🙂 <3 <3 <3
aww, I do what I can. And so does my Chubby. 😀
Yeah, but you guys are the heart and soul of this spot.
You all inspire me, you know.
*PING!*, BULLSEYE!!!
Uhmm, I’d say “Here’s your Cigar”, but you’re a Girl, How about a Kewpie doll instead?
Proud, considering that cigars smell good but taste like horsemanure smells, I’d rather have a shot of Jamaican 100proof rum.
Keep the kewpie doll. Might need it for target practice.
You have called me on some of my comments, you were forceful held your ground and were open to dialog.
If this woman had half the integrity, intestinal fortitude, and esprit de corps that you flush down the shitter every morning….none of this would happen.
I would drag my knuckles anywhere you needed them. Semper Fi.
You really ARE a damn fine writer, Ex-PH2!
I have to blame that on Jonn Lilyea. It’s all his fault for making this blog available.
Congrats, Ex-PH2. Yours is comment 400 in this thread. You win a TAH Commendation Medal.
The award system is crap. The day I retired at 22 years my award hade been lost/thrown out or never done. But I did watch over a dozen bronze stares get awarded. Every one was filled out same right down to the supporting comets. None of them left the wire/FOB or even on a FOB. I congratulated them with a chuckle. And said my retired I.D card was all I needed from the current Army.
I had to think about this for a bit. I see no problem with what she did initially. She basically did an on the spot correction of some Soldiers. If was at a mall and saw a troop looking like a shitbag, I would absolutely, as an NCO, correct him or her. No taking it up the chain of command needed.
That said, she was doing her job. Nothing more nothing less. And for that she got an ARCOM? Seriously? What’s next – awarding a Bronze Star for having a squared away uniform? Let’s get real here!
No, Nicki–if she had left it with her fellow 1SG/SGM’s at the offender’s commands, then I would have an infinite amount greater respect.
But no, she was all butthurt. She made it personal. She went WAY over the line, and WAY over the heads of the people she should have been talking to instead.
And then, when criticized about it, she not only gets personal AGAIN, she is making shit up out of whole cloth.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is NOT the hallmark of an NCO. When I was in, this is what we referred to as an E-7, instead of a CPO.
And yes, there IS a difference.
I think you’re misreading what I meant. If she had just issued an on the spot correction, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it. If the correction did nothing, she should have taken it up with the Soldier’s chain. I wouldn’t have had a problem with that either. But she took silly misbehavior to the national level AND she got an ARCOM for it. I do have a problem with that.
IOW – she was doing her job initially. I had no issue with that.
WTH – if this is her blog, then she is claiming to be assigned, now, to HHC, 506th INF, 101st ABN: https://soldierbettyblogs.wordpress.com/tag/lead-by-example/
WTF is a female doing in a line infantry unit, much less some highly unqualified staff weenie like this “person” is. Has this sort of madness filtered down to the units doing actual fighting type stuff?
I would say something about when *I* was a young Currahee trooper, but….
It surprises me not in the slightest to see where she discusses being a “pagan,” and hanging around those dark corners. I wonder if that is why she is going so hard (pardon the expression) after those strapping young infantrymen.
John, If I read the timeline on this story correctly, the events happened earlier this year and the award ceremony has just now taken place after she PCS’d to Fort Meade and was assigned as a 1SG to the MI Company.
Okay, but her blog post talking about being with the 506th was dated 19 DEC 2014.
I am far more upset about the prospect of Currahee troopers being subjected to this “person’s” oversight than I am about the other stuff. 1SG of an MI unit is one thing (though I’m not sure she thought through completely messing with MI types under her thumb, er, command, who mess with peoples heads for a living), but making sure actual, real infantry types are behaving down to her low standards is a threat to national security,
I think she should do a tour as an exchange NCO or liaison with IS to drive that lesson home.
John, I’m thinking she was possibly the S-2 NCOIC at the BCT (4th BCT,101st) Headquarters before the 506th BCT inactivated earlier this year. I had read in various places that some MI MOS’d female soldiers were being assigned to Brigade HHC’s in what we used to think of being exclusively male units.
I had completely forgotten that the 4th BCT had been deactivated (I belong to the 506th Association, but never seem to get around to reading the newsletters anymore), but thought they had decided to keep at least one of the BN’s around & flagged somewhere, to keep the lineage going.
You are correct, Claw, no doubt, but I wonder what the little “person” was referring to in that post. Probably trying to steal some valor for herself by connecting with an honorable unit, she’s definitely the sort. Butt-sucking glory hound. Makes you sick.
John,from I read about the inactivation of 25 Apr 14 is that two Battalions were retained. The 1/506 (Red Currahees) went to the 1st BCT(Bastogne)and joined the two Battalions of the 327th INF. The 2/506(White Currahees) went to the 3rd BCT(Rakkasan) and joined the two Battalions of the 187th INF. I am a Life Member of the 101st Airborne Division Association and get their Magazine every three months, so I keep up pretty well with current events in the 101. Hope I was able to help out with the latest info.
So, after reading a couple of her blog posts, it appears that she’s rather staunch in her liberalism.
And as for talking the irony with this site and “stolen valor” is double-irony. Getting an ARCOM for searching out Soldiers to tag and then reporting them to the Pentagon instead of their own 1SGs? I would consider that “stolen valor” from a certain perspective.
You nailed it Eric. Back in the day it was called “NCO Business”. I guess that something else that’s been lost in today’s Army.
Screw going over to her site. I did that once already.
Never again.
First off is there a link to the outrageously outrageous video and discourse in question so that it can be judged on it’s own merit?
Or, do we just take the awarding authorities word that the internet is a safer place today due to her diligence?
What was the outcome of the 15-6 investigations? Punitive actions or dropped?
Second, interesting award photo, more smirk than smile. Maybe a little payback?
Male troopies might be advised to request the two man rule when getting counseled in her office. Just so there are no “misunderstandings”.
Perceptions are reality and the 1SG is going to have challenges getting some troopies to fully trust her again.
Whether deserved or not.
And if she doesn’t know how to handle issues at the lowest level and proper use of the NCO Support Channel, what is she going to teach her Soldiers to do?
So if SMA Dailey shows up to their unit and a Soldier says, “SMA Dailey, I’m not getting paid, can you fix that?” Is he going to get submit for an ARCOM by his 1SG?
Hey, he saw a significant Soldier Care Issue that needed fixing and he took it to the top to get worked out. Good work!
Meh.. I think the trolling part is incidental to the overall pattern of MI. Since when do MI folks ever REALLY earn their awards? Or rank for that matter – you ever look at their promotion cutoff scores?
There was a MI Officer in my Brigade who was sent home 3 months into our yearlong deployment because she neglected to set up a family care plan. She “earned” a Bronze Star medal before the rest of us even got home.
Apparently, I’ve accused her of Stolen Valor. Can someone point me to that phrase? Unbelievably obtuse.
You didn’t, Jonn. She’s just another lying, special snowflake idiot. If the real dialogue doesn’t fit the story she wants to pass off, she just makes up something.
Oh, yeah. This one needs to be mustered out ASAP. She is a disgrace.
You…she accused you of what?!?!?! I looked…NO, 1SG he did not accuse you of “stolen valor”. Go back, read the post’s and comments again…Then we can have a talk about you being “felony stupid” if there were such a law.
WHA? has she been consulting with some fuel-challenged “lawer” in the PNW?
First Sgt. Katrina Moerk (“Katrina” is her first name, PERFECT because she’s made herself a hurricane of politically correct BULLSHIT!!) is richly deserving of a PCS to Fort Polk, LA!!!
Wow. I haven’t gone over to her blog, and not inclined to, but for her to claim that kind of shit is just fucking low.
Well, 1SG, congrats on showing your true colors.
As I said before, no way I’d want to be anywhere near her sphere of influence. She’s one of those NCO’s who think bullying and lying equates to leading.
Fuck. That. Shit.
I once had a politician of a ISG when I was AD Army, and some of us f**ked him back more than once after our ETS’es, ever hear the rumors of Soldiers brushing their nutsacks on coffee cups while cleaning the office of someone that shafted them? From here on she’ll always have to look over her shoulder because others will be watching her and waiting to return the favor she did to the Army!
We did not have this problem in the Infantry.
Just saying.
We will soon enough unfortunately,DA is planning on bringing this drama to infantry companies near you. All in the name of ‘Equal Opportunity’. I still haven’t heard how this is going to make us more combat effective.
Well Jonn, she has 51, that’s FIFTY ONE, whole followers on her blocg, so I’d be askeered if I was you 😀
And alla ’em be liberally minded, free thinking kind of folks too, I bet.
Since she’s calling you out on her public blog, perhaps you should contact her Commanding Officer to ask why his 1SG is targeting you and openly lying about the situation.
It seems to me that a true 1SG in the United States Army should have more professional fortitude than to go running to social media when her feelings are hurt because mean people are talking meanly about her.
Get this, and get it loud and clear, little girl, Katrina:
You are not 4 years old. You are being paid to be a mature adult, so start acting like one instead of like a whining toddler.
Your absurd behavior has effectively ended your military career, and for that I applaud. Thousands of women have served honorably before you, have sacrificed in ways you can’t even imagine, and you dishonor all of them by playing out a game of “poor me, poor me?” You should instead be falling on your knees with gratitude for them setting things up for your opportunities.
Missy, you are acting like a spoiled brat and seem surprised that adults are reacting to your behavior appropriately. Get over yourself. If you do it quickly enough, you might salvage whatever is left of your military career, and perhaps even a good civilian career. Otherwise, don’t blame anyone but yourself for having your rudeness, crudeness, and general goofiness result in unpleasant reactions from normal people.
A little gratitude would go a very long way. You really are not the center of the universe. And you certainly know nothing about military life, or how to get along with others.
From Her Blog
“They will also tell you that I am an internet troll. That I am a whore. I believe I also read that it is a good thing that I have issued knee pads and a flexible jaw, because how else could I have possibly made it to 1SG, or even better gotten the coveted Army Commendation medal. ?!? ……”
Listen up 1SG Princess, the females that I deployed with,a Transportation Company, would have eaten you alive! From the newly promoted specialists to several E-6s and E-7’s, OUR females talked like truckers, acted like truckers, and would have kicked your sorry ass.
Not to deride TRUE sexual harrassment and assault, but OUR females gave as good as they got and had mouths like sewers when the occasion suited. And to this day we still love them all, and are PROUD to have served with them because they ARE our sisters in arms. You on the other hand are a trouble making little drama queen who politicked her way to the top, and if YOU are indicative of the direction our Army is going, I had better start learning how to speak Mandarin or Farsi.
I was a Combat Engineer during my Ad Days, came back in and reclassed to 11b, and had to change again to 13F, I’ve “been there, done that”, and if she has to do shit like this to make herself look good on AD, she’ll get eaten alive in a civilian job after retirement as well! Yeah propsguy, my Platoon did Convoy Escorts during my time in A-stan, and yeah, I’ve seen Female 88M’ E3’s that would chew the likes of her up and spit her out for shits and giggles before she knew what hit her care bear-hugging glitter-farting tinsel mouse Sparkle Pony ASS!
OH, and to this day I still say FUCK political correctness to death up the ass sideways with 100,000 frozen porcupines while it’s sitting and spinning on diarrhea-soaked broken glass right after it’s been savagely and sadistically sodomized by both a grizzly Bear with AIDS and the meanassed SOB that gave it to him!
Well put. This is all about her. She has politicked her way to the top. Her attitude and the way she carries herself is very unbecoming of someone of her rank. I can’t even imagine my old 1SG doing anything like this. And can anybody tell where someone on here said anything about knee pads, flexible jaw, or that she was a whore. Didn’t think so.
What was that GO’s name again? Her lies need to be reported to him immediately. If he is so interested in things aid on the internet which are offensive, he should get really excited about the lies she is telling.
Yeah, her hate speech is highly offensive to me.
And Katrina, dear? Be sure he adds my name to those he will investigate for tweeking your sensibilities. I am anxious to have a chat with him myself. Be very happy to meet him for a face to face discussion of just how offensive your comments really are, and what corrective action might be warranted.
Just so ya know, I’m one of those retirees with a vehicle that knows it’s way to DC. Probably outranked you before you were born. And certainly know much more than you apparently do about working the system without engaging in dishonorable behavior.
Tell to let me know where to park.
Add me to this list. Why, I am soooo offended my feelings can’t feel their way across the bar floor. *cackle*
Streetsweeper, that’s not your feelings that are offended, that’s your liver. 😀
“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.”
Really, 1SG? Passing judgement on those units’ SHARP programs without knowing a damn thing about them? Did the thought ever cross your mind that maybe it was just simply soldiers doing stupid shit. and that those soldiers’ NCOs and Staff NCOs could have handled the problem themselves? That does happen occasionally in spite of the best training and leadership, y’know.
And I have to wonder what happened if the award writeup came to the attention of General Bromberg’s CoS and senior enlisted advisor. If it did, I hope they tried to put the kibosh on the damn thing.
A Marine SgtMaj once told me and some fellow SNCOs that one of his jobs was to “tell the CO when I thought he was about to do something that was or looked stupid.” It’d be the CO’s call to continue or not, but at least he’d hear an honest, unvarnished opinion.
That’s when soldiers business got lost.
Handle it with their supervisors and not senior mil leadership.
And the senior NCO’s job is to tell the boss when he is about to step in sh!t.
It’s up to him if he wants to go that route.
Is she currently single? Never mind, ‘ol Blobfish” has another spouse for the time being! Either her or my ex-wife would be perfect for him!!
Oh hush now! I wouldnt wish that waste of flesh on anybody, not even my worst enemy…
If you read her posts from 12/19 and 12/27/14, everything in them is ‘me,me,me’ and nothing else.
The amount of self-aggrandisement is only surpassed by the self-congratulatory theme that runs through whatever she says. It must have required a certain amount of agility and flexibility to pat herself that hard on her own back, but she does it in every post she’s made.
Vainglory is not a good thing in anyone. We’ve seen it in countless SV clowndogs, but when it comes from someone currently on active duty who has done exactly what she describes as stalking and who does not follow common rules to correct bad behavior, it’s inexcusable.
She sought those people out. A simple reprimand and report to their NCOs could have done the job. Instead, she sent a copy to the SHARP director? And then she says she wasn’t looking for an award?
I call BS on this, balderdash, hogwash, bullshit and any other epithet one can muster. Her colums are all about her, not the subject of women in the military. She did this to inflate her resume and succeeded, despite her protestations to the contrary.
And it does not matter that this happened a year ago. That stuff should still be on the internet. I’ve seen stuff on the net that goes back to 1997.
I don’t believe anything she says.
First of all, the author of this article obviously doesn’t know what trolling is, because she wasn’t trolling; she was snitching.
Part of the problem I have with this article is the way she handled the situation, but most of it is with the award. She didn’t deserve an award, plain and simple. An ARCOM is usually only given in garrison as an ETS award or when a soldier does something really badass, and neither of those apply here.
For her CSM to call her “the epitome of what an NCO should be” is just a load of crap. A good NCO handles things at the lowest level, which she didn’t. All she had to do was either let it go, tell the soldiers making stupid comments who she was, why the comments were offensive and move on, but she didn’t. What she did was get all butthurt about it and snitch on them. No one asked her to be the internet police. I’d really like to know if she was doing all this from work, because if she was, she should be punished for wasting Army time. I’d also like to know what video she felt the need to comment on. Like the author said, “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.” Yes, if you’re profile pic is of you in uniform or if you’re in the military period, you shouldn’t be posting dumb shit on public sites for anyone and everyone to see, but at the same time, it’s not her job to snitch on every soldier who feels the need to speak their mind on the internet.
Now if anyone has a link to her blog, please feel free to share as I’d like to give this worthless cunt a piece of my mind.
[…] at This Ain’t Hell brought this to my attention. Apparently an Army 1SG received an ARCOM for issuing what amounts to an […]
I’m not going to bag on her…….very much, bit I will point out that there appears to be several failures within the Army these days, as per this one example. She dressed down the troops at the time, which was what should be expected in the corrective action. Where it went sideways was when she went whining to the Pentagon. That’s a failure of leadership. Then the Army awards her an ARCOM for tattling to higher-higher? She calls those troops , whom she corrected, stupid in public? Really? Another failure of leadership.
She goes on her own blog and starts accusing Jonn of saying things he did not say. Another failure. She claims that we are upset because she received an award she didn’t ask for. Since when do soldiers ask for awards? She could have turned it down, but I think that her bypassing a whole lot of her chain of command showed that she was, indeed, trolling for an attaboy.
It appears the the Army is intent on lowering the bar for awarding ARCOMs these days, which is sad. What’s more sad is that there are those in the Army that want to promote being a whiner vs. a warrior, as brave. I’m sure ISIS is concerned about you being offended, Top. Just tell them you got an ARCOM for tattling to the Pentagon. That will put the fear of Allah in them!
This poor guy finds out she was trolling his computer
My comment to her is in moderation. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day. Any bets? Here’s what I wrote. Interesting. A few observations here. 1) Maybe I missed it, but no one on This Ain’t Hell called you a “whore,” but it’s instructive that you use this implication to paint yourself as a victim. 2) The vast majority of us in the NCO corps simply issue an on the spot correction and move on with our lives. In the event that the on the spot correction doesn’t do the trick, most of us would bring the issue up with the Soldier’s chain of command. You chose to bring the Army director of SHARP into it? REALLY? Somehow in light of this, your claim that you received an award you weren’t “looking for” rings a little hollow. 3) I commend you for doing your job. There’s no excuse for acting like an asshat, especially in uniform. I commend you for defending Army values. I DON’T commend you for bringing what amounts to a bunch of idiots acting like idiots to national level attention. 4) Giving you an ARCOM for doing what is essentially your job – correcting junior troops – is akin to awarding a Bronze Star for a squared away barracks room. This may not have been your intent. I would hope you didn’t bring Big Army into what is essentially a bunch of ignorant joes being immature with the intention of getting yourself an atta girl from the SECDEF. But that is what happened. I would submit that THIS is what most people really have a problem with. You imply that people have called you names your entire career. I find this interesting. I certainly didn’t spend as much time in the Army as you have, but I can tell you I NEVER experienced sexual harassment, name-calling or other “offensive” behavior you describe. Never. Maybe I was just lucky. Maybe I just give off the “don’t mess with me” vibe, so no one saw it fit to treat me with disrespect. I was an… Read more »
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Well put, Nicki. This thing stunk of politics from the start. Her “hard right” comment confirmed my suspicions. I doubt she posts your comment. Folks on the left don’t like dialogue or free speech.
I get the feeling she’s one of those social justice warriors we hear so much about.
On another note: I served in a combat unit, so we didn’t have women in our unit, but there were women in the support units of the battalion and we never talked to them as raw and uncensored as we did to our male counterparts. Hell, I still talk to my male friends, who are mostly Vets, the same as back in the day. Ms. Fancy pants would probably faint if she heard the usual exchanges that I have with Jonn when we talk.
I am an artist and profanity is my canvas.
That’s because cursing is the crutch of the inarticulate motherfucker.
Fuckin’ A right, Sparky!
This thundercunt should go on Call of Duty so she can get herself a BSM.
After doing 24 years as a 19D and busting my taking care and trainings Combat. I earned 4 Arcoms. I am disgusted that a Senior wastes time on such trivial bullshit and earns a Medal for it.
If this “First Sergeant” had any professionalism she would have never accepted this crazy award. The recommender, approval authority, S1 and presenter should all hang their head in shame for such a thing. This was her job. Last time I checked you get awards for going above and beyond. Unfortunately, I am certain that this has much more to do with what the story merits. I’m certain this is just another ploy to exploit females within the ranks of the NCOS corps.
Shameful for what our Army has stooped to.
So far she hasn’t seen it fit to approve my pretty damn respectful comment. But she did approve some guy who told her to “eat a barrel” as an example of just how victimized she is.
Selective and cunning.
I’m shocked, but as you said she is playing the victim card. I think what you wrote was very much respectful, which is precisely why she won’t post it. She has already created her narrative and your post just doesn’t fit in it. As you stated in your comment above, it does seem that she is one of those social justice warriors. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.
quote: “As you stated in your comment above, it does seem that she is one of those social justice warriors. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.”
You know, that’s fine, next war, let the “Social Justice” warriors fight it, and us “warrior” warriors will stay home with our families and go to the mall.
She’s boring, too.
And ANOTHER thing…..;)
She makes a huge deal out of making 1SG in 17 years. Well, unless you’re an old assed, brokedick, broken service re tread fuck up like me, Making E-8 in 17 years is right about on track with, uh, THE REST of the friggin army.
I mean lets face it folks, we’ve been at war going on 15 out of those 17 years.