@patrick-d-moore1, you bring up a great point about leaders modeling responsible on-line behavior. I couldn’t believe all the blatant and disrespectful posts made by some military leaders during the last election cycle. If we (leaders) are posting inappropriate or unprofessional content, how can we expect our Soldiers to act any differently? And I agree with @brock.j.young. Professionals don’t violate SHARP, EO, etc. In my opinion those are “zero tolerance” infractions as they destroy trust within a unit.

I think placing a premium on teaching professionalism to our junior Soldiers is one way we can attack the problem and not just the symptom. Whenever I had the opportunity, I talked to Soldiers about professionalism and how our individual actions always have collective consequences (positive or negative). While inappropriate activity (online or otherwise) transcends the ranks, I think we have to  convince the new generation of Soldiers/leaders that this type of activity is unequivocally wrong and not tolerated…no matter what.  Hopefully, over time, these types of problems will not reach the level of Marines United before someone decides enough is enough.

~Scott