Category Archives: Leadership

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The Dangers of Mirror Mentoring

A Response to "October Baseball"

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We are in a daily…scratch that…a moment-to-moment fight against our biases. They blur our sight-picture and color our perceptions. This is especially true in our mentorship of junior NCOs and officers. It’s human nature to build a picture of success that is predicated on our own experiences and views. It’s even more prevalent among successful leaders who believe they got where they are by doing what they’ve done. In “October Baseball,” a recent post on The Field Grade Leader, Major Jim Plutt provides some insightful advice on the development of captains and the transition to major. His point about broadening assignments provides a lens through which to assess the dangers of the Mirror Bias when mentoring our leaders.

Army Sgt. Forrest Layton applies face paint before a training event at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, Nov. 14, 2018, during NATO joint training exercise Anakonda.
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The Infantry Squad: Building Block of Lethality

Guest Post from Col. Keith Nightingale

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We read every day about the new strategy, plans, and programs to build our defense. This image shows what will or will not permit the “new” plans and programs to succeed or fail. It is called a squad and has been the basis of our Infantry success since time immemorial.

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Nobody Puts LT In The Corner

The NCO Responsibility To Mentor

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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.

1st Lt. Timothy Goldstone, platoon leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, briefs an operations order over a terrain model with his Soldiers and visiting U.S. Military Academy cadets at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, July 26, 2017, during a platoon live-fire exercise. The cadets are spending three weeks in Germany training with the “Iron Brigade” as it hones its Soldiers’ readiness in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
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You and Your NCO

Reverse Mentorship in the Officer-NCO Relationship

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The officer-noncommissioned officer (NCO) relationship is one of the Army’s many paradoxes that is fun to discuss and theorize. The Army deliberately pairs the two. Imagine a typical platoon’s leadership, with a brand-new platoon leader (second lieutenant) placed in charge of a seasoned platoon sergeant (usually a sergeant first class). Make no mistake, the platoon leader rates the platoon sergeant. As a captain, the company commander rates the first sergeant (1SG) who, once again, is typically more seasoned. Why is the individual with far greater experience placed in the subordinate position? The onus is on the NCO to provide reverse mentorship – and on the officer to learn from it.

Among many other duties, a good NCO-partner is much like a lane safety on a rifle range. They are a trainer, coach, and mentor.
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Copy and Paste Leadership

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In a 21st-century leadership environment that is dominated by technological advancements, communication between noncommissioned officers and their soldiers is easier today than it’s ever been. Compounding this ease of communication with the United States Army’s long-standing philosophy of standardization, today’s leadership environment has created quite the conundrum for the new era of NCOs. Though the Army’s workplaces are dominated by multiple levels of structure, it is essential for NCOs to understand that the key to effectively developing their Soldiers is individualized leadership.

 

Professional Counseling

Second Lt. Isaac Brunson practices conducting noncommissioned officer counseling with Staff Sgt. Devon Perry, a student attending the Logistics Noncommissioned Officer Academy at the Army Logistics University. (Photo Credit: Adam Gramarossa)
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An Exercise In Communication

Why We Write Series #3

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Loud and colorful video imagery covered the screen in the Production Control office of our Kiowa Squadron. It was 2012 and we were conducting an after-action review of a downed aircraft recovery training event. In the middle of our exercise, in a simulated crashed aircraft, we had no way of talking to our TOC. Our QRF forces weren’t coming in over the radio. And the pilots providing overhead cover…nothing from them either. We couldn’t talk. Our recovery mission was a complete failure. In this moment – standing in our AAR – I realized it was because no one conducted pre-missions checks and services on our radios. As our Production Control Officer would say, “without comms, you are dead. End of story.”

Paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, secure a helicopter landing zone for a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter, July 20, 2019, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The Paratroopers provided protection to a nearby meeting between U.S. and Afghan officials discussing peace and security within the region. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Thomas Cieslak)
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The Command Sergeant’s Major Role in Fires and Maneuver

(Originally Published in December 2017 edition of the NCO Journal)

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Army doctrine is many things, but “it is not dogma to be applied blindly. It is adjusted to the circumstances of the operational environment.”1 Doctrine describes the role of a command sergeant major and tasks them to affect numerous areas of friction.

Command Sgt. Maj. Brian M. Dettle assumes responsibility as the senior enlisted advisor of the 205th Military Intelligence Battalion, 500th Military Intelligence Brigade-Theater during a change of responsibility ceremony at the historic Palm Circle on Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Feb.1, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shameeka R. Stanley)
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Nothing Basic About It

Developing Basic Combat Training Platoon Leaders

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We often enter new positions or jobs with some pre-conceived notions  In July of 2018, as I prepared to take over a basic combat training (BCT) company, I had a few expectations. I thought I would spend the majority of my time with a team of highly effective and well-trained non-commissioned officers who were charged to transform volunteer civilians into soldiers. This proved to be true. But I did not expect to be mentoring or managing junior officers. In an effort to increase the ratio of leaders-to-led in basic training, the Center for Initial Military Training is working to place a Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) in each basic training platoon. There are many constants and foundational tenants to developing junior officers across billets. But there are also nuances to being a platoon leader in a basic combat training company that requires a tailored approach.

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Get Rid of Your Inbox!

An Admin TTP for Commanders

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Clear your inbox! You read that correctly. Zero it out; make it disappear. “But how will we manage administrative requirements without an inbox?” More efficiently, that’s how. It is a fair question, though. It was the same question I asked our Brigade Deputy Commanding Officer (DCO) when he suggested it during an obstacle course PT/mentoring session. Getting rid of my inbox was the single most liberating experience I have had thus far in command. Here’s how you do it.

C Co, 4-23 IN conducting a combined arms maneuver live fire. This is where leaders want to be, but if you don’t effectively manage your administrative systems you will find yourself with less time to train!
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Ethics in the Crucible

The Saga of Lieutenant Jake Portier

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It seems that the entire world has heard of the saga of Chief Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL on trial for charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, and obstructions of justice. Members of his own platoon alleged that he engaged in heinous acts of violence against civilians and detained combatants. The purpose of this article is not to weigh in on the accusations against Gallagher. Many have and will continue to do so, including the President himself. Nor is it to further probe the bizarre alleged “spying” of the defense by the prosecution. For us junior officers, the more relevant leadership lessons come from a lesser-known member of Gallagher’s unit– Platoon Commander Lt. Jacob “Jake” Portier.

Navy SEALs conduct dive operations training in the Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 2019. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. special operations forces and are trained to conduct missions from sea, air and land.