Well, here we go again, another 2nd Infantry Division Pass Policy, which pretty much just recycles from past division pass policies.  So in other words, really nothing new.  The curfew times are remaining the same, 2400-0500 on weekdays and 0100-0500 on weekends. 

Soldiers remain on a regular pass status at all times unless pass privileges are revoked by the unit commander:

This is something I would actually like to see improved upon.  Right now when a soldier looses his pass privileges to leave post the unit is limited on ways to track the guys movement.  Usually the guys that violate the removal of pass privileges are caught by other leaders in the unit who happen to see them in ville.  I can think of numerous examples of where guys who had their pass privileges revoked went off post anyway and proceeded to get into more trouble.

Why doesn’t the command program the BIDS systems to tell if an ID card has had its pass privileges revoked or not?  After the company commander revokes pass privileges, the commander should be able to call the MP station to program into BIDS that the soldier lost his pass privileges.  This would make it impossible for the soldier to get back on post without getting caught.  It would mean more work for the MPs, but it would be worth it because any troublemakers with pass privileges revoked would know they cannot beat the system if their pass status is loaded into BIDS. 

Here are the ordinary pass limits:

The percentages are all unchanged and the distance for the pass is the same as well.  So nothing new here. 

The Warrior Pass policy is pretty much staying the same as well.  This is the pass that allows you to stay in a hotel room off post during curfew.  It also allows you to stay in a off post home as well if you brought your non-command sponsored family with you to Korea.  However, there is one slight change, now even family members need to carry a Warrior Pass:

I would like to see how this is verified by MPs since many of the non-command sponsored wives are third country nationals.  Do the MPs start carding every third country national they see out past curfew? 

I have said it before, but I will reemphasize it here again the Warrior Pass should be revised to what it was just 6 years ago.  Back then a Warrior Pass meant the holder of the pass could stay out past curfew and additionally allowed these soldiers to go to an area like Hongdae.  The Warrior Passes were great because they created competition within the unit every week to get one of the limited number of Warrior Passes authorized for each unit.  Our unit First Sergeant was responsible for giving out the Warrior Passes and maintaining accountability of them.  My First Sergeant would only give a pass to soldiers that were doing a great job and were deserving of a Warrior Pass.  A side benefit of this that my unit First Sergeant really liked, was that it gave him even more leverage to influence soldier behavior when he was the holder of the coveted Warrior Passes. 

Will Warrior Passes end off post incidents?  No it won’t because the vast majority of soldiers who get in trouble off post are usually not top notch soldiers that could win a Warrior Pass to begin with.  Since they are not usually top soldiers that means they are more willing to bend the rules and get in trouble.  So if you have a curfew and off limits places you will still have that select few who will push their luck and think they can get away with it.  When they do break the rules they need to be slammed for it.  There is a saying in the Army that leaders spend 90% of their time dealing with the 10% of the problem soldiers in their unit and this 10% are the ones that get in trouble and unit leaders worth the rank on their uniform need to constantly supervise.  Since unit leaders have to constantly spend so much time dealing with this 10%, at least a Warrior Pass is a way to tangibly tell that other 90% doing the right thing that, hey we appreciate what you are doing and thus trust you enough to act like a responsible adult after curfew. 

The approval authority for the passes is staying the same with the unit commanders responsible for signing people out on leave, however with one caveat:

I am a big believer that all passes should go through the First Sergeant and then final approval of the Commander.  What this one exception causes is soldiers going on pass without being accounted for by the First Sergeant.  Only a certain percentage of soldiers can go on pass and by allowing staff officers to sign off on pass forms I can see soldiers slipping through the cracks and not being properly accounted for or counseled before going on pass.  Every soldier should look their First Sergeant and Commander in the eye before going on pass, not their staff captain at the office.  The soldiers of the staff sections of 2ID headquarters all have a First Sergeant and a Commander, let them do their jobs.

Here is part of the policy that alludes to one of my old tricks:

Hold a few random Saturday and Sunday formations and account for everyone in your unit.  You will be amazed by what you find out. 

Overall, this policy is nothing new.  It would be nice to see some bold and creative leadership for a change, but in 2ID just like in years past, bold and creative leadership is hard to find. 

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