How do you lead civilians in your organization? If you don’t have civilians, how do you lead people that you don’t have command or supervisory authority over?

As an MI Officer, I’ve had the pleasure of working and leading civilians both downrange and at home station.  I agree with comments above that one must be authentic and understand the…[Read more]

One of the most illuminating experiences I had about “stepping away” was an OPD in which we had the senior MI leader on post, discuss work-life balance.  I definitely invite other officers, when tasked to do execute an OPD, to invite a senior leader to come discuss “work-life balance.”

That being said, I have found that leaving work at work, fi…[Read more]

Rose – what a great post! I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about disciplined initiative and being a jack of all trades. As an MI LT, one is expected to provide timely intelligence and demonstrate competence in their primary duties. However, junior officers also get “selected” to execute other responsibilities. I was lucky enough to plan…[Read more]

I’ll provide a slightly different perspective. As a cadet, I served in reserve units for three years prior to commissioning and entering active duty. While I can’t speak specifically on the transition like brock.j.young did, I can say some things are different.  Unfortunately, there is somewhat of a perception of reserve units. However, like most…[Read more]

Overall, I agree that we should get together and discuss concerns among peers while having ‘drinking’ as an option. I agree that we can come up with a better name and have actually been to a couple of The Strategy Bridge events named “Cigars, Scotch and Strategy.”  While I attended these events, I did not partake in the cigars and scotch and…[Read more]

Master Outlook Calendar and Notebook.

Like brock.j.young mentioned,  I first obtain the master outlook calendar from the higher (battalion etc).  In a perfect world, the master outlook calendar is controlled by the S-3 shop and can adequately drive the battle rhythm for “higher events.” I ensure that my major company events are on that calen…[Read more]

@chris_s congrats! There are some great HHC posts on the forum. Make sure to check them out and look forward to hearing more about your experience.

The Staff/HHC CDR Relationship

Reply To: How to WIN the first 90 days of command

@eric-t-kim2-milmail-mil

Great question.  I think bringing up the qualities of Marine culture is perfect when considering discipline.  These questions remind me of the recent JAM discussion (https://juniorofficer.army.mil/discussion/inspiring-discipline-march-2018-jo-jam/). I agree  with some of the posts that instilling discipline at the ta…[Read more]

@eberlesa – I’m glad you brought up some of the issues OBJ-T. For one, I agree with @brock.j.young. You will have to communicate the challenges you are facing early AND often to your higher HQs. As for training, some commanders have mentioned they knock out a long-range training calendar, prioritizing METs (based off commander’s guidance), and…[Read more]

ae_rollinson  – I am sincerely excited about this change. I’ve actually taken the test in multiple occasions and believe it is a better assessment of overall fitness compared to what we have now. That being said, there will be issues (as with everything).  My largest concern centers around the training the trainer.  Yes, the current PT is si…[Read more]

@gagirlkeish Whether from pregnancy or an injury, its tough to be away. So, I sincerely hope you recover as quick as possible! I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind. As dayna.e.sanders mentioned, I think staying active is the right attitude.  Have a conversation with your chain of command and discuss expectations in both the near an…[Read more]

Hi Chris!

I spent a few short stints at Fort Bliss our the past few years. I found life at Fort Bliss to be enjoyable. like many things in life, they are what you make of it. It’s warm, of course, but there’s plenty of things to do in the area. The food options in the area are top notch, there are a bunch of outdoor places to hike, explore and…[Read more]