I’ve done clickable table of contents as well. It’s actually really easy if you insert the TOC, then apply the appropriate headers to your outline (i.e. highlight, click “header 1”, etc). If you add sections, just use the right headers, then go back to the top and click “update TOC”. Looks pretty and not a lot of effort.

My change of command…[Read more]

We had two international students in my small group, one from Colombia, the other from Saudi Arabia. The Colombian put in all the hard work one would expect from an opportunity to study abroad, while the Saudi Arabian did not even put in the effort to pass the minimum standard. If he showed up to PT, he refused to work out, and just walked around…[Read more]

Deliberately not a reward system? Yes. I’ve been in units that advertised a reward at 270, only to rewrite the policy to 300 when too many qualified for the reward. With as many seasoned personalities as we have, I didn’t think a reward system would be believed or effective for those not meeting that standard already, and they essentially qualify…[Read more]

We’re Active Duty, but with enough schools, missions, and other TDY to effectively have the same challenge. We struggle to muster 25% of our unit on any given day for a Change of Command ceremony, and generally can’t rely on traditional Army methods of engaging formations in person.

Given that challenge, one of the first things I did to address…[Read more]

If I could bring anything new to my BOLC class, it’d be candid conversations with key leadership from units similar to where I’d be headed, and focusing that discussion on priorities and time management. Every leader has different priorities, and none of us have enough time to do everything everyone wants. If I knew the priorities of a Squad…[Read more]

@logisticus – we had a maintenance CW4 in BOLC give us small group walkthroughs on ways the Soldiers would try to get over on us. I wish I’d taken more detailed notes, but I didn’t get the chance to use that as a 2LT as we didn’t really use vehicles (i.e. quick deploying unit, fell in on different model vehicles than we had in garrison, etc).

HHB XO time was hard work, but definitely rewarding. Outgoing XO gave some simple advice that probably didn’t originate with him. “Each task you have is like another ball you’re juggling. Some of them are glass, others are rubber. No matter how good you are, if you’re juggling enough balls, eventually you’ll drop one. The trick is to not drop the…[Read more]

@ae_rollinson: Indeed, it is my “can opener”, my “hook”, and hopefully it’s interesting enough to get people to think.

And yes, these are short versions of my notes. Definitely guilty of not fleshing out the entire argument. For instance, “commanders brief red” was essentially the main point of an OPD I received a while back (likely BOLC) which…[Read more]

@spatelis – definitely agree we don’t want to diminish the enlisted and warrant contribution, but almost any argument we make is going to imply such a diminishment. Playing devil’s advocate on your proposed line of argument, I can see an audience asking how our enlisted population are not unique, risk takers, or young. If we make an argument for…[Read more]

@ae_rollinson @spatelis : I’m not just trying to answer why an officer billet exists in different MTOEs or TDAs, but why we commission lieutenants straight out of college, often with no prior real world experience. Of the nations that have ever had officers, I’m sure not all of them created an officer corps exactly like ours. One of my Soldiers…[Read more]

@George.l.gurrola I actually heard of the JO forum from Facebook, if I remember right. I’ve pushed the link to fellow company commanders here, but have not seen the JO forum promoted anywhere else.

1. Was your CCFSCC  / PCC worth attending?

Ours wasn’t worth the time. I wouldn’t fight attending though, since attending shows you care about doing the job well.

2. What was the most important thing you learned?

We received a robust calling tree that has proved useful when interacting with post entities. Receiving this in lieu of the course…[Read more]

Starship Troopers – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/

9th Company (subs not dubs) – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417397/

Patton – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066206/

None of these are a manual to success, but there’s so many examples worth discussing.

How do you communicate the impact of overload to higher?

– I’ve been using the Command Climate Survey as an opportunity to draft a memorandum of analysis with AAR comments. This seems to be the most respectful and authoritative way to present issues to higher.

– For a unit that trains collectively, highlighting failed events on “T-1” due to…[Read more]

Kenny,

I’d first start by knowing your own leadership style. For me, I learned that I am naturally distant from conversations with close friends, which led to progress when being less distant. For those who are more extroverted, being less distant might translate to “buddy-buddy” as so many have cautioned above.

“Leadership is solving problems.…[Read more]

To address the currently top-rated “what we’re not discussing” from the poll, “overload of training requirements” – we’ve known for a long time that there literally isn’t enough time to accomplish everything. One study projected over 400 days of 350-1 training to accomplish yearly, another projected 20 months of “required” training for every 12…[Read more]