I have a CD with 3 separate sound clips that I can throw into a small boombox or larger sounds system and hit repeat for multiple hours of ambient noise that automatically increases training difficulty to any scenario.

The first is the crowd noise from a World Cup. A crazy loud thrum of hundreds of thousands of people screaming at the tops of…[Read more]

Like Patrick, I’ve seen the dark side of loyalty first hand. Officers who should be drummed out of the service, instead being promoted because they have the right friends (above 1 star…). The transgressions of a squad of SGMs overlooked simply because the CG didn’t want the organization as a whole to look bad. The SPC who falsified a report when…[Read more]

Armel,

The above posts hit all the right points. Know you equipment, know your soldiers, and know how it fits into the overall mission. As a commander, I would love it when staff sections would ask me to get in on their training. For example, if you as an S-6 go to the training briefing and see Company X is out doing a range maybe you can ask the…[Read more]

I’ve read a plethora of leadership books over the years.  I’m a big fan of Simon Sinek and John C. Maxwell.  I’ve used “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader” as OPD.

David Marquet’s “Turn the Ship Around!” taught me invaluable lessons about empowering leadership in others. I tend to be a bit controlling, so this provided some s…[Read more]

Leaders coming into a new organization are counting on their leaders (including Junior Officers) to prepare them for their new job. It is our responsibility to prepare some sort of welcome brief for our new boss. New leaders in a new unit should be briefed on your roles and responsibilities, your capabilities, unit strength, what your mission is,…[Read more]

Well, @logisticus, @celineoh, @adam.szczpka, @captaink2008, and all of the others who’ve taken the time to respond and or read this post, I’ve had the opportunity to try out my own personal actions on contact yet again.

Last night I received a cryptic message from one of my new Soldiers (I just inherited a detachment of 80, located 100+ miles…[Read more]

Maybe a little too heavy of a topic?

Brad,

I’m with the Kentucky National Guard and am happy to help out.  While I am not an EN officer, I do have some peers in that field who would be willing to help out and even mentor your NG LTs. Feel free to shoot me an email at carla.a.raisler.mil@mail.mil or contact me through this forum.

Regards,

Carla

Wade,

If you have the counseling’s to support this OER then I would by all means say that you are duty bound to write this negative OER. When the new NCOER came out while in command I had to give a SSG a qualified NCOER. In the out brief I was honest with him and said, “you are 5 out of 6” SSGs in my company. He started to get emotional and I l…[Read more]