CPT Brenton Clark, B/2-1 IN Company Command Interview

CPT Brenton Clark leads B/2-1 IN, a Stryker company, and works with a “young 1SG [who] is very technically proficient (creator of Ranger School Professional app).” Coming from a “light” background, he quickly sought out a young Soldier to share his vehicle and equipment expertise. Read that and more on his Command Interview.

1. How did you prepare for command?
Preparation through counselings, vision, cultural ideas have been complete for quite some time, even before arrival to the brigade. That portion of command is certainly still a work in progress, but I had a general idea of what direction in which I wanted the company to head. I was predominantly concerned about a Stryker Brigade, particularly since I had a light background where I had no vehicles MTOEd as a platoon leader. I dug into 3-21.11 to prepare for the Stryker platform as much as possible, and even wish I would done so more thoroughly.

2. How did your first 90 days in command go (or if within 90 days how is it going)? Did you make any major changes? Why or why not?
First 90 days overall went pretty smoothly and came at a time when the brigade had just returned from NTC. It was the 1st QTR of the FY, the quarter of “systems,” and it did not fail to meet expectations. Luckily, I have a young 1SG is very technically proficient (creator of Ranger School Professional app), and he was able to build systems that have in my view set the company up for long-term success. For drastic changes, none were made by me during the first 90. The biggest thing to fix right now is a borderline apathetic culture. This brigade at one point managed to be in the field four months in a calendar year without deploying on top of an NTC rotation. Easy fixes to help us start moving in that direction in the first 90 days were mainly aesthetic to provide a desirable location to work, but nonetheless had us moving in the right direction

3. What were/have been some of your major experiences as a company commander? (e.g. deployment, CTC rotation, gunnery, loss of a soldier) Thus far, largest experiences have been EIB and SQD STX/LFX. EIB provided an opportunity to immediately meet the company after taking command and STX/LFX allowed me to observe the squad leaders. One unique situation after taking command was that I had four positive samples of UAs within three weeks. They all originated from a single group of (poor performing) Soldiers, so it was a good opportunity to set a precedent within the company.

4. Can you describe the leader development program in your company? Describe your role in the process of designing and executing the program. Leader development within the company particularly derives from counseling. I am emphatic about counseling and having Soldiers focus on their weaknesses and improve. If a Soldier isn’t told what to fix, we simply won’t be able to improve as an organization.

5. How did you approach training management? Do you have anything to pass on to help other company commanders? Will your experiences deployed change the way you lead and train soldiers? For the company, every PL/PSG is expected to be able to resource and execute training organically to the company. We haven’t at the company level emphasized the inclusion of squad leaders to this point, but we are slowly moving in that direction. Try to provide training that sets this unit apart from others. For instance, we have some MOUT training on the horizon and will be utilizing UTM rounds (MAJ Wismann the OG for that idea — thanks, Sir!), hardly any Soldiers have partaken in any similar training where cover and concealment have to be utilized because you have training rounds flying back.

6. What has been your toughest leadership challenge? How did you address it? Undoubtedly, biggest leadership challenge comes from a cultural perspective. The battalion in general has been performing at a nonstop pace for the last 18 months, with again at one point having 5 months of the year away from home in a non-deploying unit. The Soldiers have and will continue to execute, but overall, the morale is low and ultimately, esprit de corps affected. 1SG and I have been attacking head on is providing training events that focus on fundamentals and still not too taxing on the families. Additionally, the company has focused on providing as much predictability as possible with constant dissemination of the LRTC.

7. As you look back on all of the things you did prior to taking command, is there one experience that prepared you for the responsibility/challenges of command more than any other? If so, please share a little bit about that experience and why it stuck with you. Before taking command, I was the BDE AS3, where much was demanded, but it provided an opportunity to oversee BDE operations and what exactly the Brigade Commander expects from his Company Commanders. Specifically, I was assigned as the BDE BTL CPT throughout the last training exercise and culminated at NTC. It definitely provided an experience of which I was unfamiliar previously in maneuvering and synchronizing in time and space battalion-sized elements and assets.

8. Describe your relationship with your 1SG. Do you have anything to pass on to help other company commanders in regards to CO CDR-1SG relationships? What’s the story behind it? 1SG and I have a great relationship. He is a young 1SG (13 years in) and was raised in regiment. He is very competent in every regard. A couple things we have emphasized that I encourage other incoming commanders is to always be unified. Our disagreements have always been held behind closed doors, and we never place blame on higher elements and take ownership at our level. Additionally, I would encourage to lay out expectations immediately through initial counseling. I emphasized within the first week what my expectations were of him, particularly concerning all that is HR metrics. He has and continues to execute seamlessly, which allows me to focus on the horizon of the company instead of worrying about deadlines for the next award.

9. What is one piece of advice unique to your command that will help other commanders in your branch/command situation? (HHC, Branch, Garrison, Recruiting etc). If taking command of any vehicular platform, have an experienced Soldier teach you the ins and outs of that platform. It will expedite the process on your learning curve, especially in the maintenance realm.

10. Is there anything else you’d like to share with future company commanders? Just continually communicate your visions, principles, etc. to all levels of leadership throughout the company. Eventually, you’ll begin to see your ideas permeate to the lowest levels.