The role of specialty advisor also crosses outside of the XO/Staff realm and certainly also extends into the Specialty PL lane as well. My entire time as an LT was a the CBRN Recon PL in a Stryker Recon Squadron, and as both the only Specialty PL and the defacto BN Chemo, I was given substantial leeway to both advise my HHC Cdr and the BN S3 section on how to plan and execute training that integrated my platoon, both to achieve my training objectives and to support those of my peers in the line Scout Troops.

Both in my position and as the “Senior PL” by time at the unit and in grade, it was important for me to develop a relationship based on my own technical competence and on my ability to translate technical knowledge into tactical reality to support my unit. A shallow focus on merely building and sustaining excellence within a specialty platoon may seem like the right thing to do, but the ability for the specialty PL to advise Field Grades, Senior NCOs, and their peers on the employment of their enabler asset is what sets the best apart from others.