The second lieutenant walked through the office door, I sat at the squad leader desk working on counseling’s and my platoon sergeant was napping behind his desk. The lieutenant greeted us and introduced himself as our new platoon leader, I welcomed him and turned back to my work. My platoon sergeant squinted at him and stood up, he grabbed a chair and put it in a corner. “This is where the kids sit until they learn their place.” He grunted and turned around to sit down at his desk. This first interaction set the tone for the new platoon leader and his interactions with all NCOs.
Leader Business
“That’s NCO Business;” you hear it all the time. What is NCO Business? What is Officer Business? We can look to doctrine for individual roles and responsibilities. But people don’t use these phrases referring to doctrinal roles. It is another way of saying, “Stay in your lane Sir/Ma’am.” When an NCO doesn’t want an officer’s input, he or she says, “This is NCO Business.” When uttered, NCOs push our officers away. Sometimes it is out of ignorance, sometimes out of insecurity, and sometimes in defense of questionable decisions that aren’t on the up-and-up.
If we’re afraid to bring our officer(s) into the thread, it might be time to question our actions and our relationship. Counseling isn’t just for NCOs; including your platoon leaders in counseling sessions will help them better understand a skill they’ll have to use throughout their career. Maintenance isn’t solely in the purview of NCOs; the officer in your platoon is responsible for all equipment. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for a platoon leader to understand the ins-and-outs of maintenance before they become an executive officer or a commander? NCO Business is Leader Business.
Commanders of Tomorrow
Lieutenants become captains, and many captains become majors. Will your insistence on excluding them prepare them for their next billet? Will it prepare them for the next NCO with whom they work? Or is it just abdicating your own responsibility as an NCO? Exclusion will breed distrust–and if done maliciously–disdain for their NCOs in the future.
“Officers exert too much control, they don’t listen, and they don’t trust,” is a common complaint in the NCO Corps. Let’s listen to our own complaints. For those officers who do fit this bill, where did they learn to micromanage, disregard NCO advice, and distrust their senior enlisted advisers? We might just find that we’re pointing the finger at ourselves. “Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence…” The NCO Creed makes it clear how we should treat our partners.
Ego or Asset
I can only imagine that things are overwhelming for a new lieutenant. They are suddenly responsible for a section, a shop, or a platoon. They are held accountable for everything that goes wrong, looking to the experienced partner the Army gave them for help. As an NCO, why would we lord our experience over our counterparts? Why would we withhold our expertise at the detriment of the unit and mission? Did we forget what it was like to be a new team leader? Do we forget what it is like learning the ropes, making mistakes, looking to our squad leaders for guidance?
Our experience should complement the knowledge our officers have to offer, and enable them to make the best decisions as a leader. Deriding them for not having our level of experience will lead to a relationship where they don’t feel comfortable leaning on us for help. They won’t ask for our perspective, and they will self-teach what they think they need to learn. We can’t let our egos overshadow the assets we bring to our leaders.
–
Nobody puts LT in the corner, not while I’m around. Lighthearted jokes are welcome, they encourage good morale and esprit de corps. Treating your partners in leadership with the same care and diligence that you give to your subordinates will go a long way. We have a responsibility, and a mandate, to mentor our officers. We cannot fail them in this task, just like we can’t afford to fail our subordinates.
Subscribe to The Last 100 Yards!