Episode 69: Gen Z Soldiers: Soft or Savvy?

Are today's soldiers truly soft, or are they simply adapting to systems that haven't evolved with the times? This thought-provoking episode dives deep into the generational divide shaping today's Army culture.

When senior NCOs claim that Generation Z soldiers lack discipline or respect for tradition, they're often misinterpreting critical thinking as defiance. The younger generation's tendency to question "why" before action isn't necessarily about avoiding work—it's about seeking efficient solutions and understanding purpose. From customs and courtesies to training methodologies, what looks like resistance to authority often reveals a deeper desire to modernize outdated approaches.

The digital native generation brings technological fluency that could revolutionize military operations if properly leveraged. Yet when they suggest using cloud-based tools instead of whiteboards, or question why PT doesn't match the actual requirements of the Army Fitness Test, they're frequently dismissed with "this is how we've always done it." Meanwhile, the Army preaches modernization while clinging to traditional methods that fail to engage today's soldiers effectively.

Perhaps most concerning is how the Army sends mixed messages about mental health—encouraging awareness and self-care while simultaneously expecting soldiers to "suck it up" when they actually seek support. Similarly, feedback systems break down when leadership doesn't create safe spaces for honest critique, shutting down the very innovation they claim to value.

The solution isn't for one generation to simply adapt to the other, but for the Army as an institution to evolve in ways that harness the strengths of all its members. Whether you're an NCO frustrated with changing norms or a junior soldier seeking better systems, this conversation will challenge your perspective on what true military readiness looks like in the digital age.

Subscribe now for more no-fluff discussions about the real challenges facing today's Army. What outdated military practice do you think needs to evolve? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Chapters

• 0:00 Are Gen Z Soldiers Really Soft?
• 6:18 Questioning Standards and Customs
• 10:48 Gen Z's Tech-Savvy Perspective
• 15:16 Mental Health vs. Mission First
• 17:31 How the Army Fails to Evolve

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

A lot of NCOs are saying that Gen Z soldiers are soft. But are they actually soft or just adapting to broken systems? Let's talk about it, roger Sarn. Welcome back to the Roger Sarn Podcast, where we talk all things Army with no fluff, and I'm your host, sarnt Cruz, and if you're tired of the sugarcoating, hit the subscribe button. So today, what I want to talk about is a trending topic and I'm going to break this down into like three parts and I'll also give you some examples to make sure I kind of drive the point home and at the same time, let's see if you actually agree with them.

Speaker 1: 0:50

Let's start off with the first subject, which is what older NCOs are seeing, and when I say that, I mean we're talking about discipline and questioning things. So think about a time that a soldier challenged or asked why right? An example of this, I would say, is something simple as an NCO tells the squad to go police, call the motor pool, tells the squad to go police, call the motor pool, instead of immediately executing the order, a younger soldier might just respond with isn't that a contractor's job, or didn't we just do that yesterday? So we could also be looking at this in multiple perspectives. The older NCO. What they see is kind of like defiance, or they may actually see a lack of discipline at the other side, or the flip side of the coin, the younger soldier that are more kind of like, used to like systems where questioning authority is kind of like encouraged and only because it can save time and effort. So back in the day it was this is what your task is. Get up and go and troops would do it. Now troops want to know what's the deal like, what's in it? What's in it for me type deal, or why are we doing this? Is there a better way? That's what it is. It's doing this. Is there a better way? That's what it is, it's it's. Is there a better way? And I think a possible takeaway from this could be this generation that we're in right now that we're coming up with. They're kind of generally wired to ask why before acting before, yeah, before taking action, and this could be seen as a sign of critical thinking and to others it could be seen as a sign of disrespect. So there's that next.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Next thing I want to talk about is sometimes it's like the resistance to standards and customs and courtesy, and an example that I have down for this would be something like so, let's say, during a formation, a junior soldier doesn't stand that parade rest. When speaking to a senior NCO, when speaking to a senior NCO and when they're corrected, what they say is potentially I wasn't being disrespectful. We don't really do that unless it's a big deal. And what is a big deal really? A lot of times we allow troops to talk to us freely, right, because if every troop was locked up every day, all day, it would be awkward. So I think a lot of times us as juniors, right, because I also have a senior, I may not lock it up at the right time. Say, a bunch of Sergeant Majors talking and I'm being asked a question and because I talked to my Brigade Sergeant Major a certain way, maybe it'd be a good idea for me to get at parade rest because he's in front of his peers, so things like that. But a possible takeaway of this could be that there's kind of like getting to be like some type of erosion in the customs and courtesies right, and can be viewed as a deeper red flag on deeper issues on order and respect. At the same time, another perspective could be that older NCOs see this kind of like as a breakdown in military discipline and tradition. So what they're used to is snap, get this done, or be at parade, rest.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Or, if you're going to walk past an officer, salute. If you're going to walk past an NCO, you give them the greeting of the day. And I'll be honest with you, I've walked past countless, countless junior troops and junior NCOs and they'll find a way to look away. They're looking for quarters on the ground. I don't know what it is that they're looking for, but they're definitely not looking to give me the greeting of the day and they'll go out of their way to just not make eye contact. And while to me, sometimes I'll kind of think and be like, why are they doing this? But most of the time I'm kind of in my own world and I have to get from point A to point B, so I'm not paying it no mind or it doesn't bother me. I do pay it mind because I notice it, but it doesn't bother me per se. And this is, I guess, one of the ways that the NCOs or yeah, that the NCOs have this gripe or this, saying that the junior soldiers are softer because they're not doing things that they did when they were coming up.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So let's move into the second subject. It's why Gen Z might be asking smarter questions, right, because we must know. Right, they're tech savvy and, most importantly, they are aware and accepting of mental health issues. So let's say, for instance, questioning inefficient training methods, because we all know that we have our own way of training and we've done a training hundreds of times. And I want you to think about this how many times have you been part of some sort of training? And that NCO that's leading the training doesn't have nothing in their hands no references, no book, no doctrine, no nothing, not even their phone to say, hey, this is where I'm getting it from. So they're shooting off the top of the dome. And one thing I learned when I was in BLC as an instructor was that we need to have doctrine in our hand for reference. We always had our little iPad or whatever it was that we used at the time, always for reference, because no one is bigger than the program and if I forget to give you valuable information, then the training is not to standard.

Speaker 1: 7:48

Okay, so let's say, during a classroom PowerPoint brief, a Gen Z soldier, they raise their hand and they have a question or they have a statement. They say this is the same slide that we saw in basic training. Isn't there a hands-on or digital module for us to do this now, over and over, which is why annual training gets pushed off to the side, because of the fact that it's monotonous. It doesn't evolve. So therefore you're seeing the same slide decks year in and year out and that gets old.

Speaker 1: 8:39

I can't remember. Was it accident training? Accident training? Let me know in the comments which one it is. But it's staffs. I think it's staff son or son first class jones, I think it was that. He's the, he's the guy and he's been the same. It's been the same slide. I think it's accident avoidance. He's been the same slide deck for at least 15 years, same slide deck. I don't know if it's changed because I haven't had to do that training in a while, but that's an example. So back to the perspective.

Speaker 1: 9:15

So a possible perspective on this could be that the older NCO may see this as either impatient or they have lack of discipline. Have lack of discipline because they're asking a question initially, maybe not seeing the whole slide deck or not getting to the hands-on portion, and the lack of discipline is because they just call them out in front of everybody, right, and nobody likes to be called out, but the soldier is used to these like interactive mobile-based learning apps and platforms. As you see, you can find joe on any app, mainly on tiktok, but you can find them looking for me for information everywhere. So they're tired of seeing the same thing. If you notice, when these reels and clips and tiktok fads, they're all chopped up. They're not long form. That's why a lot of creators have issues when it comes over to youtube, because it it's long form content. Shorts do great, but they don't earn almost anything. It's the long-form content. But my point is we've come to a point that information has to be chopped up and has to be delivered to the point.

Speaker 1: 10:39

So a possible takeaway for this could be that they're not being lazy. They're just questioning outdated methods that are based on how they learn best, because that's another issue or another point that we can improve as senior leaders. We have to find a way that we reach the younger audience. Just like, just like. Think about it. I've been in for 17,. Going on 18 years. When I came in, I wanted the teaching methods that I learned the best, and they were always asking questions what's your learning method, hands-on theory, sitting down, whatever it is, and we always wanted it a certain way and we now are the ones delivering the message and receiving the request. And we also are now that NCO that will stand and read a PowerPoint word for word and just turn around and say do you have any questions? So don't be that one.

Speaker 1: 11:42

So the next situation could be we're talking about prioritizing mental health over the mission. An example of this is soldiers request to be excused, let's say, from a field exercise due to they have stress or they haven't slept in a while. They cite, because you know, joe knows, joe knows a lot of regulations, but they cite the self-care and burnout referencing behavior, health briefings, right, and let's say, the NCO replies with the good old, suck it up, we all have to do the same thing, you'll be fine. So this, a possible perspective, is to older NCOs, this appears to be as a softness you can't cut it, you're letting the team down because of you, you're being selfish, and selfish is equated to being soft. So that's probably their mentality. Now the young soldier, on the other hand, it's about using the tools the army taught them to to do to use, like speaking up to avoid burnout. Now, the issue with when it comes to speaking up and burnout and using the avenues of approach that the Army allows us or tells us to use is there's a time and place, and correct me if I'm wrong nine, I want to say nine times out of ten, many times more than not joe's and I.

Speaker 1: 13:29

And we're talking troops. Let's say troops, because ncos do this too, officers do it. So let's say troops. Troops always find a way to not go to ntc, jmrc, jmtc, whichever one that is. We'll always find a reason why we can't go there. We'll find a reason why we can't go to the field for a week.

Speaker 1: 13:52

So, on one hand, the leaders have heard it all. On the other hand, this individual that's coming with this potential, with this potential, with this concern, it could be potentially true. So, as a leader, you have to learn how to sift through all this. Maybe a compromise could be, as, hey, you can have the first two days that you leave early so you can go to some appointments and stuff like that, but come out for the next 14 days or something. There's a, there's a way to compromise and still get the mission done. So one thing about about Joe is that there's a hundred of them, all right guys, is the soldier. They can file a complaint and they can cite either counterproductive or toxic leadership, because that can be their perception and we have to protect ourselves as leaders in order to get the mission done, not get a complaint, because it's always in, it's always a possibility, and still take care of joe. So there's, there's. It's threefold, but do me a favor, if you're enjoying the content, um, so far, go ahead and comment, subscribe or download and leave a review. All right, now, that's done.

Speaker 1: 15:16

Part three, where the army is failing to meet the soldier halfway right Like old school training models, has kind of like been a big deal. So that's kind of like a perpetual thing that I hear the army and when I say the army I mean the leaders, because the army is an entity and as leaders we work under that entity. So leaders fail to meet the troop halfway. First part of that would be, let's say, the pt. That doesn't match to real world readiness because, believe it or not, troop, troop, be like yo, this pt is boring and it's not doing anything for me. This push-up, sit-up and two-mile run, it's just not it. When the morning PT consists of the traditional run, push-ups and sit-up circuits. It just isn't it. So let's say that were the case.

Speaker 1: 16:16

And then the junior soldier is going to ask why are we not training with rucks, sandbags, sleds or doing hit circuits like they do in the AFT? Now that we're on the AFT programs, right, why are we not doing that? And then we have the NCO that's going to respond is this is how we've always been doing it. This is how it's always been done, right? How many of you guys have heard that this is how we've done it? This is how it's always been done. How many of you guys have heard that this is how we've done it? This is how it's always been done? That it's it's.

Speaker 1: 16:45

It's just the way it is, and a lot of possible perspective to that is like the acft and now aft. It demands functional strength, power and agility, hands down, none of which are targeted when we're just doing the old PT train up push-ups set up tomorrow run. So let's see what a key takeaway could that be right when, because the army itself preaches modernization, that's what they do. Same time, we are clinging to outdated daily training norms. We fail to evolve within our own standard, which is the Army standard, and pretty much. If we don't train to standard, we're going to miss the mark. That's the bottom line. If you are moving towards AFT as an NCO, you got to come up with a new way to engage each muscle. That's going to be challenged during the AFT. It is what it is.

Speaker 1: 17:55

Another common issue is the lack of digital integrity in daily operations. So let's say, for instance, a Gen Z team leader suggests using like a shared cloud tool, like, let's say, for instance, microsoft Teams or OneNote, and they want to do this in order to like track, counseling dates, maintenance and training schedules, which could be considered a good idea. But let's say the senior leader, they just say, just use a whiteboard or a paper tracker that's in the office, because everyone has paper, there's a whiteboard everywhere. I'm pretty sure in your offices you've seen a lot of whiteboards and there's a whole bunch of stuff written down the vehicle, the vehicle status, appointments, what individual is going to be at what training at what time, things of that nature. So a lot of times like this can frustrate the younger soldiers who are literally fluid in producing these things, a lot of times when these soldiers are going to school or if they already have like an associate's or some type of degree. They've already been taught how to use Excel, they've already been taught how to use Word, influent in these digital productive tools and expect real-time updates and I would say even like stuff on the mobile apps on their phones, because it's a lot easier.

Speaker 1: 19:33

There's a I forgot what it was. It was like something with calendar and I didn't force course. I asked my guys when I was a platoon sergeant. I said hey, can you guys download this calendar app? So therefore we know if you have, if, if we're going to come up with appointments. You see, I, my job, was to put the month training calendar, what we're doing, the trainings, um, if we're out in the field. So Joe knows what day not to pick to do an appointment. So everyone can see it. Team leaders can see it, squad leaders can see it and I can see it, platoon leader can see it. That's an example. And they ate it up Because you can't force them to get that, but they got it because it gives them some type of predictability. Them to get that, but they got it because it gives them some type of predictability and, um, uh, potential.

Speaker 1: 20:27

I guess a good takeaway from that is like the army itself is we. We know it's been slow to adapt to, like digital tools. We know that. And these tools, gen z is already probably using them right now. Powerpoint is something that a lot of senior NCOs are not proficient at, and these officers and junior NCOs and junior soldiers, they already know how to use it. So just because I can't use it doesn't mean that we shouldn't use it, so they're already proficient at it, they already use it doesn't mean that we shouldn't use it, so it they're already proficient at it, they already use it. So to them not use it is going to lead to inefficiencies at the end of the day and it'll lead to missed opportunities of a smarter workflow. And that's the difference. I think it's Gen Z want the smart way through, or at least the one that they consider smart, and most of it is going to be digital, ignoring feedback loops like in leadership.

Speaker 1: 21:47

An example is after a like field exercises, a young troop acts during the AAR, can we submit feedback anonymously? Some of us don't feel comfortable speaking up in front of leadership, and that's a valid concern. And let's say that facilitator says something along the lines of if you got something to say, say it now. Right, because everyone wants to say hey, when you do an AAR, you have to have thick skin. It never happens. It never happens. And a lot of times when you say something, they're not supposed to defend it. They're supposed to write it down and what they'll do is they'll start defending it. So what does that do to the rest of the group? I'm not going to say anything because they got all the answers. So the Army says it wants innovation. That's what they say. Innovation. That's what they say.

Speaker 1: 22:47

But I think a lot of times we I guess we can say we fail to create spaces where younger voices, younger troops feel safe in the contribution. Because if you really strip it down to it, if I give a class and you tell me my class is trash, strip it down to it. If I give a class and you tell me my class is trash, I'm going to feel some type of way. That's the bottom line. So takeaway from this is, as I said, it shuts down positive feedback and it's just not good. It doesn't include everyone, it's not inclusive, and I get it.

Speaker 1: 23:25

Hey, oh, this all-inclusive generation. If you're a team, you have to include people. You have to, because if it's five people and only four are participating. There's one that could have a banging idea and it doesn't get shown or explored because of the fact that they're not included. Bottom line is whether you think they're soft or smart. One thing's for sure the Army needs to evolve and we're doing it little by little, but it has to evolve. Drop a comment if you agree or disagree. Subscribe for more Real Army Talk and remember you don't have to embrace the suck if you got the right tools in your rug. I'm Sarn Cruz and I'll see you in the next one. Peace, roger Sarn. The next one Peace.