Memo: Survey shows low morale among Illinois National Guard

A survey was filled out by soldiers who had been deployed last year.

CHICAGO -- A memo written by a top-ranking officer shows mounting concern over morale, leadership and declining retention within the Illinois Army National Guard, according to a published report.

With recruitment numbers down for the year, the document identifies some of the problems Illinois National Guard officials are facing as they try to prevent a personnel shortage from taking place.

A survey of 1,200 Guard troops who had been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and U.S. bases last year showed that "the majority of soldiers feel they are poorly informed, inadequately cared for, and that training in their units is boring and unorganized," Brig Gen. Charles E. Fleming wrote in a non-classified memo obtained by the Chicago Tribune and detailed in a story published in its Sunday editions.

The Jan. 29 memo also raised concerns about the widely held perception that officers are more focused on lining up promotions than their troops' well-being. Seventy-two percent of those surveyed disagreed with the following statement: "Officer leadership during the (mobilization) had a very positive effect on the unit's morale."

As of last week, the Guard was 600 troops short of its recruitment goal for the fiscal year 2005, which ends in September.

"If this is true and nothing changes, we are going to have serious problems," said Lt. Col. Brian C. Redmon, recruiting and retention manager for the Illinois Guard.

But staffing concerns are not limited to the rank-and-file soldiers. The Illinois Army National Guard brought in 80 new officers last year, but lost 102 officers during the same period.

In February, almost 500 officers and senior sergeants met at Illinois State University to discuss the leadership problems.

Guard commander Maj. Gen. Randal E. Thomas said the survey Fleming cites in his memo was taken at a low point in the Illinois Guard's morale, when some of the first units deployed to Iraq were returning home.

New goals for the Guard

In the document, Fleming spelled out a series of new goals for the Guard's leadership, which included the retention of 80 percent of the unit's members each year, a reduction in the number of enlistees who drop out before basic training is completed, and increased efforts to develop potential officers from within the ranks.

Leadership training was organized along with military career counseling. Illinois Guard units were also asked to study their own interrelationships between leadership and troop retention.

"We're playing ball here to listen and fix things soldiers say are wrong," said Col. Christopher Lawson, director of operations for the Guard.

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Illinois National Guard: http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/