I took command of C Troop, 4-9 CAV, 2 ABCT, 1st Cavalry Division in December of 2017 while on rotation to Fort XXX in the Republic of Korea. I could not ask for a better Troop and am immensely proud of what my Scouts have accomplished so far. I have been in command for just shy of six months, but have learned more than I ever thought I would. I am going to use the Leader’s Log on the JO forum to help document some of the lessons I have learned so far. These memories are still fresh in my mind and have not been blurred out by time. I hope this will help future commanders and make their lives a bit easier. So if you are reading this, please know that I would greatly appreciate and consider it a privilege if you posted a comment, question, or idea for me!

I PCS’d to Fort Hood in the summer of 2017 and immediately jumped on a plane to catch up to the Brigade who had been in Korea for around a month. I find myself incredibly fortunate because I received the opportunity to command Crazyhorse Troop after only a few months on Squadron Staff as the Planner. There are some downsides to getting command quickly though. Those downsides can be universal regardless of your unit or location, like not knowing your peers well. There is immense value in having toiled on Brigade and Squadron Staff with your fellow commanders. Those relationships built through long hours writing and rewriting OPORDs can pay huge dividends when you need to co-use land to get your M4 qualification numbers up or you are planning the perfect Section STX lane incorporating engineer support. This post is not about those universal downsides and instead it is about specific issues in regards to taking command quickly in the Republic of Korea. This is not me complaining, but more if I could do it again I would focus more energy in these areas. I am going to focus on two areas in particular; allied partners and legal issues. There are many more lessons one can learn from this situation, but these were the big ones that I faced taking command late in a rotation.

My Squadron partnered with two Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) Battalions and each Troop was partnered with respective Companies from those Battalions. I missed the RIP/TOA as a late deployer and did not get introduced to any of the key leaders from our ROKA partners. I did not have an opportunity to conduct any engagements with our Korean partners during my short stint on Squadron Staff. I had a condensed time-frame to take command and most of my time was dedicated to inventories. Next thing I knew I was in the seat and the previous Commander had redeployed to the States in order to take a second command. The relationships built between leadership at levels with our ROKA counterparts is an integral part of the Alliance with the Republic of Korea. I had to reach out on my own and track down my partners in order to ensure we ready to “Fight Tonight” as the saying goes.

If I could start over I would have forced that to be an issue during my RIP with the outgoing Commander. Inventories are obviously very important, but the alliance can not be ignored. It does not matter how little time one has prior to taking Command. Those partnered relationships are too important to let fall by the wayside. If you ever find yourself on the Korean Peninsula, take advantage of every opportunity to meet with your partners whether formally or informally. I was not ready to fight alongside my partners because I did not ensure we were introduced prior to taking the guidon.

The second biggest challenge of taking command quickly was learning legal issues the hard way in Korea. My Squadron was on a different base than the Brigade and I had never met the Brigade’s legal team even if that means you make an awkward phone call from a different base just to say, “Hi”. Korea is a unique environment with a lot of additional rules and more opportunities for Soldiers to get in trouble. The simplest way to think about it is that you are taking Soldiers away from home for nine months and they are allowed to drink, but have a curfew. It is a recipe for a lot of incidents. The best advice I can give any new Commander is befriend the Brigade’s legal team. The first time I spoke to them was when I was appointing one of my Platoon Leader’s to conduct a Commander’s Inquiry into what one of my NCOs had done. I wish it was not that way, but I had only been to the Brigade HQ once prior to taking Command and that was to do the in-brief with the Brigade Commander. I would say the minute you find out you are taking command and especially if you are in Korea, you should reach out to the Brigade legal office and start a conversation. They have seen it all and will have excellent advice. They all want to help and can help you avoid a headache down the road. A proactive Command can help minimize incidents while on rotation to Korea, but you cannot get that number down to zero. If you reach out to the lawyers early and often you can avoid headaches when something eventually happens.