Steve,

Sorry for the delay.

What are you thoughts on getting more NCOs at the Platoon level, like the Senior Scout, the ability to view/edit DTMS so that the PL/PSG can power this down. I’m not as familiar with DTMS, but I can’t imagine a PL sitting there uploading PT cards/weapon cards — he’s probably logging on and having his NCOs work anyway.

I am not opposed to getting everyone access. I would like those Section Sergeants access as well as a junior Soldier who is computer savvy. That junior Soldier can input data that is spot checked by leadership. This would help facilitate the process. The biggest hindrance is lack of computers and time away. There is never a good time to lose a SSG for a week and if I must lose someone I would prefer it be for NCOEs, a school like ARC, or an extra duty like EO or SHARP. So bottom line is I am not opposed it is just a balancing act like everything else.

Another solution is having the key extra duties upload their specific parts. The training inputs the baseline data for new Soldiers. The Master Fitness NCO inputs the Troop’s APFT data. The training room uploads weapons cards etc. The Platoon Leaders focus on their training schedules.

Do you incorporate any of the built-in DTMS tools for your Troop training meetings?

I have not incorporated any of them into my Troop Training Meeting. I do solely present the signed DTMS schedule on the Troop’s Training Board. This is to reduce the amount of products created.

You mentioned MET validation as a tracked event, what else do you find in DTMS that you need to apply leadership energy in order to avoid the SQDN CDR coming down on you?

So sadly it is easier for me to do my own training schedules. Squadron requires I make a DTMS calendar and PowerPoint calendar (For Squadron Training Meetings). Ideally I could hand off the PowerPoint slide to my clerk and he updates the DTMS calendar. My fellow commanders and I all agree that we tried that approach and realized it is easier to just update DTMS ourselves. That is because if you make a couple mistakes on something like uniform or location it takes just as much time to fix it as it would to do it in the first place. There are always mistakes.

Thanks for the insight.

-Steve