Posted on Mar 10, 2016
What experience or advice would you give an engineer officer (12A) about to take their first platoon assignment?
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Posted in these groups: 
12A: Engineer Officer
2LT
Platoon Leader / Executive Officer
ROTC
Platoon Leader
12A: Engineer Officer 2LT Platoon Leader / Executive Officer ROTC Platoon Leader
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 34
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SSG Ryan Moore
LTC (Join to see) Well said, sir, I was about to respond with this but you beat me to the punch!
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SFC (Join to see)
Oh yes, but also be careful of the information you absorb as this might come back! We have some PSGs out there with ill intentions and will burn you (PL) quick in a heart beat! Always consult your 1SG after you talk to your PLT
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Here's a few thoughts:
1. I'll add a caveat to a common theme here. Listen to your NCOs but don't be led astray by them. The majority of NCOs are good people who want to do the right thing, but like any group some are not. One of the few regrets I have is allowing my PSG to screw one of my Soldiers over on a promotion because I didn't know better. I've also had SSGs and SFCs try to convince me to "cook the books" for the benefit of our troops. You may have to take a stand, even if it's unpopular. That can be an uncomfortable position as a brand new Lieutenant.
2. You need to be a doctrinal expert. As Officers, especially at the Company level, doctrinal knowledge is what we bring to the table. To paraphrase Gen. Patton, a leader is someone who applies principles to circumstances. You need to be able to adjust the doctrine to fit the situation, understanding that reality rarely fits the book definition.
3. Lead from the front. You should be the first person up and the last in bed in most situations. Likewise, you should never use your position for personal gain or comfort. In short, eat the same food your troops do and don't be that leader who sleeps in their vehicle when their troops are sleeping on the ground.
1. I'll add a caveat to a common theme here. Listen to your NCOs but don't be led astray by them. The majority of NCOs are good people who want to do the right thing, but like any group some are not. One of the few regrets I have is allowing my PSG to screw one of my Soldiers over on a promotion because I didn't know better. I've also had SSGs and SFCs try to convince me to "cook the books" for the benefit of our troops. You may have to take a stand, even if it's unpopular. That can be an uncomfortable position as a brand new Lieutenant.
2. You need to be a doctrinal expert. As Officers, especially at the Company level, doctrinal knowledge is what we bring to the table. To paraphrase Gen. Patton, a leader is someone who applies principles to circumstances. You need to be able to adjust the doctrine to fit the situation, understanding that reality rarely fits the book definition.
3. Lead from the front. You should be the first person up and the last in bed in most situations. Likewise, you should never use your position for personal gain or comfort. In short, eat the same food your troops do and don't be that leader who sleeps in their vehicle when their troops are sleeping on the ground.
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SFC (Join to see)
Aight Sir, best damn answer thus far! Yes, eat the same food your troops eat, sleep in the same conditions they sleep in, don't sleep in the van while they sleep on the ground in a -10 degrees night!
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CPT Chris Loomis
CPT Mitch Goenner :
1. Sir, I made the jump from SPC to 2LT. I pride myself on being a "mustang."
2. I completely agree with everything you've said here. I was blessed with GREAT PSGs. They helped me learn. They gave advise as needed and solicited. The completely adhered to the NCO creed.
I've always made it a point and effort to lead from the front - even when I wasn't sure where that was.
I always eat and sleep with my Soldiers sharing in the hardships but giving them all the perks. As an enlisted man I learned to "sleep in a hole, eat from a plastic bag and shit in a box." I keep that fresh in my mind for consideration of my Soldiers...I've been there. I understand what it is and means. I've also served with good and bad leaders and remember what that was like as a "Joe." I try not to do anything that is gonna cause resentment by my Soldiers.
I refer to myself as "the umbrella that shields from the bullshit." I do what I can to make life manageable.
I'm certainly no push over and have been firm. Yet I'm always fair and just.
I learned all of this and more from crusty old NCOs that I held and hold in high esteem. I often respectfully joke with my trusted mentors that "I try to stay close to those guys with all the stuff on their sleeves." They get it...I respect their tenure and careers. Their wisdom and expertise is priceless.
I've also encountered, as an Officer, what I believed was poor leadership. I seen outstanding leadership too. I take away what I can from both. What not to do and what to do right.
I make the best effort to relieve stress, keep my life balanced and maintain a decent attitude too. Because that will hopefully carry over to my Soldiers positively.
3. A tool that I use is a "battle book." I actually use two at a time. You know those 5"X7" green notebooks. One is an ongoing diary and task list for my Platoon. The other is my personal notebook to document my lessons learned. I use it to take notes of classes taken, books read, people spoken with, and (big fat ass kiss here) things or pointers I've read on Rally Point. It's also color coded with highlighter pens. For example, the color blue denotes something that I wish to address or accomplish as a Company Commander when that day comes. Red ink is used for lessons learned by observation of poor example or failure. I keep a running list of the books I have read and from which one of the two go-zillion reading lists they are from. I keep a running list of all ADPs, FMs, TCs, and ETC that I read. I write down template for things like Decision Briefs, MFRs, etc. I keep minor notes on current events that might affect me or my Soldiers.... You get the drift I'm Sure. And once a month I sit down and re-read my notes!
Just my $0.02 worth. And I'm certainly open for any ideas or input anyone else might have.
V/R,
2LT Chris Loomis
1. Sir, I made the jump from SPC to 2LT. I pride myself on being a "mustang."
2. I completely agree with everything you've said here. I was blessed with GREAT PSGs. They helped me learn. They gave advise as needed and solicited. The completely adhered to the NCO creed.
I've always made it a point and effort to lead from the front - even when I wasn't sure where that was.
I always eat and sleep with my Soldiers sharing in the hardships but giving them all the perks. As an enlisted man I learned to "sleep in a hole, eat from a plastic bag and shit in a box." I keep that fresh in my mind for consideration of my Soldiers...I've been there. I understand what it is and means. I've also served with good and bad leaders and remember what that was like as a "Joe." I try not to do anything that is gonna cause resentment by my Soldiers.
I refer to myself as "the umbrella that shields from the bullshit." I do what I can to make life manageable.
I'm certainly no push over and have been firm. Yet I'm always fair and just.
I learned all of this and more from crusty old NCOs that I held and hold in high esteem. I often respectfully joke with my trusted mentors that "I try to stay close to those guys with all the stuff on their sleeves." They get it...I respect their tenure and careers. Their wisdom and expertise is priceless.
I've also encountered, as an Officer, what I believed was poor leadership. I seen outstanding leadership too. I take away what I can from both. What not to do and what to do right.
I make the best effort to relieve stress, keep my life balanced and maintain a decent attitude too. Because that will hopefully carry over to my Soldiers positively.
3. A tool that I use is a "battle book." I actually use two at a time. You know those 5"X7" green notebooks. One is an ongoing diary and task list for my Platoon. The other is my personal notebook to document my lessons learned. I use it to take notes of classes taken, books read, people spoken with, and (big fat ass kiss here) things or pointers I've read on Rally Point. It's also color coded with highlighter pens. For example, the color blue denotes something that I wish to address or accomplish as a Company Commander when that day comes. Red ink is used for lessons learned by observation of poor example or failure. I keep a running list of the books I have read and from which one of the two go-zillion reading lists they are from. I keep a running list of all ADPs, FMs, TCs, and ETC that I read. I write down template for things like Decision Briefs, MFRs, etc. I keep minor notes on current events that might affect me or my Soldiers.... You get the drift I'm Sure. And once a month I sit down and re-read my notes!
Just my $0.02 worth. And I'm certainly open for any ideas or input anyone else might have.
V/R,
2LT Chris Loomis
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Listen to your NCOs is of course great advice. But I'm going to perhaps take a slightly different take on that. I don't subcribe to the notion that it is really the Plt Sgt's platoon and you should just sort of follow his/her lead. You're the Platoon Leader, not the Platoon Mascot. You should make it clear, by your actions and attitude that you are willing to learn from your Platoon Sgt and other NCOs, but don't act deferentially to them. Ultimately it is you that is responsible for everything your platoon does or fails to do, not the Plt Sgt.
And while everyone hopes they get a great platoon sgt, the fact is they aren't all great. So you must critically process everything your platoon sergeant and NCOs suggest to you, and decide for yourself whether you are comfortable with it and whether it adheres to your standards. There may be times when your NCOs are used to doing something that isn't quite right. When you know it isn't, you must be able to correct it and let them know why. Your NCOs will be testing you to see what your standards and limits are.
Just a little example. Maybe the company policy is that weapons are thoroughly cleaned after a range before anyone goes home, and then drawn again the next day for a follow up cleaning. Your NCO may come to you and say "LT, the troops are tired so why don't we just wipe down the weapons and we'll clean them better tomorrow". Seems logical, but it's actually a case of failing to meet the standard, and the NCO is testing to see where you stand. So if the standard is weapons thoroughly cleaned before anyone goes home, you need to enforce it. Taking care of the troops sometimes means making them do what is right rather than what is easiest.
As to NCO business, yes you need to let NCOs handle it. But you must also demand to be informed of what the problem is how they intend to handle it. There should be no "black boxes" involving your platoon where you don't know what is being done with/to your soldiers. There have been posts on RP about various situations where soldiers are being mistreated/unfairly treated by other NCOs in the unit. While it is NCO business, you are ultimately responsible if you allow a soldier in your platoon to be mistreated by an NCO under your supervision. You aren't excused of responsibility because "that was NCO business". The soldiers depend on you to ensure their NCOs are doing things right.
This may come across as anti-NCO but I'm not. I was super fortunate to have one of the few E-7 platoon sgts in the battalion, and he and two of my squad leaders were VN vets (this was 1978 in the 82d Abn Div). So I learned a tremendous amount from all of them, and they kept me from making many mistakes. I sought and valued their input on practically everything. But there were also certain areas that didn't meet my standards for discipline or readiness, and I had to make some corrections early on. So just consider my comments as a little voice saying that I hope everything works out well and all your Sgts are excellent. But nothing should happen in that platoon that you aren't comfortable with and are willing to stand up and own should the shit hit the fan. You never get to say "well, I didn't like the idea, but that's what SFC Jones wanted to do".
Good luck. I was fortunate to be able to be a platoon leader twice, a company commander twice, and a battalion commander. But I still consider my time with my first platoon as the best job I ever had in the Army.
And while everyone hopes they get a great platoon sgt, the fact is they aren't all great. So you must critically process everything your platoon sergeant and NCOs suggest to you, and decide for yourself whether you are comfortable with it and whether it adheres to your standards. There may be times when your NCOs are used to doing something that isn't quite right. When you know it isn't, you must be able to correct it and let them know why. Your NCOs will be testing you to see what your standards and limits are.
Just a little example. Maybe the company policy is that weapons are thoroughly cleaned after a range before anyone goes home, and then drawn again the next day for a follow up cleaning. Your NCO may come to you and say "LT, the troops are tired so why don't we just wipe down the weapons and we'll clean them better tomorrow". Seems logical, but it's actually a case of failing to meet the standard, and the NCO is testing to see where you stand. So if the standard is weapons thoroughly cleaned before anyone goes home, you need to enforce it. Taking care of the troops sometimes means making them do what is right rather than what is easiest.
As to NCO business, yes you need to let NCOs handle it. But you must also demand to be informed of what the problem is how they intend to handle it. There should be no "black boxes" involving your platoon where you don't know what is being done with/to your soldiers. There have been posts on RP about various situations where soldiers are being mistreated/unfairly treated by other NCOs in the unit. While it is NCO business, you are ultimately responsible if you allow a soldier in your platoon to be mistreated by an NCO under your supervision. You aren't excused of responsibility because "that was NCO business". The soldiers depend on you to ensure their NCOs are doing things right.
This may come across as anti-NCO but I'm not. I was super fortunate to have one of the few E-7 platoon sgts in the battalion, and he and two of my squad leaders were VN vets (this was 1978 in the 82d Abn Div). So I learned a tremendous amount from all of them, and they kept me from making many mistakes. I sought and valued their input on practically everything. But there were also certain areas that didn't meet my standards for discipline or readiness, and I had to make some corrections early on. So just consider my comments as a little voice saying that I hope everything works out well and all your Sgts are excellent. But nothing should happen in that platoon that you aren't comfortable with and are willing to stand up and own should the shit hit the fan. You never get to say "well, I didn't like the idea, but that's what SFC Jones wanted to do".
Good luck. I was fortunate to be able to be a platoon leader twice, a company commander twice, and a battalion commander. But I still consider my time with my first platoon as the best job I ever had in the Army.
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SFC Erin Barnett
I have to go with LTC on this. I ruined a good man by him letting me run the plt. What I mean by that is I was very good at my job. He stayed totally out of everything and signed all of the paperwork, but was never really involved. At the time I was fine with that, and I would brief him daily on what was going on. The problem came years later when he was a CO and had a weak 1SG. I had never helped him develop his command skills by running the plt without him. To this day I blame myself for his failure. Just as it was my job to train the enlisted, it was my job to train my plt ldr as well, not to do their job for them.
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SGM Mikel Dawson
LTC (Join to see) Good advice. Be it known, I think most PS do in fact want a good leader they can follow and assist, I know I did. The problem comes when the PL isn't a good leader and the PS has to take his/her place.
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