Ness,

Great question and the eternal bane of being an M-day leader in the reserves.  My solution has been this:

1)  Create an understanding and expectation that as officers and leaders we are expected to do “homework” in order to be successful.  Leadership doesn’t end with final formation.  Therefore, as a staff officer we expect you to complete your portion of MDMP and arrive to drill prepared to present/execute.

2)  Commander’s emphasis is crucial.  This is where the power of the OER and follow on assignment is crucial.  As an M-Day you have 24 days to prepare for annual training – that’s it.  That also means you have just 24 days to develop great points for your OER.  The more you do the easier it is to write the OER support form.

3)  Help your Staff find the time to manage.  Its amazing what 10-15 minutes of dedicated work each day can accomplish.  Can you block a set time each day to focus on this important work.  That’s between 5-7.5 hours of work between drill per month.  It can be hard to dedicate that much time in a single event but when broken down over the month its much more manageable.

4)  Once in place use your AGR wisely.  There are tasks that only they can accomplish due to their access to systems and people.  Don’t waste their time with tasks you can accomplish.  For example: don’t make you full timer write an OPORD.  You should do that, instead use your full time staff to access DTMS to put the training into the system.  Have them coordinating ranges, ordering CL V in the system.  Also rely on their continuity in the system.  If you are working as a team, the things you can accomplish are incredible.  If you’re running it well the M-Day team are the leading/executing portion of the unit.  The AGRs are synchronizers/staffers.

5)  Sync calls.  There are numerous free conference lines available that you can use to conduct a monthly sync call/webex.  Personally, I run an hour call on the Monday before drill to discuss changes that will ALWAYS happen between final formation Sunday and the next drill.  I bring both full time and Mday together to build a team approach.

6)  Competency.  Its sad but true, many times as MDay folks we lose the skills we learned in school but didn’t use at our last unit.  Be a resource for your peers.  A simple hey, how can I help you prepare for this MDMP event?  This can go a long way.

7)  Tactical Patience.  Standing up a new unit can be incredibly challenging.  I am standing up a new company right now.  When you do this you will inherit a bunch of officers and NCOs on staff who learned “their way to do it”.  My message was we were going to absorb best practices from everyone and shed the worst.  Recognize that progress will be slow, its like pushing the barrel the hill, eventually you crest the top and gravity will take over.