Brock,

Great topic and I appreciate you sharing your story with the forum. Often, especially over the last few years through the Army downsizing, I, as a leader, have not had the personnel or the qualified personnel in positions that are critical to mission success. I do feel that the “buck stops here”, as company level officers we have to coach, teach, and mentor our subordinates to complete the mission, no matter their skill level.

When I was a BN S-4 I had an E-4 Trans NCO (88N) filling an E-6 billet. As a unit we were short 88Ns and did not have a qualified E-6 or even E-5 to fill the billet. I took on the challenge by treating him no differently than I would a NCO. I very simply told him that he was here to complete a certain job and that his expertise would be leaned on heavily within the shop and the unit. My NCOIC and myself continued to counsel him on his shortcomings and praise him for his work that he accomplished. It became apparent after a period of time, that prior leadership had not challenged this Soldier and therefore his capabilities were underestimated. In the end we were able to promote him to E-5 and give him an impact award for his outstanding performances.

The moral of this story is, you don’t always get what you need or want, but good leadership can and will motivate Soldiers to perform at their best. I have found that when Soldiers are given a clear task and purpose combined with the trust of their leadership to make decisions, Soldiers perform at their best levels. If a Soldier is not where they need to be, then it is on us, as leaders, to ensure that before they leave our units, they are where they need to be.

Not to sound like a broken record player, but no Soldier can fail if they have proper coaching, teaching, and mentoring. In short, good leadership cures all.

~ Joe