Commanders get a Gen Y education

Commanders get a Gen Y education
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, January 14, 2008

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — For many senior commanders who rose through the ranks, authority itself was reason enough for respect.

Young soldiers today might be polite to an authority figure, but they’re a lot more likely to size up that person while determining how much respect he or she deserves.

It’s one of the differences that researchers who study Generation Y explained to colonels and sergeants major at three-hour training sessions across South Korea last week.

Each three-speaker presentation focused largely on the personality traits of soldiers born since 1978 — broadly labeled as Generation Y, or the millennials — and how those traits and character values differ from Depression-era children, baby boomers, Generation X and others.

However, part of the training focused on suicide, a topic of particular interest to commanders since a 2nd Infantry Division soldier’s suicide in December made at least three during 2007.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51611



uhc comment: This is part of the new suicide prevention program, which is long overdue.