JO Newsletter — May 2017

May is the lead-in to the busy summer months and we suspect all of our forum members are going at full speed. If you see something that you want to contribute to, just hit the link and go right to the item. If you want to submit a document or respond to a thread but can’t get to the forum, just reply to this email and we’ll get it posted.

Discussions

• Commanding in the ARNG/USAR: Reserve Component commanders have a whole host of unique challenges. What’s the best advice you can give someone who is about to take an ARNG or USAR company command?
• Counseling better and getting better counseling: Our April Jam question prompted some great reflections and some even better counseling tools. Feel free to add your own examples and TTPs!
• Memorial Week WODs: 1-16 IN shared their plan for a series of WODs tied to incredible acts of heroism in their unit history. Check it out, and share any great fitness approaches in your own kitbag!
• Leadership assignment selection: Getting picked for a leadership position should be about more than who’s next in the queue. What are some innovative mechanisms for talent management in leadership positions? How should junior officers make themselves stand out amongst their peers for these jobs?
• New vs. old retirement system: It may feel like a long way off, but the decisions our Soldiers make now about their retirement choices will impact them for decades to come. How are you helping your Soldiers make that decision?
• Lessons from Company Command: “3×5 Leadership” is sharing his big takeaways from Company Command in a 12-part series. If you could go back and do one part of command again, what would it be and how would you do it differently?

Got a question of your own to ask? Hit this link!

Content

• III Corps G1 Tools for Junior Officers: Our next batch of files provided via the III Corps Executive Officer Course focuses on the personnel side of things. There’s some great tools here for timeline management, evaluations, and more!
• Emergency APFT Prep Plan: We’ve all been there: calendar got away from us and we suddenly have a record APFT staring us in the face. Check out one member’s 1 week and 2 week crash prep programs.
• “You’ve been nominated for…”: Ever wonder how people get those nominative jobs? Read a leader’s story of his competition for a division aide-de-camp position.
• BN CDR Observations of Lieutenants: “O wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as ithers see us!”* Read a battalion commander’s observations of new lieutenants along with some concrete suggestions of how to address some of the concerns.
• Evaluation Addendum Process Map: Adding an addendum to an eval (required when new, verified derogatory or positive information comes to light that would have affected that eval) is a tricky, confusing process. This one shot process map seeks to take the mystery out of it.

Got a tool/SOP/document that can help others? Share it here!

Community News

• Coming soon — the Read2Lead community! This dedicated space will be devoted to discussions of professional reading between junior officers. Are you interested in conducting a book discussion within your unit, but need the resources to do so? The JO Team can provide books and the online space to conduct the discussions, along with coaching on crafting the right questions and drawing out meaningful observations. Just reply to this newsletter and let us know you’re interested.
• Did you know that CALDOL, steward of the JO Forum, also sponsors the Leaders Huddle Podcast? The podcast features engaging discussions to educate and inspire current and future generations of junior officers and other company-level leaders. Published every other week, the content of the podcast will develop your capacity as a leader and provide actionable guidance for improving your organization. You can view and listen to the podcast within the JO Forum. You can also subscribe on iTunes or Google Play, but we are working on an issue with Apple regarding the DoD security certificates that we use on the JO site. If you have trouble subscribing in the near future, please come to the forum and listen from there.
• Something about the JO forum not quite right? Let us know using the BugHunter thread!

* Robert Burns, “To A Louse”