The new US Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) Command Sergeant Major, Shade Munday, sent a memo to USAREC personnel with the subject “Noncommissioned Officers Expectations.” In section three of the memo, he quotes Erwin Rommel who said, “The best welfare for the troops is good training,” then finished the thought by stating, “He was right!”
While the statement itself is innocuous enough, the author of the quote is what is concerning to senior leadership within USAREC who are purportedly “dealing with the USAREC CSM quoting Rommel” according to a source within the command.
Rommel was a renowned army officer who rose to the rank of Field Marshall in Nazi Germany. Rommel was an intricate part of Hitler’s war machine and responsible for much of the success Nazi Germany had during their formidable years. In as much, it’s generally considered in poor taste for a senior US Army leader to inspire troops with quotes attributed to one of the greatest enemies the United State’s military, and the world, has ever faced.
CSM Munday assumed responsibility as the USAREC CSM on March 10. His tenure as the Senior Military Advisor to the Commanding General of USAREC is off to a resounding, though slightly tone deaf, start, though he should be fine as long as he sticks to some good ol’ fashioned training!