Category Archives: Leadership

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Commander’s Decisions

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One of the eight elements of combat power, leadership, can turn the tide of the complex battles in simulated combat operations at the National Training Center (NTC).  Commanders have been groomed their entire careers with the leadership attributes and competencies to enhance their unit combat effectiveness in this crucible training environment.  One important facet of a commander’s leadership are the decisions that he or she makes to best posture the formation.  Below are three recommendations that commanders can include in their personal practices observed at NTC to help enable success.  

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Indirect Influence

Considerations for Organizational Leadership

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Commanders at all echelons must be experts at providing Indirect Leadership across their formations.  They must visualize how they want to fight and instill their intent directly into their subordinate commanders and indirectly into their entire formation.  ADP 6-22 states that indirect leadership and methods are essential for organizational leaders although it does not explicitly define the term Indirect Leadership.  I propose that many leaders are unprepared for this reality despite untold resources spent on Professional Military Education (PME), Combat Training Centers (CTCs), Operational Deployments and self-development.  We fail when we overestimate our personal ability to control our unit and inadvertently disempower our subordinate leaders.   

U.S. Army SGT. Kevin Burrell assigned to Alpha Company ‘Sapper’ 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, throws smoke during a combined arms live-fire exercise at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, June 24, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by 1SG Lekendrick Stallworth)
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Leadership of the Brigade Combat Team Joint Fires Enterprise

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One can confidently assume that all organizational leaders at as some point, especially during a Combat Training Center (CTC) rotation, have experienced and observed the frustrations of deliberate or undeliberate selective compliance on noncompliance of actions and orders by individuals or groups.  Numerous times at National Training Center (NTC), I have witnessed organizational leaders, specifically the BCT Fire Support Coordinator (FSCOORD) in frustration state, “I told them to do that; we discussed or talked about that; I don’t understand why it didn’t happen; why didn’t they report that; I don’t understand why that happened, AGAIN!”

U.S. Army Photo by Maj. Terez Little.
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From Where Does the Task Force Aviation Commander Fight?

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During the continuous operations an aviation task force will encounter at the National Training Center, many task force commanders struggle with where they will be most effective fighting their organization from.  The Eagle Team OC-Ts will see commanders at echelon ask themselves the same questions rotation after rotation. How well have I trained my subordinates to handle the pace of operations and multitude of tasks required of my unit?  And, where can I be the most effective commander right now and where will I fight from?  

U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Justin Ashaw.
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The TACP

A Lesson in Incorporating Enablers

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The Joint Fires Enterprise, and honestly, the Joint environment as a whole, recognizes the skillsets that the TACP brings.  The rank structure (rightfully instituted) can be a limiting factor, especially for the SMEs.  Oftentimes, the E-4/E-5 TACP has a deep seated mentality that thinks outside the box to combat typical maneuver warfare and how best to pummel the enemy.  In my years of experience and 9 deployments, I have witnessed a general dismissal of an enlisted member that is a subject matter expert due in large part to a cultural mindset that differs in each Service.  As an Enabler, the TACP has a wide-ranging capability that suits not just conventional but Special Operations as well.  Quite a few senior enlisted have spent time on both sides and have a very unique view on the wars that we have been a part of for over 20 years and have garnered valuable lessons learned that have been glossed over by our Army brethren.  

U.S. Army Photo by Thomas Alvarez.
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Make your C2 Enterprise Facilitate your Leadership

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What should Commanders focus on with regards to Command and Control systems that the S6 should be closely supervising and managing for the commander?  Often times we see commanders ignore C2 systems and then arrive at the National Training Center without ever directly understanding his or her full communication capabilities.  Once the team is on the ground at NTC it is too late for commanders to pay attention to what the S6 has or has not been doing in garrison and unfortunately, many units go into the box handicapped from a C2 perspective.

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Kris Bonet.
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The Intelligence Warfighting Function

Battlefield Leadership of a Team of Teams

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Almost every Intelligence Warfighting Function leader at some point has asked some version of the following question: “What are the keys to success for an S2 (or other IWfF leader) during a Combat Training Center rotation?”  Collectively as an Army, we have the experience of hundreds of rotations over the 40-year history of the National Training Center (and the other CTCs), countless lessons shared from experienced leaders through LPDs, articles, and even social media engagements.  The question generates many responses: a well-established Intel architecture, thoroughly rehearsed processes and SOPs, integrated teams, effective transitions, etc.  These topics are among many that any Intel leader desiring to be successful should give due diligence.  But this particular paper won’t delve into staff processes, effective architecture, or SOPs.  Its purpose is to tackle a topic that is on its surface much simpler, but in practice requires a much greater up-front investment than any of those to get right– effective battlefield leadership.

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A Training Relationship

How Sustainment Leaders and Units are Developed

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While combat arms battalion commanders and company commanders maneuver their units to accomplish battalion level objectives, the Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) Commander and his or her company commanders must maneuver their units to enable the breadth and depth of the entire Brigade Combat Team’s (BCT) operation.  The BCT’s maneuver battalions fight to achieve BCT tactical objectives, and the Fires Battalion and Engineer Battalion shape for the maneuver battalions. Only the BSB, however, continually supports all seven organic battalions within a BCT.

U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Nathan Franco
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Think, Ask, and Observe

Preparing for Command, Part I

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Company command is the pinnacle experience for a junior army officer. It gives officers the first true opportunity to take charge and implement a vision. There is a lot that goes into a successful command, but it starts with the right preparation. The best prepared commanders use the pre-command transition to think, ask questions, and observe. These short weeks make the difference between a running start and feeling lost three months into command.

A paratrooper from the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, performs the action of present arms on Fort Bragg, N.C., May 19, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven)
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Success at BOLC

Pulling back the curtain

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If you’ve recently commissioned, or intend to commission in the next 4 (or 5) years, you likely have some curiosity about the next step in your Army career.  The Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC-B) is the first stop for newly-commissioned officers.  Because BOLC-B is branch specific, the courses vary in duration and program of instruction.  Regardless of branch, however, keys for success at BOLC are more-or-less universal.  The recommendations found in this article are based on survey responses by Engineer BOLC instructors and administrators.

The leadership attributes and competencies that you learned and developed at your commissioning source are no less applicable at BOLC.  If you were successful at West Point, ROTC, or OCS, you likely already possess most of the skills required to succeed at BOLC.  The difference is that you are now a professional Army officer, and expected to conduct yourself accordingly.  Furthermore, you are now working with peers from all walks of life- the homogeneity of your commissioning source is a thing of the past.

BOLC is an opportunity for immense professional growth. Make the most of it.