Few Army captains imagine themselves commanding fellow captains, but that’s exactly where I found myself beginning in 2019. That year I received orders to the United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE) in Fort Huachuca, Arizona to teach, develop, and mentor the next generation of Military Intelligence (MI) Officers at the Captains Career Course (CCC). Being assigned to your center of excellence provides a unique and priceless opportunity to expand your personal and professional network. Prior to serving in USAICoE, I worked with a small community of intelligence leaders. After serving two years as a MICCC Small Group Leader (SGL) and instructor, I was introduced to dozens of my peers and a few more senior MI professionals who I continue to work with and hope to serve alongside in the future.
But I wanted to continue improving my branch beyond small-group instruction. To do that, I needed to apply and interview for a position that provided more authority and influence. I knew that staying as a SGL for a third year could have a negative impact on professional development and overall growth. Teaching was a phenomenal experience but I always had great memories as a company commander where I had a direct impact on my branch, teammates, and their families. I knew my time as a company grade officer would eventually end and my leadership role would shift to an organizational mindset to enable the companies and Soldiers I serve. Company commanders have more opportunities to engage and influence levels of command from adjacent and higher echelons to include flag officers whether in FORSCOM or TRADOC. Here are the main lessons learned from my elevated experience in TRADOC company command.
Peer Leadership is a Unique Opportunity
In May 2021, I took command of Alpha Company, 304th Military Intelligence Battalion, 111th Military Intelligence Brigade. All MICCC SGLs/instructors report to the schoolhouse with at least 24 to 36 months of key development (KD) time with some coming straight out of company command. On rare occasions, even students arrive at the MICCC already serving 12 to 18 months of company command. On the one hand, instructing fellow peers can pose a significant challenge. At the same time, instructing fellow peers can be a leadership opportunity to leverage personnel with broad command experience who can enable your TRADOC company’s success. I learned that peer leadership is most effective when the whole audience embodies empathy, patience, open communication, and an awareness that everyone comes from varying backgrounds and experiences.
Without these key factors, participants will not have the courage to share thoughts, experiences, and questions which may result in an unproductive work environment. TRADOC commanders deliver feedback as a genuine offer for professional development. Peers must be open and vulnerable enough to accept constructive input. Additionally, they must have the intestinal fortitude to give honest feedback rather than telling others what they want to hear.
My previous company command experience established a level of credibility with the organization. At times, cadre and students questioned my decisions and leadership style. One student commented, “I do not know if you have done this before, but I did this back in my last unit when I was a commander.” I respectfully responded with, “Yes, I have and this unit is unique to itself compared to any other company in the Army.” Prior to taking company command, I grossly underestimated the problem sets and difficulty level it had to offer.
TRADOC Command is Neither Predictable nor Easy (but still rewarding)
I distinctly remembered a conversation I had with a former student who were 15 months of TRADOC company command. In this conversation, I claimed that “FORSCOM company commands must be significantly harder than TRADOC company commands. In TRADOC, you do not go to the field for long periods of time. You also don’t deploy and the hours are fairly predictable.” The student responded with, “Are you sure? TRADOC is a different environment and certainly challenging.”
I realized within my first 30 days that my student was right and I was completely wrong in using the word ‘predictable.’ TRADOC company command is anything but predictable and easy. TRADOC Company Command – though similar in some aspects of traditional FORSCOM command – often contains unique leadership challenges. For one, the personnel often come from multiple backgrounds – in my case, the Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve Army Forces, and International Partners from across the globe.
Invest in Your People Early
I recommend that a new commander invest in their people early on both personally and professionally. This will quickly establish a solid foundation of trust. Without these relationships, the learning curve of understanding the complexities of the organization costs time and creates an unnecessary challenge. A relationship that often goes unnoticed is with Human Resources Command (HRC). As the company commander, I regularly worked alongside MI lieutenant branch managers as well as the junior and senior MI captain branch managers. These enduring relationships provided a link for students and cadre with their respective representatives. Requests for information (RFIs) in areas such as follow-on courses, orders, and career progression enabled future assignments which were made easy to understand due to the in-person interaction from the company commander and the student/cadre to HRC. Additionally, it provided bottom up refinement from the student through my command and directly to HRC at Fort Knox.
Seek to Extend Influence Beyond the Chain of Command
The Army Profession does not have the room or patience to have commanders with big egos. Never be apprehensive to ask for help regardless of how much time and experience you have in an organization. Everyone has something unique and beneficial to add to the team. If you do not share it, it only benefits you and your organization. The key is to share struggles and successes at all echelons. Creating an easily accessible outlet where all command teams can share best and worst practices is a phenomenal practice. It develops shared understanding, extends influence, and establishes mutual trust within your unique command.
Tools such as Microsoft Teams and One Note allow company commanders to share planning and execution efforts. These include Range Qualification, Platoon/Company/Battalion Live Fires, BN/BDE Quarterly Training Briefs, and even Soldier and Family Readiness Groups. Microsoft Teams was the best outlet to extend influence and share information across organizations on the installation. No matter how big or small the topic, if the information and knowledge is useful, submit it for publication so the force can benefit from it. No one likes an individual, share your struggles and successes.
PACE Plans are (still) an Imperative
TRADOC Commanders must establish primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency (PACE) plans within critical functions. Commanders deliberately plan to account for all possible scenarios and never stop at a four layer PACE. Robust and sustained relationship networks allow commanders to add several layers to the PACE to prevent rescheduled or canceled training due to poor planning.
Within my company, we are not fully equipped with multiple instructors to teach all programs of instruction at a SME level. If an unforeseen event occurs, we have to rely on other organizations to facilitate training. We have a single source intelligence block where instructors have first hand experience in the operational, tactical, and strategic levels to teach on a very specific topic. Relationships with other companies allow me to leverage their experts to fill that gap and enable the PACE. Commanding is a team effort. Without your brothers and sisters to your left and right, training and operations do not occur. This leads to negative second and third order of events in the force. Commanding at your desk is not ideal – human interaction is imperative and usually preferred.
Final Thoughts
From the beginning, TRADOC Company Command has been significantly challenging. I was quickly humbled into never underestimating the position and operating environment. Whether command is in FORSCOM or TRADOC, moments of failure and success will find you. It is on the leader to learn and grow. Never let an oversized ego stunt your own development or that of your command. Be a team player! Winning matters!
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