Maybe this is not the case for many units out there but the unit I am currently a part of (active duty component) has a culture where BDE HHC Senior NCO’s, WO and Officers are not required to attend PT. Although many might love this idea (I know I did at the beginning), it – excuse my language – sucks when all we rely on is morning PT as our wor…[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).

Oh man, where to start with this, Chad. That was a packed 2 years between deploying straight away, then every single element changing command (including the BN), then field preparation for JRTC, then after JRTC were a handful of missions that required extra focus from me as the S1, not to mention all these family challenges that I had going on…[Read more]

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]

Kelsey, these are GREAT questions and really dive deep into the heart of this dual-military struggle. Thanks for contributing them! I’ll be sure to incorporate your questions into my main posts to go through some more scenarios, but here’s the information to address your questions sooner rather than later.

For PCS: I almost always cc my spouse…[Read more]

I’m really mulling over the second part you posted (resisting the urge to solve problems). It’s really resonating with me as I deployed 2 months after joining my 2nd unit. I was given quite clear guidance that I was a big kid and didn’t need to wait the ’30 day window’ to make changes, but just execute, fix, and repeat time now.

Someone (I don’t…[Read more]

This is awesome, Gregory! Glad the training event was successful and you’ve got a mark on the wall for improvement, as well focus areas for future training. Thanks for the follow-up story!

The training went well. Of course the defense had to be set up in the pouring rain! It wasn’t perfectly executed, but everyone learned a lot and actually thanked me for taking them to the field. Sustainment units sometimes get locked into doing the jobs in the motor pool and forget all field standards/practices. We know where we are at concerning…[Read more]

This is awesome, thanks for sharing your time and efforts!

I finally found my old disc with all my products on it. Attached is our BSB TACSOP which has lots of defensive sector data on it. Really would like to know how this training event went.

I think pages 18-22 or so should help you. It goes over signing it down to units and the proper forms and proper way to cover everyone should something go wrong. This was our BDE ammo SOP.