What advice do you senior NCO’s and Officers have for a newly minted CSM? Juniors, how can I be the CSM you would kill to work for or with?

Skip the scheduled Lobotomy at the SMA, develop a great dislike for reflective belts and invite troops to walk on the grass even if you ambush them when they do :). On a serious note, get out and know your Senior NCO's not just when you are ripping them a new one. Sit down with your 1SG's and find out whats going on in the companies before it becomes a blotter report or a command climate survey issue. Be visible to the Junior NCO's, enlisted and officers. Support mentoring through the ranks to grow the nest generation of junior NCO's and senior NCO's. Weed out the substandard NCO's who slipped through the cracks and poison the NCO corp. Keep your boss informed on all things enlisted and seek his support. Above all be the best that you can be while still being a human being. A private shouldn't just stroll into your office and bum a cup of joe but they also should do danger area movements to avoid your door or window. Also on the side have some fun and remember to laugh sometimes.

I think that it demonstrates something important that you are not only willing to ask seniors but potential subordinates. That shows that you already understand that there is always room to change and learn. Bravo CSM. I think that if you hold onto that right there you will be just fine.

CSM Eric Biggs, congrats. From the former battalion commander's position, my Command Sergeant Major was an extension of myself. It's up to you and your BN CDR to find what works. I preferred not to be in the same place with my CSM if we could help it. Two schools of thought here. The more popular one is that the CSM and the BN CDR are always seen together. United front kind of thing. To me that doesn't work and wastes time. I wanted my CSM to be a directed telescope. I wanted the two of us to be able to cover twice as much ground with the same voice. Whatever he said...came from me. We'd square it up in the morning or in the afternoon. One mind, two efforts. I want a CSM that can provide ideas and run with them to completion. He has to own internal logistics in coordination with the S4 and S1. He has to balance his actions with the S3 and the XO. He is another one of my field grade officers, like it or not. That's the level he needs to be operating on. If I wanted someone to just execute, I could go find a high speed corporal. He'd work just fine. I need a CSM that is a thinker and a visionary for what the BN could be if we did X or Y. Then I need him to plan it, coordinate with the S3 to make it into an order, work with the 1SG's and PS's to make it reality and then follow through on evaluation and improvement. He has to be inspirational as well. The whole package. I find that CSM's are just like chaplains in a way. They are either outstanding or they are horrible. There is never an in-between.