Posted on Apr 30, 2015
What is the BEST word of CAUTION you can give to younger leaders?
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What is the best WORD OF CAUTION you can give to junior leaders who wish to succeed? What do they need to know, in one sentence, that will make their life a little less dangerous, whatever that danger may be?
Mentorship
Training
Leadership
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 18
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Always be at the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform.
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Never assume you always know the right answer or the correct way something is done. Listen to the senior NCO's and what they have to say.
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If you work for a jackass who cares only about himself, you will get burned.
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LTC (Join to see)
Ken, yes i felt like a minion then and victory is mine 10 years later with my trials and tribulations. I did an long response and dos and don'ts on the original post. see if you agree....
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LTC (Join to see)
MAJ Ken Landgren - I felt it was a hobby then to be in the ARNG. not necessary. my uncle, a former marine CPT who served in vietnam, told me about knowing your limitiations. I reassessed and moved on and did an aar on myself.
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LTC (Join to see)
MAJ Ken Landgren - Lessons I learned as an Officer:
1. Being unfairly 'relieved- for- cause' as a 1LT is not the end of the world especially if you give a fair and written rebuttal to your situation. I was relieved as S1 for not making the daily battle update briefs. I had no S1 PAC nco (he was on the main post and no cell phone coms either) and nobody was with me (not even the S4) at the CTCP at Yakima training range in 2002. The Bn XO said not to worry and he would inform the battalion commander and yet I had nobody there to give me a ride nor go in my place and the battalion commander fired me anyways. I had gotten screwed said my fomer company commander (at the time an Xo for an MP BN). My documentation did not prevent me from being approved for CPT by the Army Promotion board in 2003. I took my promotion delay letter for 3 years delay on taking my 0-3.
2. If you are in the ARNG: if you make 0-3 on the promotion board and you can't get promoted in your unit due to politics or no slots and you want your rank now instead of later, don't take the promotion delay letter from HRC but leave the unit and go into the IRR get your 0-3/CPT and go back in the ARNG or go in the USAR and find a slot.
3. Acting battalion Commander/Major can't be your Senior rater on an OER.This happened to me. The Brigade G3 made him rewrite it as the rater and write it more fairly than it was originally and the G3 became the Senior Rater.
4. Get your rater and senior rater's support form and try to see where you need to be with schools or experience to work on his job experience and qualifications and get promoted.
5. Be physically fit and maintain a 290+ or 300 on your apft. I was not the best officer in the past but my APFT score overcame alot of discrimination. When a 40 something officer could run under 14 minutes and go over the max on pushups and situps,it made the commanders think differently of me. Just my wisdom as an older soldier.
I look forward to reading your comments so I can continue to grow as well.
1. Being unfairly 'relieved- for- cause' as a 1LT is not the end of the world especially if you give a fair and written rebuttal to your situation. I was relieved as S1 for not making the daily battle update briefs. I had no S1 PAC nco (he was on the main post and no cell phone coms either) and nobody was with me (not even the S4) at the CTCP at Yakima training range in 2002. The Bn XO said not to worry and he would inform the battalion commander and yet I had nobody there to give me a ride nor go in my place and the battalion commander fired me anyways. I had gotten screwed said my fomer company commander (at the time an Xo for an MP BN). My documentation did not prevent me from being approved for CPT by the Army Promotion board in 2003. I took my promotion delay letter for 3 years delay on taking my 0-3.
2. If you are in the ARNG: if you make 0-3 on the promotion board and you can't get promoted in your unit due to politics or no slots and you want your rank now instead of later, don't take the promotion delay letter from HRC but leave the unit and go into the IRR get your 0-3/CPT and go back in the ARNG or go in the USAR and find a slot.
3. Acting battalion Commander/Major can't be your Senior rater on an OER.This happened to me. The Brigade G3 made him rewrite it as the rater and write it more fairly than it was originally and the G3 became the Senior Rater.
4. Get your rater and senior rater's support form and try to see where you need to be with schools or experience to work on his job experience and qualifications and get promoted.
5. Be physically fit and maintain a 290+ or 300 on your apft. I was not the best officer in the past but my APFT score overcame alot of discrimination. When a 40 something officer could run under 14 minutes and go over the max on pushups and situps,it made the commanders think differently of me. Just my wisdom as an older soldier.
I look forward to reading your comments so I can continue to grow as well.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
You can use a mentor. A mentor that gives you advice, wisdom, and one who can fight on your behalf. I was AD but assigned with the NG for two years, I never received an OER which I thought was grossly negligent on them. Sometimes you fall, you get up, you dust yourself, and you look straight with a stoic pose.
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