Why People Join Groups

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Why People Join Groups

• They need to belong.
• They enjoy certain group activities.
• They are attracted to a certain type of people as
  a means to an end.

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Member Vignette 1 Family

• Private Brittingham was a new soldier who had
  recently joined the squad. I noticed that he
  acted down and didnt seem interested in
  talking with any of us whod been around for a
  while. One afternoon after training, I saw him
  in the bay, just staringnot really reading the
  letter in his hands. It looked as though he was
  very sad. I didnt want him to think I was being
  nosey, but I went up to him and said, Hello. He
  answered, but with his head down. I said, I see
  youre getting mail. It sure would be nice if I
  got a letter once in a while. My folks arent
  too good at writing, and I dont have a
  girlfriend right now.

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Member Vignette 1 Family

• Then Private Brittingham said, Im married and
  we have two children. My little girl, Sarah, is
  2 years old, and my wife, Annie, just had a baby
  boy three months ago. His name is John. Being
  here is really tough. Shes living with her
  folks, and theyre great, but she cries all the
  time. Annie says she needs me at home to help
  her, but she knows it isnt possible since I have
  to be here for training. I just dont know what
  to do. I cant seem to keep my mind on training.
  I feel like everybody is avoiding me. I dont
  feel like I fit in.

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Member Vignette 2 Civic organization/Church

• Sheila and Carin sang in their church choir of 40
  people. They were very good friends and enjoyed
  singing every Sunday morning during the service.
  But Carin didnt like practicing on Wednesday
  night every week. She thought that rehearsals
  were a waste of time. There were so many other
  people there. Nobody would miss her. Besides,
  she had a good voice. So Carin frequently did
  not go to rehearsals. One Sunday morning, the
  choir sang a new piece of music. The director
  had changed some dynamics of the music during the
  rehearsal that Carin missed. When one change
  called for Carins alto section to sing
  pianissimo (very softly), Carin sang an unplanned
  and unattractive solo-very loudly. She was
  embarrassed for herself and for ruining the music
  that everyone else had worked so hard to make
  beautiful

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Member Vignette 3 School

• Chuck, Johanna, Carolyn, and Ron were assigned to
  a group project in
• Mrs. Lackeys 11th-grade astronomy class. Mrs.
  Lackey stressed she wanted the classmates to work
  in teams. She said that everyone could learn
  from each other by sharing information. There
  would be one grade for the whole group

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Member Vignette 3 School

• At their first meeting after school that day, the
  four agreed that the topic of their project would
  be the different classifications of stars or star
  clusters. Each of the four drew straws for a
  specific star from different constellations to
  research. Carolyn selected the cluster Pleiades
  (pronounced ple-ah-deez) in the constellation
  Taurus the Bull. Immediately, she began to
  complain that it wasnt fair. The other three
  only had one star, and she got stuck with a
  cluster that she translated to more work. But
  the others said that fair was fair, and that was
  her part of the project. Ron suggested that if
  Carolyn got into the research and it seemed like
  too much information to call him, that he would
  be happy to work with her. The others agreed to
  do the same.

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Member Vignette 3 School

• Three days later the group was scheduled to meet
  at the library to discuss the research findings.
  At the last minute, Carolyn told Ron she had
  forgotten a doctors appointment and couldnt be
  there. That night, Ron called to update her
  about the meeting. Their presentation of the
  project was to on Tuesday, giving them the
  weekend to finish the work. Carolyn promised him
  she would have her part ready for their final
  meeting on Monday afternoon.

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Member Vignette 3 School

• After school, the four met for the wrap-up.
  Chuck read his part, followed by Johanna, then
  Ron. When it was Carolyns turn, she only had
  information about the constellation. There was
  no information about the star cluster. When the
  others asked what had happened to the rest of the
  report, Carolyn said she thought shed done
  enough. Chuck, Johanna, and Ron were angry that
  their teammate had let them down. They had
  respected Carolyn enough to trust her loyalty to
  the team. So the three agreed to complete
  Carolyns part without her. Then all shed have
  to do is read it.

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Member Vignette 3 School

• In class the next day, the team made their
  presentation. At the conclusion, Mrs.. Lackey
  congratulated the team for doing an A project.
  She gave special praise to Carolyn because of the
  interesting information she had provided about
  the Pleiades. Carolyn not only accepted the
  praise, but actually bragged that it had been an
  interesting project, despite the extra work that
  she had done on it.

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Member Vignette 4 Sports

• Mike Singletary, all-pro linebacker for the
  Chicago Bears, NFL Man of the Year, and twice
  NFL Defensive Player of the Year is a man who
  has lived a life of teamwork. He refers to his
  football experiences as being on a team of
  eagles. He has spoken publicly about what it
  takes to be on a team of eagles, whether its
  on the football field or at home as a father.

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Member Vignette 4 Sports

• In a speech, Mike told the audience how the team
  members of the Bears all met, fresh out of
  college, and ready to play football. But they
  had some problems. Although they were eagles
  with many strengths and talents for different
  field positions, they had not yet learned how to
  share their abilities. They had to learn how to
  take criticism without getting mad. He said that
  they had to learn how to say negative things in a
  kind way. They had to communicate clearly. In
  other words, those eagles who thought they were
  pretty hot had to learn how to be a team.

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Member Vignette 4 Sports

• They also had to learn to trust each other. Each
  player had to learn his other teammates special
  abilities and to use his own to balance the
  weaknesses. This is an example of the weak
  link in the chain that I mentioned earlier.
  Mike emphasized the importance of good
  communication between team members. The Bears
  didnt become a team overnight. They worked
  hard. Finally, it paid off. The Bears won the
  Superbowl. They proved that they really were a
  team of eagles. But Mike said they became
  overly confident after the big win.

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Member Vignette 4 Sports

• They went back to their old ways of being
  individuals without thinking of the rest of their
  team. They forgot to respect each others
  special talents on the football field. They
  sacrificed the hard-earned loyalty that comes
  from trusting and respecting each other. The
  Bears lost the next Superbowl. Mike said the
  team never won a Superbowl again. He emphasized
  that being a team member, whether its on the
  football field or at home with the family, always
  takes conscious effort.

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What Is a Team?

• A group of people banded together for the purpose
  of accomplishing a common goal.

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Member Vignette 5 Antietam

• The following is an excerpt from the US Army
  Quartermaster Center Schools Historical
  Vignettes. I want you to listen carefully to
  this historical account. Sergeant William
  McKinley came from civilian life directly into a
  world of war. He demonstrated team membership in
  the Union Army during battle in the Civil War.
  Although only the Army core value duty is
  mentioned, he also demonstrated personal courage
  and selfless service with his heroic efforts.
  See if you can pick out those values in this true
  story.

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Member Vignette 5 Antietam

• When the American Civil War broke out in the
  spring of 1861, boys on both sides of the
  Mason-Dixon Line, caught up in patriotic
  enthusiasm, rushed to join the Union and
  Confederate armies. In June of that year,
  18-year-old William McKinley quit his job as a
  postal clerk in Poland, Ohio and enlisted as a
  private in Company E of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer
  Infantrya unit destined to become one of the
  most famous in the war. It fought in 19 battles
  and lost a total of 2,095 members. Before his
  first year of service had ended, young McKinley
  was promoted to Commissary Sergeant. On 17
  September 1862, at the Battle of Antietamthe
  bloodiest day of the Civil War, in fact the
  bloodiest day in American military
  historySergeant McKinley was just to the rear of
  the battlefield watching over the brigades food
  and supplies. The men had eaten only a scanty
  breakfast, and he knew that as the day wore on
  the Buckeyes were growing weaker

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Member Vignette 5 Antietam

• After gathering up a handful of stragglers,
  Sergeant McKinley courageously led two mule teams
  with wagons of rations and hot coffee into the
  thick of battle. Working his way over rough
  ground, through a hailstorm of artillery and
  rifle fire, he ignored repeated warnings to
  retreatand continued on. He lost one team of
  mules to Confederate gunners but did not return
  to the rear of the brigade until his fellow
  soldiers had been properly fed under the most
  adverse conditions. He earned that day the
  undying gratitude and respect of his comrades.
  From Sergeant McKinleys hand, said the
  Commander afterwards, every man in the regiment
  was served with hot coffee and warm meats, a
  thing which had never occurred under similar
  circumstances in any army in the world.

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Member Vignette 6 Vandalism

• Private Atkinson was returning to the barracks
  after finishing KP. As he was walking by the
  telephone booth, he recognized his buddy, Private
  Holmes, who was talking to someone inside the
  booth. The very next morning, the drill sergeant
  told the soldiers that someone had vandalized the
  pay phone during an apparent attempt to steal
  money from it.

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Unit Cohesion

• The glue that brings soldiers and leaders
  together to make a team to accomplish the units
  mission.

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Factors Of Unit Cohesion (1 of 3)
The Armys description of cohesion includes this
element

• Bonding
• The development of strong interpersonal
  relationships among soldiers and between them and
  their leaders.

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Factors Of Unit Cohesion (2 of 3)
The Armys description of cohesion includes this
element

• Commitment
• Dedication not only to the unit and what it
  represents, but to the values and goals of the
  nation as well.

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Factors Of Unit Cohesion (3 of 3)
The Armys description of cohesion includes this
element

• Resolve
• The shared determination of soldiers and their
  leaders to work interdependently and accomplish
  the mission, and to sustain this capability over
  a long period of time.

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Member Vignette 7 Night March

• Private Lockhart, the squad leader, was leading
  the squad on a night march through the swamp.
  Her squad lagged behind the rest of the platoon
  because a member of the squad had sprained his
  ankle and was being helped by other squad
  members. Private Lockhart sent a member of the
  squad forward to the platoon leader to report the
  situation. The platoon leader sent back a
  message that Private Lockhart should leave the
  injured member by a tree to be picked up on the
  way back.

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Summary

• What is a Team?
• General Characteristics of Member
• Responsibilities of an Army Team Member
• Buddy
• In the unit

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