Unfortunately it never took place. We had an emergency that required multiple hours of effort to fix, and then when the dust settled I was pulled into my BC’s officer and told I was talking command of one of our companies, so I had to bounce and start my assessment. Maybe next time….

I believe we’ll all experience this more than once throughout our career.  For me, the degree to which the rater and senior rater (SR) diverge dictates how I would handle this problem.

Minor discrepancies can often be handled by addressing the problem directly with the rater to adjust fire on expectations.  It’s the major break-aways from SR’…[Read more]

Micah,

Some good stuff on your document, a few of them I did not think about when I made my 3 DITY moves.

One other thing I would add is to make sure you have a load plan.  For example, I did not plan to unload EVERYTHING the first day we arrived so I made sure that I loaded some things last, like the kid’s bed stuff, pet supplies, some pots…[Read more]

A lot of great techniques/ideas on counseling. I am late to the conversation, but I do want to add one technique that was valuable for me as a commander. As Gary points out in the above post, providing questions in advance is important for an effective counseling session. Taking the advice of a mentor, the last question I always asked on the…[Read more]

On a separate point, I’ve been told my counseling style is pretty good. So this weekend I’m conducting an LPD class on “how to counsel.” The class will be composed of all of the NCOs and officers of my unit in a room, staring at 2 chairs and a table. At that table will be me and my NCOIC, and the class will consist of the class watching me…[Read more]

In the Guard and Reserves, counseling comes down to preparation before drill.  There isn’t enough time to do the mandated counseling (e.g. APFT/HT-WT failures, MND noncompliance, AWOLs, etc.), let alone the solid, developmental counseling that is needed to develop subordinates.  Leaders in the reserve components need to not only put in the time pr…[Read more]

In the Guard and Reserves, counseling comes down to preparation before drill.  There isn’t enough time to do the mandated counseling (e.g. APFT/HT-WT failures, MND noncompliance, AWOLs, etc.), let alone the solid, developmental counseling that is needed to develop subordinates.  Leaders in the reserve components need to not only put in the time pr…[Read more]

In the Guard and Reserves, counseling comes down to preparation before drill.  There isn’t enough time to do the mandated counseling (e.g. APFT/HT-WT failures, MND noncompliance, AWOLs, etc.), let alone the solid, developmental counseling that is needed to develop subordinates.  Leaders in the reserve components need to not only put in the time pr…[Read more]

In the Guard and Reserves, counseling comes down to preparation before drill.  There isn’t enough time to do the mandated counseling (e.g. APFT/HT-WT failures, MND noncompliance, AWOLs, etc.), let alone the solid, developmental counseling that is needed to develop subordinates.

Leaders need to not only put in the time preparing good c…[Read more]

@patrick-d-moore1 , absolutely great points! I was talking to my BN S4 NCOIC today about a FLIPL that’s going down right now, and she had some advice I think fits here: Counseling!

Commanders who counsel their Supply SGTs, who give them direction and limits; who tell the supply SGTs that everything will be hand receipted, states what they are…[Read more]

For those who are not sure how the new “Blended” retirement system differs from the current system, I’ve attached a 1-page PDF to help explain it.  Additionally, here is a link to a story that explains it more deeply.