I’ve been in those organizations where NCOs tuned out. Amazingly, all I had to do was (2 things) ask, and then let them do it. NCOs used to tune out when they felt there was no difference/recognition/separation between the doers and the conmen. In the days when everyone got a 1 over 1, that killed organizations, as the conmen got the same report…[Read more]

I designed a coin w/ my 1SG and Soldiers really wanted to earn one. I also gave very short briefs on Friday – 1 min. Safety Brief, touching on the top 3 safety concerns, the top 3 mitigations, and 1-2 last minute updates from S-2. I did this by practicing succinctness before hand – worked out great. I spent another 1 min. talking about the Troop i…[Read more]

This is what I view as some of the problem we as a profession have allowed to develop. NCOs are always leaders, if we are just allowing them to turn wrenches I have to ask if we as officers are not doing our jobs.

OPTEMPO is never an excuse to move move from the fundamentals of leadership at the NCO ranks. Without the time and expectation of…[Read more]

Cale, while you are right that NCO’s “need an identity” I think that you need to take into account that in a FSC, those NCO’s are literally the guys you have turning wrenches. They aren’t just in charge of a section, they also are liable to work for the battery’s and platoons within the BN. The section/platoon NCOs, the Maintenance Control…[Read more]

Training is everything and everything is training…  This was written on a wall in my basic training DFAC.  I’ve taken it on as a bit of a mantra in the years since.  So how did I as a commander handle it?

1.  Look at every training requirement you have deliberately.  What are the tasks, conditions and standards?  There are a lot of train…[Read more]

Training is everything and everything is training…  This was written on a wall in my basic training DFAC.  I’ve taken it on as a bit of a mantra in the years since.  So how did I as a commander handle it?

1.  Look at every training requirement you have deliberately.  What are the tasks, conditions and standards?  There are a lot of train…[Read more]

I took command of a brigade HHC that had similar issues.  The answer is surprisingly yet complicated to execute.  I brought every NCO in my formation into the room and had regular mentoring discussions.  First focus on the NCO identity, I began by having an NCO read the creed.  We then focused on what it meant to them.  While lavertym is righ…[Read more]

Having been in an FA FSC I was about to respond, but wanted to get some more clarification. Do you have some examples of where officers are having to lead instead of NCO’s? What has the 1SG said about what your predecessor said? Honestly, from my point of view, an FSC is and must be a very officer driven org because the NCO’s are either turning…[Read more]

Thanks for posting.  I’d actually been struggling with this a bit recently.  While I may be “OOO” I still tend to keep up with email and respond when needed.  I stopped using the OOO message if I was planning on responding, but this article gave me a new way of looking at it as a way to let people know my response time will be slower than usual an…[Read more]

The tasks never stop, do they? A bit of good news is that we have shortened the list of AR 350-1 mandatory training requirements this past year.  Hopefully, people are listening to us as we continuously beat that drum.   Over the years I have learned a few lessons on how to prioritize my list of mandatory tasks.

1.  What metrics are being re…[Read more]

Can’t go past the first page on the topic threads- I click “2”, click “11”, and on the “->” but it only reloads the 1st page of topics. I am on a government computer and on IE, if that matters. 🙂

I LOVE these ideas! I especially like the idea of hand written notes and homemade food/potlucks. It speaks volumes to thank someone specifically on how they’ve impacted the organization. Meaningful versus generic goes a long way. Giving thanks and showing appreciation should be a part of every Leader’s personal battle rhythm.

I think Management was my biggest gap as a junior Officer. As a senior CPT, we are expected to be proficient in our leadership style and how we manage teams. I think we could do a much better job to ensure that senior CPTs and junior field grades do feel more confident in their management style. I’ve been in the military over 8 years now and still…[Read more]

I have found that Soldiers and even myself are more appreciative of small gestures of appreciations.

I took to writing personal notes after I was wowed by a General officer doing the same for me. It was one of the first times I had Soldiers come up to me and personally tell me how much that gesture meant to them.

Pizza!  I’ve used food a lot o…[Read more]

As a junior officer in the National Guard, Mission Planning seemed to be the most difficult to be successful at with the limited time and resources I had available.  When I studied the choices, I realized that I had full-time staff to help with the others, but Mission Planning was something that I was left to my own devices to figure out.

Jeff,

Ray noted a lot of key things you need to really put some thought into. Understanding where you want your company to be helps you determine what you need to focus on now to get it there.

As for specific details on your meeting content, a lot of the necessary details will come from your battalion and your sister companies. Your battalion…[Read more]

Jeff,

Ray noted a lot of key things you need to really put some thought into. Understanding where you want your company to be helps you determine what you need to focus on now to get it there.

As for specific details on your meeting content, a lot of the necessary details will come from your battalion and your sister companies. Your battalion…[Read more]

Eli,

I am sure someone will be along shortly to give much better recommendations but until then I will just give you three that I can think of. I’m not quite sure what you are looking for as it sounds like you want more primary sources of information, and I do not really have any of those, but maybe what I can recommend will assist y…[Read more]