I’ve had several PSGs over the years, some of whom were extremely squared away and were an absolute blast to work with.. Others, I couldn’t find a way to get them to pull their heads out of their asses.

Either way, I’ve always noted the importance of counseling NCOs for many reasons, the most important of which I feel is to create a solid understanding between each other about expectations on either side of the leadership team. I think that this builds the foundation for the working relationship/friendship the PL/PSG/SLs should build and maintain.

I hate reading off of 4856’s. I’m a huge fan of annotating key talking points and making the atmosphere of counseling more of a conversations. The paperwork is merely a formality that assists the PL with holding the PSG/SLs responsible for their actions/performance and shows proof that expectations were indeed communicated. To put it bluntly its a “CYA” if it comes down to it.

In cases my PSG was less than squared away, I continually went back to all previous counselings with an “I told you so” in an attempt to guide the NCO back to expectations when they would come up with “I didn’t know” excuses. In cases my PSGs were exceptional, I would simply conduct quarterly’s and gear it more towards the “how are you doing, how am I doing, how can we improve as a team and individually?”

No counseling should ever be the same, sure main talking points can be the same for expectations etc.. but if its truly a conversation they should all differ.