A good NCO worth his/her weight in gold. One of the most satisfying parts about being an officer is getting to work with/partner with NCOs.

After absorbing doctrine, I shrug and say- communication is the bedrock for all outcomes. I am not smarter, more talented, maybe just wiser for the scars I bear, and have prioritized communication vs. mission accomplishment, because communicating effectively accomplishes missions far more easily, more effectively, and eliminates go-to guys and gals.

Imagine, discussing something clearly with your team, and establishing how we’re going to do it, with everyone’s input up front? Find the whip to mark off gates as we complete them as a team through to completion?

Key- how to do this? Growing/influencing/inspiring team sometimes is challenging due to op-tempo. Don’t recommend you do this, but consider what I’m saying: no online training, zero certificates, and zero civilian briefers (resilience, sensitivity, etc.). Think of what I said, metaphorically as in, buying time/setting priorities, applying common sense and get after real training- weapons, STT, STX, FTX, progression, re-training.

Also latest trend- Objective T = prioritizing to the point of not training a unit how you’ll actually fight, so you can brief that you did x repetitions on certain METs. Training isn’t qualification. You qualify when you win on the battlefield.