The Company LeaderNCO Archives - The Company Leader

Leaders and Likers

Harlan Kefalas — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 01:30:12 +0000

Former Sergeant Major of the Army Van Autreve, who served as the 4th SMA from 1973-1975, spoke of an environment focused on empathy for soldiers centered around servant leadership, This was ahead of its time and long before those terms and concepts became mainstream. The former SMA also understood that the future of the NCO Corps would be shaped by their surroundings.

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The Selfie-Leader Part I

Roberto Castaneda — Fri, 29 May 2020 17:47:05 +0000

Please Like, Share and Follow Me As I Lead

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves” – Lao Tzu

For those who read articles published by the Company Leader and other leadership initiative based sites in support of the Armed Forces, you understand that in order to dissect what a “Leader” is, it is important to first understand its definition. According to ADP 6-22, Army Leadership and the Profession, leadership is defined as “the activity of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization” (Department of the Army, 2017). This should sound remarkably familiar, as it is one of the most common board questions asked during any evaluation or promotion board.

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The Non-Commissioned Officer Task Crosswalk Guide

NTC Ops Group — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 00:00:47 +0000

Observations and Recommendations from NTC Ops Group

The non-commissioned officer has always been the backbone of our Army. No matter what type of conflict America has faced, our Non-Commissioned Officer Corps has risen to the challenge each and every time. As our Army continues to refine our ability to conduct Large Scale Combat Operations, the non-commissioned officers of Operations Group at the National Training Center have truly risen to the challenge. Outlaw 40 and the senior NCOs from throughout Operations Group constructed this handbook specifically for NCOs, paying particular attention to rotational observations and current doctrine. They established a cross walk guide for numerous non-commissioned officer positions at echelon throughout brigade combat teams and clearly articulated how the great non-commissioned officers in a unit can help their team fight and win.

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Counseling in the Guard and Reserves

Timothy Miller — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 20:21:42 +0000

A Personal Observation

Counseling is one of the most important tools given to Non Commissioned Officers in today’s Army. It allows us to provide valuable feedback to our subordinates, and allows us to map out development plans that will ultimately shape the Army of tomorrow. So why is it so rarely utilized in the National Guard and Reserves?

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Nobody Puts LT In The Corner

Michael Barin — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 05:12:15 +0000

The NCO Responsibility To Mentor

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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Copy and Paste Leadership

Noel DeJesus — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 23:59:28 +0000

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.

NCO Counseling Session

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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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Writing For Personal Clarity

Trevor Richards — Sat, 31 Aug 2019 18:35:48 +0000

Why We Write #5

Everyone has their own way of portraying their feelings, ideas, and problems. For some it’s art, for others music, or acting; for me it has become writing. In this profession especially, writing is the one of the best ways to convey information. It helps to communicate goals and expectations, whether it just be for us to read, or a broader audience.

NCO Writing

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Sgt. Nicholas Johnson, 8th U.S. Army Soldier of the Year, writes down answers to the 20 essay questions of the written exam during the Department of the Army Soldier/NCO of the Year competition at Fort Lee, Va. Oct. 3. (Photo Credit: Spc. Fay Conroy, 8th U.S. Army Public Affairs)

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A Corporal’s Perspective

Timothy Miller — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 06:39:12 +0000

Why We Write #4

Why do we write? As humans, we write to communicate information and ideas across time and space, when we cannot do so through oral means with physical presence. As Non-Commissioned Officers in the United States Military, we do so because we can no longer afford to do otherwise. Writing is now a part of all professional military education, starting at the Basic Leaders Course that all enlisted soldiers must go through to become NCOs.

Four soldiers assigned to 444th Engineer Company, Oswego, N.Y., receive lateral transfer from specialist to corporal rank, during the company’s annual training event July 14 at Ft Drum. Pictured here are Barry J. Bullis, of Baldwinsville, Christopher Zajac of North Syracuse, John M. Anderson of Henderson, and Charles J. Delaney of Brewerton, N.Y., receiving promotion from Sgt. 1st Class Charles Haws, unit training non-commissioned officer. (Photo Credit: Spc. Karen Sampson, 362nd MPAD)

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An Exercise In Communication

Charles Hayworth — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 18:00:24 +0000

Why We Write Series #3

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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Creating an Image of Leadership

Daniel Kim — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 06:29:10 +0000

Why We Write #2

It was a rare weekend when we weren’t in the field, preparing for the field, recovering from the field, or occupied with an upcoming deployment. If I wasn’t cursed with weekend duty, I either took advantage of Schofield Barracks’ proximity to Waikiki to partake in bottomless mai tais at the Outrigger Reef, or played hermit in my barracks room. Back then, I pecked away at my top of the line Gateway PC with a whopping 1 MB of RAM, 400 MB hard drive, and 33MHz processor, and a keyboard that clicked loudly with each key stroke. I was working on a novel, an activity that filled hundreds of lazy weekend hours, but my voice as a twenty-two-year-old novice now seems almost laughably naïve. Almost as laughable as all that computing power filling up an entire barracks desk, but I digress.

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