Ray, I had a fascinating discussion with another officer today about this memo from CSA & SECARMY.  This other officer proffered that TRiPS is better due to its standardization – no room for interpretation, a Soldier did the review of their route and was told risk mitigation or they weren’t.  I countered that, while TRiPS is standardized, a face-to-face conversation (also known as counseling) is more effective.  This officer countered that not all leaders are created equal and some are poor counselors. I ended by stating that is no longer an issue about DA 31’s and travel, but then an issue about developing the counselor and teaching them methods to become more effective.

What do other people think of this conversation? Is there validity in walking the “party line” of counseling? Is there validity in having a standardized system? What lessons and climates do each of these teach and enforce?