{"id":80464,"date":"2023-07-31T17:06:31","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T17:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/07\/31\/sayings-and-lessons-from-the-outgoing-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:13:23","slug":"sayings-and-lessons-from-the-outgoing-sergeant-major-of-the-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2023\/07\/31\/sayings-and-lessons-from-the-outgoing-sergeant-major-of-the-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Sayings and lessons from the outgoing sergeant major of the Army"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From social media to interviews with reporters to taking the stage at numerous events over his four-year tenure as the service\u2019s top enlisted soldier, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston has offered many quips, aphorisms and no-nonsense advice to soldiers and leaders up and down the chain of command. The Army has even compiled a series of fireside chats on various topics that Grinston has addressed through his tenure for the service\u2019s NCO Journal dubbed \u201c16×16.\u201d<\/a> As the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army leaves the post in a ceremony on Aug. 4 and then retires soon after, Army Times has compiled a sampling of those Grinstonesque sayings to share that we\u2019re calling, \u201cThe Quotable Grinston.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On every problem the Army faces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIf it was easy, somebody would\u2019ve already done it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On improving soldier skills, raising standards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s coming. Soldiers need to know how to read a map.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t know how to stop a soldier from bleeding, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re in large-scale combat or counterinsurgency, you don\u2019t know how to do your tasks. At the battalion and below, you need to be an absolute expert in your job. Every soldier in your organization needs to know their job so well that we shouldn\u2019t have to worry about that. [Then] we can worry about the deep fight and long-range hypersonics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston meets with international sergeant majors at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., March 15, 2023. (Laura Buchta\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On NCO development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWhat we need to do is continuously challenge our NCOs,\u201d Grinston said. \u201cSo that\u2019s one of our biggest changes; make our first NCO course rigorous and bring back a little rigor and field time and the tactics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On Ukraine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWhen Russia invaded Ukraine, your Army knew exactly what we needed to do. You should be proud of what we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On operational tempo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve never said no. I\u2019ve watched these soldiers, year after year, they\u2019ve said, \u2018Yes, I\u2019ll go do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston speaks with Redstone senior leaders about quality of life services on the installation during a visit Aug. 5. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On finding solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cYou hear it all the time: \u2018Well, I don\u2019t want to make sausage in front of the sergeant major of the Army.\u2019 I want to make sausage. I want to hear ideas \u2026 because if the people with the money and authority that can help with policy don\u2019t hear the ideas in the forum, then you may wait too long and it doesn\u2019t get funded or it\u2019s not a policy,\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On being present<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWhat I ask you all as leaders is, are you there? You don\u2019t have to lead (physical training), you don\u2019t have to be up front, you just have to be present.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston deadlifts during his visit at Camp Herkus, Lithuania, May 3, 2022. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On mental health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s okay to seek help if you need help. But I do want to caution you that that is not the panacea for all your problems. Maybe seek behavioral health, maybe you can talk to a chaplain. I think when we use all the resources that we have, I think we\u2019re all going to be in a better mental state. We can\u2019t just use only one resource.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Following the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guill\u00e9n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cI think that\u2019s the hard part \u2026 \u2018It wasn\u2019t your actions, it was the actions around you, and somehow that was allowed to fester. And that\u2019s the difficult part because you personally were performing exceptionally well. But those things around you were happening, and either you should have known or you allowed it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On combat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cI think I did my best to bring everybody back. I didn\u2019t, but I think they knew that I truly cared. And when I made them run a billion miles \u2014 when you\u2019re in combat, you didn\u2019t fall out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On his time as a drill sergeant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cI was mean. There\u2019s no way I could lie to you, if you were to talk to my soldiers \u2026 I was not nice, I was not fun. I wouldn\u2019t want me as a drill sergeant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Michael Grinston, shown as a Drill Sergeant at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, left, alongside a photo of him as the sergeant major of the Army. (Reddit\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stopping sexual assault and harassment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cYou hear it all the time: \u2018Well, I don\u2019t want to make sausage in front of the sergeant major of the Army.\u2019 I want to make sausage. I want to hear ideas \u2026 because if the people with the money and authority that can help with policy don\u2019t hear the ideas in the forum, then you may wait too long and it doesn\u2019t get funded or it\u2019s not a policy,\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On suicide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cI think we need to rethink suicide. We want to put people in a box that behavioral health will solve. Maybe we need to look at it that everyone can be susceptible to a suicide thought or event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On failure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cI feel that I failed to communicate the importance of being a part of a cohesive team that is highly trained, disciplined and fit. I talk about \u2018This is My Squad,\u2019 [and] how to take ownership and treat people with dignity and respect. I failed to get [my message] down to the NCOs on Fort Hood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On readiness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not people first versus readiness; it\u2019s people first that equals readiness in the Army. If I\u2019m more fit, I\u2019m a better [rifleman]; that\u2019s about me as a person. If I\u2019m not fit and I can\u2019t shoot my weapon, I\u2019m not very lethal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston runs through a shooting scenario with the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS. (Todd South\/Military Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On race<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cRacial identity is something that I have struggled with my entire life. \u2026 Sometimes in my life, I felt like it\u2019s in the movie \u2018The Green Book\u2019 where the actor gets out of the car and he says, \u2018I\u2019m not Black enough for the Black people, and I\u2019m not White enough for the White people.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

On loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cI got an award and I don\u2019t even know if I deserve it. I\u2019d give it back in a second if I could get the soldiers back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Facing death<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n

\u201cIt got to the point that by the time I\u2019d gotten to my second deployment, I\u2019m like, there\u2019s no way,\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s no way I could get out the first time, I\u2019m definitely going to die on the second and third. We were in Mahmoudiyah \u2014 Triangle of Death. Great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sources: Army Times; <\/i>Military.com<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>Army.mil<\/i><\/a>; <\/i>TaskandPurpose.com<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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