Tough love, I know, but this is a military outfit, not a loving, caring ideal employer. Show me an outfit that is.
Sometimes we expect too much. We join to serve.
Absolutely. Sometimes I think that we can all be guilty of forgetting that we are a military outfit. But if it really is a case of individuals expecting too much, Manning should at least be honest and change the emphasis of their continued statements of people being our number one asset. We are the number one asset in terms of requiring people to deliver capability and effect rather than number one in terms of being fluffy and keeping people motivated and content. That's all fine, but it's disingenuous of them to pretend otherwise and probably naive of individuals to believe it.
From a personal perspective, I tend to subscribe to the idea of at least trying to keep people motivated and happy in their work, whilst being prepared to wield a big stick as required. It make for a better and and more productive unit and on the rare occassion that the stick comes out, people then realise you are serious.