Whew!! ~10 miles on a the bike w/ resistance, ~4 mile row, or 3/4 mile swim. Yeeehaw! That’s kicking it for 25 mins (or less).

@copp – agreed, it’s such a great series! Do you have a favorite episode or scene?

These are great, Tiara! I’ve heard these so many times I had forgotten they were all Colin Powell. Which one resonates with you?

Here are a couple example conops:

https://juniorofficer.army.mil/?s=conop

Bringing this discussion back!

Company commanders, anything new to add?

How has recent strategic guidance (Large-scale combat ops, Focus on China/Russia, focus on ‘expeditionary’ etc) impacted your command or unit?

– What are your first steps toward leader-leader?

The author said it best, “each organization is different and unique. The people making up the organization have different backgrounds and a different level of tolerance for empowerment.” Given that view, leader-leader model starts with assessing yourself, how you (as a leader) fit in your…[Read more]

Where can you personally learn in your organization right now?

My “organization” looks a bit different right now since I am in graduate studies. What’s been a great learning experience for me has been encountering many of my peers who are on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.  I had not encountered many diverse gender identities or sexual expressions in…[Read more]

I come at motivating my subordinates from a side angle – I forbid then from using the word “just”. “I’m just a LT #pull the LT card”, “I’m just a SPC #ShameShield”.   Frequently when in a position of Staff OIC (and I’d say as officers in general), we’re the newbies in the room.  The NCOS and Soldiers have been there sometimes years ahead of us.  …[Read more]

The question is how do you define the term “best” for developing officers.  Is it promotion to Cpt, promotion to major?  For branches such as infantry where most of their soldiers are located at the brigade and below level, I think you absolutely have to serve in a maneuver brigade within your first 2 duty assignments.

Being a devil’s advocate b…[Read more]

Should you want to be “missed” from your organization after you leave? Why or why not?

I really like this question. As a co cdr, I saw the impact that short-sighted initiatives had on the unit.  As the book  Turn the Ship Around!   shows, this question relates to the fact that many officers (being pessimistic) drive their units to the ground know…[Read more]

Also,  Arianna, think about packing beyond the official unit packing list. Look at what is either very very generalized (‘hygiene kit’… “you know what you need, Soldier”) or not listed / implied (weather- / season-based gear).

To speak directly of the hygiene kit for a moment, female Soldiers need to be prepared with 1-2 months of menstrual…[Read more]

@arianna_howard : a small skill (implied most times), but a very important one, is radio etiquette.  It increases efficiency and clarity of comms, and (especially for both OC’s who don’t know you and the CC/1SG and fellow BN staff who is getting to know working with you) shows you know how to navigate the conversations. Quite simply, it shows y…[Read more]