@cplenge,

This is one of those situations where both are right.

From my own experience and observation, leaders at all levels FAIL to develop subordinates. BN/BDE level ODP/LDP/NCODP are worthless, often dry, detail free PP or briefs with briefers who were chosen last minute (opposed to being chosen for their strength) and given no guidance on…[Read more]

Sapper School (like Ranger School) is officially designated the “Sapper Leader Course” and it is open for all branches. However, attending these schools costs money and it can occasionally be a challenge to get authorized to go by your unit (who will need to pay). Units will often refer to their TOE (table of organization and equipment) to tell…[Read more]

Good questions and comments and more questions. I’m no guru, but I’ll attempt an answer and maybe some of the smarter folks on the forum can offer their insights as alternative perspectives or reinforcement.

I prepared mentally through a not so humble process of relative comparison. Roughly ~50% of my lieutenant buddies would not graduate Ranger…[Read more]

George,

I think an important piece to this is peer feedback.  Despite your best efforts you may not always get good feedback from your troops.  Or as I’ve frequently seen, troops with just one or two assignments may not know anything different than their current assignment or the dreaded in my last unit….

A trusted peer can be a great m…[Read more]

I feel very hot and cold about social media. There’s certainly times that I love it and being able to keep in touch with certain people in an easier fashion than individual emails, text messages, Christmas cards, or phone calls. But … I have security concerns about these platforms as well (caveat / confession — yes, ack this varies on the p…[Read more]

@vanezzaospina / Hmm, you asked for writing tools. Maybe providing Attachments to the BN Memo of the specific award templates could help? Also, have you talked to your BC and/or CSM? Depending how closely you work with them, getting one (or both) of them to put this out to Command Teams (likely during Command and Staff) could be helpful to both…[Read more]

@vanezzaospina / Here’s the resources that @rakimball mentioned. Maybe you’ll get some ideas from this!

@smehr – thank you for the feedback and the positive comment!

I recommend you also take a look at some of the interviews as well as the leader’s log to delve into some of the challenges and opportunities Commanders are facing.

Here is the latest command interview.

LINK or address at:…[Read more]

@jeremyboeh

I feel your pain. AGR, since 2012. Aide, PL, BN A-S3, full time BN 3, S1, Company Commander, BDE A-S3… It never seems to stop.

I recommend attacking it just like any other M-day commander does. Work out a daily battle rhythm of when and what you need to do, and then pen in some time for your Company Command role. We’re lucky that…[Read more]

Wow, that sounds amazing! Do you have a conop or more info on the planning/execution of the event? For example, hw long did you have for the “healthy discussion.” I feel oftentimes there are misunderstandings that can easily be solved by having honest conversations and feedback. Your method, when done properly, seems to be very effective.

Social Media… you’re doing it wrong.
 Sorry #NotSorry for the #Clickbait title. I felt like it was appropriate for the topic. I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time. Thank you to the JOF team for giving me the incentive to stop procrastinating. 
 If you haven’t heard, social media is a thing. We can ignore entirely the debate around your…[Read more]

Thanks for the link, @rakimball, I’ll dig up the data off MilSuite and will post here.

In the meantime FWIW, I agree with @cplenge that distinguishing between 1 of at least 3 distinct problems that could be all happening at once is very important … and challenging.  Initial help, I’d say make sure to communicate the specific issue to…[Read more]

@george-l-gurrola

I try to teach the biggies; SHARP, suicide prevention, and resilience at a minimum. Having served 22 years, I have a perspective not many CPT’s have. It’s fun watching the faces of new troops when we discuss how “life changing” or “bad” getting an article 15 can be, and I point out that it doesn’t have to destroy your life……[Read more]

Incomplete list… Missing WTF; IDGAF; FUBAR; and JAFO to name a few.

Hah!

Thanks for the share.

Brock

There’s some really good points here that resonated with me. I agree with Jeff ( @x70037 ) that maybe a different title would be helpful. I also agree with Chad’s concerns about alcohol, as well as some of Brock’s counterpoints.

I personally think it significantly comes down to the US drinking age being 21 and alcohol (which is a drug, just as…[Read more]

@brock.j.young – great points about being cautious and bringing up commanders who over-react. Similar to Command Climate Assessments/ Surveys, it is important to gain perspective on people’s comments and as they say separate the signal from the noise.  Soldiers will complain, it is human nature. However, I argue what separates good and great…[Read more]