The year 2020 has been quite a wild ride for not just soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines and their families, but for leadership across the globe. Coronavirus Disease 2019 or better known as COVID-19 has changed life as we know it. The DoD has published guidelines (1 OPORD and many, many FRAGORDs) for mission essential manning and scaled back training to protect the force, however, they have reiterated the importance of readiness, lethality, and taking care of the force and our families. This has forced leaders at the lower levels to drastically change training and assess how we conduct daily business.
Recently, the Professor of Military Science (PMS) at Shippensburg University’s ROTC, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Morton asked me to dial in to a recent Cadets training meeting. I offered my perspective and advice to the cadets from my experience since commissioning from the program in May of 2017. Since this conversation, I have reflected on everything I have learned and what has changed in the past three months with the spread of COVID-19. This article is a reflection of what I have learned, while also addressing the effects COVID-19 has had on my unit. The purpose is to provide new army leaders with perspective and constructive insight towards the current operating environment. It is far different from when I commissioned in May of 2017.
Leverage your Noncommissioned Officer Leadership
Just as our instructors told us a million times in school, ROTC, and at the Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC), listen to your NCOs. We are the only military in the world with a professional noncommissioned officer corps like the one you see today and I recommend one gives it the respect it deserves. Respect and humility are a good starting place for any position or new unit you find yourself reporting to. NCOs have their finger on the pulse of soldier’s morale and they know the limitations so you don’t become the officer who tries to bite off more than he or she can chew. It happens more often than you would think.
Realize not all leaders are going to be perfect, and they will make mistakes just like you and I do. The best leaders I have seen aren’t afraid to fail and even when they do fail, they learn from it and make themselves, and their unit, better for the next training event, range, or whatever the task at hand may be. Embody this same mentality and it will spread throughout the unit.
Adaptability, Training, and Critical Thinking
This is arguably the hardest thing I have seen leaders at all levels struggle with during the COVID-19 pandemic. Think there’s a one size fits all solution? If so, be sure to share it with us. The fact is even with the social distancing requirements, face mask requirements, and guidelines put in place by DoD leadership, the virus has severely restricted the way we train as a military. Yes, it is possible to mitigate these restrictions to a point, and yes COVID-19 most likely will not always affect the military as it does today, but nonetheless, it has forced leaders at the lower levels to get creative when it comes to planning and executing training.
Whether it’s a battalion live fire exercise, company or platoon field training exercise, or even sergeant’s time training at the team level, all involve leaders taking an active role in the training. Show up and be able and willing to adapt to meet the mission set or address the problem in front of you. Adaptability is never easy, but it will make your unit better trained and better prepared when they are called upon to conduct their mission.
Critical Thinking
The phrase “critical thinking” has become a buzz word in recent months with the introduction of COVID-19, however, it is perhaps one of the best skills for a leader at any level to possess. To “think outside the box” and be capable of developing creative solutions to problems (simple or complex) is a vital characteristic of a leader in any organization. Do not mistake at which levels the concept of critical thinking can be applied. The US Army has Technical Manuals and Doctrine for some problems, but with the ever changing battlefield and advances in technology, new problems such as COVID-19 will always arise requiring leaders to think outside the box. Creativity coupled with analytical and problem solving skills lead to effective and efficient systems. Regardless of your leadership position, step back and assess the problem from an outside-in perspective.
Discipline and Development
Find the one thing that acts as a discipline instiller and it will keep you on track. With the introduction of COVID-19, I have seen leaders, peers, and soldiers get off track when it comes to discipline. The fact is we have a job to do and it requires us to do things like staying physically fit, eating healthy, maintaining our personal equipment, and training. If you do find yourself with extra time, use it to better your unit, your community, or yourself. Whether it’s picking up trash or taking a college class online, you are continuously improving.
Teamwork, Relationships, Leadership
When you put on your uniform, look down and what do you see? Many people look down and see their rank, some see their name…or some see the badges they’ve earned. That’s all fine and dandy, but look a little to the left. It says “U.S. ARMY”, “U.S. NAVY”, “U.S. MARINES”, “U.S. AIR FORCE”, or “U.S. COAST GUARD”. US, as in “the sum of our parts”. What a profound thought. Regardless of who you are and what rank you have attained; they all say US.
We are one team working together to protect and defend this great nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Since our nation’s birth we have declared as American’s we shall not live under a reign of tyranny, but will work and prevail as one. At times you will see soldiers forget this or not even realize it. I implore you to remind them through your words, and show them through your deeds.
Overcoming the Enemy
COVID-19 is not the first time the United States has faced a challenging enemy. However, if you look to the past, even in the bleakest of moments, Americans and army leadership have always risen to the occasion. Our ability to synchronize assets and work as one has allowed us to fight and win our Nation’s wars for 243 years.
It is very possible the changes the world now faces are permanent…so I charge and implore you self-assess both yourself and your unit.
Complete archive of The Company Leader Posts