Joe,

My first Job was as an XO for a Recon Troop in Korea, it is a terrible first job to have as a 2LT and I promise that you are more armed for the position than I ever was. Remember that you are never alone and that you have a host of people both inside and outside your formation who want you to be successful because it makes their own lives easier. Those people include your ‘big’ XO,  S-6/S-4, and the 1SG to name just a few.

BLUF: Your principle duty is second in command,  it is your responsibility to remain informed of what is going on in the formation. Second, the XO maintains, supplies, and builds combat power through readiness as well as facilitates transportation and movement of company assets.

The XO needs to be successful in the following areas.

1. Maintenance. One of your more important but easier to learn jobs.

You own maintenance. Grab the 026 from your Maintenance Officer and ask him to explain it to you. Hold PLs accountable to know where their parts are, and get your PLs to brief their combat power to the CO. Your commander should know his or her maintenance status as well, help them know their Company. Know your service schedules. Maintenance events  belong on the calendar and should be briefed at the training meeting.

2. Sustainment. Also important, much harder to learn.

You are the Supply Officer for the Company/Troop/Battery. Understand all your classes of supply and learn the process for a FLIPL. At this point, I highly discourage the XO from doing FLIPLS – you need to recommend to your commander based on the complexity of a FLIPL which of the PLs should be assigned as IOs. Help the S-4/Supply Sergeant in managing the flow of FLIPLS in the Company.

You absolutely need to understand the systems of supply the Army uses. In my day it was PBUSE, but it has now transitioned in most formations to GCSS-Army. You are the point of failure when it comes to monthly SI inventories, cyclic inventories, and enforcing the Commander’s Supply Discipline Program (CSDP). Most of these supply actions belong on the calendar and should be briefed at the training meeting. You have requirements to ensure OCIE is inventoried as well.

You will resource training and warfighting. Whether that is latrines, bullets, ice or grease – you need to enable Platoons to execute training and missions based on their initial forecasts plus your own analysis of needs. The key word here is analysis, if you only ever fill requests as they occur you will always be reactive to supply needs. Forecast needs.

Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Company OPORD should include significant feedback from you.

3. Readiness. Is a function of manning, equipment and training.

Your battle buddy for readiness is the 1SG. He will handle all of the personnel and administrative issues that you don’t have to. Other than supply and maintenance, your other key areas of readiness are the Arms Room, CBRN, and Commo – commodity shops. Conveniently, the Army has seen fit to provide you with subordinate leaders to fulfill most of these positions.  A previous Brigade Commander once described the arms room as the “Soul” of a Company’s readiness. If your armorer is not following basic procedures to inventory, maintain, and secure your units combat essential equipment – this could be indicative that supply and maintenance procedures are lax elsewhere.

4. Movement. You will move the Troop. The Commander may plan the  movement, but you will often (in garrison and deployment) be the one who resources air lift assets, buses, determine the convoy movement plan, determine who the unit movement officer is (or fill this billet yourself). How do you get the Company from point A from point B? What is your recovery plan, what assets will you have available to recover and repair equipment during movement?

 

I spent 18 months as an XO, some of the heaviest lifting time I had in the Army – do not be distraught if you feel like you are just taking punches to the face for the first 6 months. It is not a position you will pickup easy, and you are usually a very easy bad guy when people don’t get the things they want when they want them. Best of luck!

Steven.