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Former/Current Infantry Platoon Leaders do you have any tips? Recommendations? Advice? Or things you wish you would have done? Or things you would have done differently? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I take my platoon within the next 2 months. Thank you!
11A: Infantry Officer
Infantry
Leadership Development
Advice
Tips
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
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My 2 cents for you.
When you get to your unit, do not go in guns blazing. Your Soldiers know you are the PL. Introduce yourself to the PSG, the the SLs and TLs, and then to you Soldiers.
Take a week or so to get the lay of the land through your eyes. By this I mean, see how your NCOs work with their squad and the platoon.
Listen to your PSG. Learn from him. Never under any circumstances tell him you are in charge not him...for he wl let you be and you'll regret it.
Know your fieldcraft and tour TLPs. That will tell more about you to your Soldiers than anything else you do.
Never forget that your Soldiers bust their asses for their pay, and the platoon. Be a leader they look to. Don't be their buddy. And you'll only be able to reward their hard work with praise and some bits of metal and ribbons.
Lastly, keep a decently squared away uniform when you are in garrison and have a dirty nasty one in the field. You'll get that way from working hard with and for your platoon.
When you get to your unit, do not go in guns blazing. Your Soldiers know you are the PL. Introduce yourself to the PSG, the the SLs and TLs, and then to you Soldiers.
Take a week or so to get the lay of the land through your eyes. By this I mean, see how your NCOs work with their squad and the platoon.
Listen to your PSG. Learn from him. Never under any circumstances tell him you are in charge not him...for he wl let you be and you'll regret it.
Know your fieldcraft and tour TLPs. That will tell more about you to your Soldiers than anything else you do.
Never forget that your Soldiers bust their asses for their pay, and the platoon. Be a leader they look to. Don't be their buddy. And you'll only be able to reward their hard work with praise and some bits of metal and ribbons.
Lastly, keep a decently squared away uniform when you are in garrison and have a dirty nasty one in the field. You'll get that way from working hard with and for your platoon.
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LTC Trent Klug
MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P I was a Maverick as well. I tried my best to be a good to great PL. Some days I was, some days not so much.
I never forgot where I came from. I always made sure to tell my Soldiers that I knew they worked hard and I always gave them the credit during AARs and when speaking to my superiors.
I never forgot where I came from. I always made sure to tell my Soldiers that I knew they worked hard and I always gave them the credit during AARs and when speaking to my superiors.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
LTC Trent Klug - I think we both implied, but didn't state, is that you lead by example. I always made an effort to do the APFT with the Platoon and in full view, as well as other qualifications like weapons. Infantry Officers are the first one out the door and the last in the chow line.
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LTC Trent Klug
CPT Lawrence Cable Absolutely. I always tested in the first line and always gave my best. And always, always, always ate last...sometimes not getting any at all. Even when I was XO. I had a company commander who was always first in line. Don't think the Soldiers didn't notice that. I can't tell you the number of times I ate lettuce and bread for dinner.
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BLUF: Don't be a dick. Don't use your Troops as a stepping stone for your career. Learn from your PSG.
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I have listed a few links. I think the first link is where you will make your money as a PL. You are a leader so you need to know how to lead. Just being there isn't enough. You should also learn about Unit Training Management and how you fit into that. You will need to know how you fit into your commanders plan to be successful. Your knowledge and ability to reference doctrine to train will make your platoon stand out.
The worst thing you can do is to just do what people tell you what they did in the past. If you have to plan a team live fire just don't pull a random power point from the sharedrive or listen to random NCO say "we just did it this way and it worked." You would seek out those that were there and use their input as recommendations and review the doctrine and METL to develop how you are going to tackle this.
1. Read this, https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/04/16/20-things-about-being-a-platoon-leader-that-he-wishes-he-knew-way-back-when/
2. Watch this, https://www.dvidshub.net/video/808205/first-100-days-infantry-platoon-leader
3 Know this. https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ATP%203-21x8%20FINAL%20WEB%20INCL%20C1.pdf
The worst thing you can do is to just do what people tell you what they did in the past. If you have to plan a team live fire just don't pull a random power point from the sharedrive or listen to random NCO say "we just did it this way and it worked." You would seek out those that were there and use their input as recommendations and review the doctrine and METL to develop how you are going to tackle this.
1. Read this, https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/04/16/20-things-about-being-a-platoon-leader-that-he-wishes-he-knew-way-back-when/
2. Watch this, https://www.dvidshub.net/video/808205/first-100-days-infantry-platoon-leader
3 Know this. https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ATP%203-21x8%20FINAL%20WEB%20INCL%20C1.pdf
20 things about being a platoon leader that he wishes he knew way back when
Tom note: This originally appeared in War Council, a fine blog out of West Point. I am running it here with the permission of the…
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