I wanted to add one other thing.  Remember that the impression you set can follow you.  That can be a great thing if you set a positive impression or a not so great thing if you set a poor impression on CTLT.  One of the Commanders during my CTLT ended up being my BN S3 when I was a Commander.  He remembered me (for good things) which gave me ini…[Read more]

Seth,

That is a great question.  The first thing I do is try to determine why the morale is low.  That can help guide you to potential solutions.  For example, if there is a toxic leader, you can target the solution towards that leader (counseling the leader, retraining, moving them to a new position, relieving them, legal act…[Read more]

Connor,

If you know the branch or specific unit you are going to, look them up online.  See what they do and prepare questions you may have for them.  The questions could be general leadership questions, branch specific questions, or unit specific questions.  Also, take advantage of every opportunity to learn while you are there.  I was able to…[Read more]

Pat,

Typically units run three days a week (M-W-F) and do some sort of MSE twice a week (Tu-Th).  The biggest issue I see is leaders (not just LTs) do not understand how to vary intensity.  A common one is every run is a fast run.  Leaders push their Soldiers to always run fast or make every run a competition.  When I designed a new run pro…[Read more]

Great question!  I believe the two best things you can do are to identify problems and provide information/referrals to relevant resources.  You are likely not able to solve all of the problems on your own.  However, if you can identify the problem, you can get the Soldier to someone who is an expert in that area. Also, by posting resources and…[Read more]

@ae_rollinson, excellent suggestions!  Keeping a copy of the paperwork you mentioned has saved me numerous times.  During my first PCS, I was charged for my graduation leave.  Luckily I kept a copy of my leave form, so I was able to get it taken care of relatively quickly.  You never know when some of that paperwork will come in handy.  Your sugg…[Read more]

Ab, you are spot on regarding the importance of buy in within an organization.  Engaging subordinate leaders is a great way to build buy in.  Another method that worked well with me was talking with the popular and well-respected Soldier(s) within the unit.  This was not always someone in a designated leadership role, but their ability to sway a…[Read more]

Great topic Wilton!  My first post choice was Germany.  I really wanted to serve abroad and this was the only option I had to go OCONUS.  I looked at locations where there were multiple opportunities for my branch (MP).  Germany had a diverse range of opportunities.  I also was really looking forward to the personal opportunities, such as trave…[Read more]

Great topic Wilton!  My first post choice was Germany.  I really wanted to serve abroad and this was the only option I had to go OCONUS.  I looked at locations where there were multiple opportunities for my branch (MP).  Germany had a diverse range of opportunities.  I also was really looking forward to the personal opportunities, such as trave…[Read more]

I copied some text from MS Word into the message editor.  It pasted like normal, but when it posted, all of the formatting code showed up as well.  I am not sure if there is an easy solution to that, but wanted to let you know.

Here is what it looked like:

<span style=”color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman;”>
</span>
<p sty…[Read more]

Hello everyone!  I’m Chad Plenge and am very excited to be a part of this community.

I served 18 months as a law enforcement/honor guard PL in Germany.  My other assignments include multiple stints as a BN S2/S3 and also as a HHD Commander for CID.  So many people aided my development as a leader and I am very passionate about sharing what I’…[Read more]