Great post, Chad! There’s tons in here and I love the variety.  13 pages is for sure a lot of variety!! A few things that resonated with me, in no particular order:

– “Be curious”. I think that’s a great way to inspire questions without relying on the trope far too often leaned on of ‘I’m just a LT/SGT/etc, what do I know?’. Everyone can be…[Read more]

This reminds me of the relationship that my SQDN had with a medic platoon in the HHT. The Line Medics were all “assigned for duty” to the Line Troops. No problem except … there weren’t MTOE slots at those Troops, there were only MTOE slots with the PLT in HHT. So all medics were Assigned to HHT, but many had duty (were attached) to those Line…[Read more]

@adam.szczypka – For those not familiar with CY (or MI) OPCON / ADCON relatinoships, would you do into more detail so more folks can understand what means on a day-to-day and a mission basis?

@x70037 – Jeff, I do agree with you! I’m game for talking about re-aligning with standards and a PT test that doesn’t reward slamming backs into the ground…but the primary “eyebrow raiser” for me is the execution across the Army, just as @brock.j.young was saying. I think this new test will slam ARNG & USAR components. Exactly as Brock said,…[Read more]

I submit a “reflection” instead of “an experience” for this JO Jam.

In my present job, I work with many retired NCOs, one in particular who was in the parade in Berlin when the Berlin Wall came down. I was only a few months old when the Berlin Wall came down, so it’s only something that I have experienced through books, movies, and re-watching…[Read more]

Also, I want to expand on your self-reflection about understanding how birth control works. It’s definitely important for a couple to understand how that factors into their plans for a pregnancy!

Birth control that works via hormones (daily pills; some IUDs; shots, patches, other implants) require time for adjustment and, also as you said,…[Read more]

Ray, I keep re-reading your comment because I can’t decide where to start, it’s so helpful!

To continue your thoughts on communicating, here’s a piece of advice / thought experiment from my pre-wedding marriage counseling. Mileage may vary, but it really helped me get my head around wedding vows. If someone in a relationship is withholding…[Read more]

Hi, Kate! Great question.  I can’t answer for Benning, but I think this will still give you a good general idea.

While not nearly as aggressive as Basic, yes, you will jump right in.  For AG school house, the first week is a urinalysis and APFT, along with ~1 day of intro briefs with chain of command, and the rest is baseline informal testing f…[Read more]

Loving the different take here, Steve! I agree, reflection on something like a deployment can feel like pressure to use buzzwords and.give a cookie cutter answer, or be brutally honest and judged for a different perspective.

Great question, George! Can’t wait to hear how others adapted to one of these first but ongoing challenges of command.

@george.l.gurrola – you’re so, so right about not only delivering “bad news” (whether it be training, taskings, or otherwise).   I had a HQ CC who did that, just always delivering the news of something that was late or hot, basically that I’d have to 180 at least a handful of folks.  It became a conditioned response after awhile. Anyway, after h…[Read more]