Category Archives: Lessons Learned

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Story Time

An Alternative to Safety Briefs

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A Google Search of “Safety Brief Memes” renders more hits than a former Company Commander cares to admit. Safety Briefs, usually delivered by a Commander or senior NCO at the end of the week, are a running joke. So much so, that the Secretary of the Army, Dr. Mark Esper, announced earlier this month that they were no longer mandatory. Safety Briefs were often a regurgitation of platitudes that sound more like an attempt to cover your behind than genuinely impart a worthwhile message. “Don’t drink and drive, no means no, don’t do drugs, don’t…., no…., etc. etc.” But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s save the baby before we throw out the bathwater.

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Letter To Me (On Day 1 as XO)

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Five years. Five years is the average amount of time you spend from the moment you arrive on campus, enrolled in ROTC or at USMA, to the time you become a Platoon Leader (PL). You invested five years of work, effort, and striving toward that one goal. You’ve heard it is “the best job you’ll ever have.” And when the old timers say, “I would go back in a heartbeat if I could,” you return a half-embarrassed chuckle and a rueful smile. Then it is gone. Suddenly, you wake up and your platoon is no longer “yours.” You’re no longer a “PL” or “The Sir/Ma’am.” Now they call you “XO.” What now?

XO can be a lonely job – but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing where you fit in, how you can best impact and serve the Soldiers by serving the command, and feeling comfortable in your spot at the back of the formation will make all the difference.
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Live the Fundamentals

A Brigade Commander’s Reflections on Company Command 15 Years Later

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As a Brigade Commander, I shared a document with my crop of company commanders here in the Ghost Brigade (1-2 SBCT) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). I discovered the old document, while searching for lessons learned from a previous CTC rotation, and thought it was worth sharing. The document contained my continuity notes for the next company commander of the “Deathmasters”, B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (SBCT) at JBLM from late 2002 and early 2003. The notes are included in the post below (with a few edits for language; I was less mature in the way I wrote).

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Commitment, Discipline, & Follow Through

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I earned my Ranger Tab largely, if not completely, through persistence. My Ranger School journey required 7 phases and a signature from my future Brigade Commander. It took me 175 days to earn my Ranger Tab – half of 2014 – but at the end of September I graduated. Through all of this, and in the time and space I have had to reflect back on it, I learned that graduating Ranger School requires commitment, discipline, and follow through. If I can do it, you can too.  

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From Your Future Soldiers

#BranchSeries - Aviation

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There are few things more exciting, more freeing, and more attractive to humans than man-made flight. Many Soldiers have walked the broken ground of combat and looked to the sky. With a mixture of envy and anticipation, they search the horizon for their Chinook ride home, their Blackhawk MEDEVAC, or their Apache close-combat attack support. What does it take to be an Aviation lieutenant? The Aviation community expects its leaders to stay humble, maintain self-awareness, and identify metrics for success. Although these three components do not underpin all of the factors that the Aviation community expects from its young leaders, they do represent key themes that ultimately stress perhaps the best piece of advice I can give: LISTEN AND TALK TO YOUR SOLDIERS. Here is what your future Soldiers want you to know.

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The Best Job I Ever Had

#BranchSeries - Armor

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I knew from the moment that I joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) that I wanted to branch Armor. I can vividly remember the branch counseling session with my Professor of Military Science (PMS). He counseled the assessing cadets on filling out the branch and duty station preference sheets. He asked me for my first choice and I told him Armor, without hesitation. I was competitive across the branches and my PMS encouraged me to consider all options, including Aviation. He was trying to ensure I thought through all my options, but I was undeterred. In my mind, as a young and brash 22-year-old Cadet, my mentality was set. There was no other choice but Armor Branch.

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It Can Be Done

Lessons from an HHC TOC Defense Live Fire

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As the company commander of a Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), I was given a tremendous opportunity to conduct a company live fire (LFX) for the first time in the unit’s memorable history. The company had minimal experience in the tactical arena. We struggled with the little things like qualifying on our machine guns and carrying our weapons at the low ready. Leading up to the LFX, we focused on building soldier familiarity with basic skills and the ability to operate tactically in a deployed environment. We knew the experience of conducting a live fire exercise would be beneficial, but we didn’t realize how much we would learn from the process.

The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker – an HHC LFX is rarely “sexy”. It is hard to plan and even more difficult to pack into an already full training schedule focused on preparing lethal squads and platoons. But…it can be done!