I’ve spent the last few months developing a plan for how to best integrate myself into my new unit. I oftentimes find myself looking back at when I was a 2LT arriving at my first unit and reflecting on what I did well and what I did poorly in my first job as a staff officer. I’d like to share a few of those lessons here in hopes that other people may benefit from my experience.

1. Anticipate requirements and act accordingly. This can also be understood as “disciplined initiative.” As an Army officer, most of your jobs require you to constantly evaluate the 2nd and 3rd order effects of any course of action. Anticipating is difficult without experience or knowledge as reference. Luckily for you, the Army has a host of publications and professional development websites (like this one) available for you to gain entry-level knowledge on your future job. I challenge you ask yourself the following questions before you arrive at your new unit: “What is my job doctrinally and how can I prepare myself right now to best execute my duties?” If you don’t know what you’ll be doing (i.e. chain of command hasn’t told you your job), it’s probably a safe bet to assume you’ll be on staff if you’re going to a FORSCOM unit. Start understanding your responsibilities and taking action towards setting the conditions for your success early.

2. Be a jack of all trades. Good staff officers are selfless. They execute their assigned duties and then some, all while keeping a positive attitude. As a new staff lieutenant, you will have a number of additional duties. Embrace them. Learn as much as you can about your specified and additional duties. It will be overwhelming and frustrating at times, but your expansive knowledge and experiences will only make you a better asset later in your career.

3. Volunteer to be an Investigating Officer (IO). If you don’t already know what an IO is, see Army Regulation 15-6 Investigating Officer’s Guide. Being an IO rapidly exposes you to a number of people within your unit, familiarizes you with the Army investigative procedures, familiarizes you with UCMJ, and provides you an opportunity to make an important contribution to your unit.

4. Overcommunicate to your immediate supervisor. Your immediate supervisor is responsible for everything your section does or fails to do. Always keep them informed of what you’re doing so that they can keep you on track. Don’t wait for your supervisor to ask you what you’re doing. Take the initiative to go to them. This type of initiative will strengthen your relationship with them because they will be able to trust that you will keep them informed, and you can start to get a grasp of your supervisor’s way of thinking. This is something I did poorly as a lieutenant. I rarely engaged my immediate supervisor of my own accord, and I believe I lost out on the opportunity to better anticipate my supervisor’s needs.

5. Sign for property while on staff, or at least manage the property within your section. You won’t be responsible for much, but this is another opportunity to get exposure to a critical Army officer responsibility. By signing for equipment or managing the equipment, you will be introduced to the Army’s command supply discipline program and how to properly manage equipment before you’re responsible for an entire platoon’s worth of equipment.

6. HHC sensitive item inventories are extensive, but when done correctly, are another chance to familiarize yourself with the Army’s command supply discipline program. You don’t want to wait until you’re a platoon leader or an executive officer before you learn what’s considered SI and the storage/security procedures associated with SI.

I welcome any thoughts or counter-arguments to my advice above. I’d also appreciate hearing anyone else’s sustains and improves from their time as a junior staff officer.