What are your experiences with working in the training room at the company level?

I have spent more time than I should have in a Training / Orderly room. You need to have EXCELLENT admin skills and even better organizational skills. And pretty damned good communication skills, as well - both verbal and written. And written includes e-mail and memos. If you aren't already an expert on Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, you WILL be.

You will likely be working directly for 1SG - all guidance and direction will originate there. CO and/or XO may pop their heads in from time to time, but 1SG runs the O Room. THIS DOES NOT MEAN 1SG IS YOUR BUDDY. You will likely have a direct line to 1SG (and an almost direct line to the CO and XO), however I have seen MANY young Soldiers think that this gives them extra leeway or privilege. Don't be that guy, it will get you hemmed up QUICK.

That being said, when you are speaking on behalf of 1SG, do not be afraid of the PSGs. Be RESPECTFUL, absolutely; but if 1SG says he needs X,Y,and Z before close of business, it is YOUR job to make sure PSGs get it to you. (And if 1SG is not a piece of shit, (s)he will let the PSGs know they are expected to comply). A quick "reminder" to any who don't have it turned in a couple hours before COB will usually suffice. But if they aren't getting it done, don't be afraid to drop 1SG a note to provide a more "personal" kick in the pants.

If you are going to be THE raining NCO (i.e. senior person in the training room), you NEED to sit down with 1SG and lay out ground rules, expectations, and procedures. Understand when you are allowed to speak with 1SG's authority, and when you are not. Get a feel for how 1SG wants the Company to run. Etc. Almost every 1SG I have met wanted everything going through their office. Even if CO asks for a memo, you send it to 1SG first and 1SG can either forward to CO or give blessing for you to bring it over. I have had times when the 1SG let all of the PSGs (and the CSM!) know that I *always* spoke with his authority, and to assume that if I said it, it came from him. And I had one 1SG who told me I was not allowed to speak to his PSGs, all correspondence would go to him, and if he approved, *he* would send it out. Big difference between the two, and you do NOT want to be on the wrong side of that equation.

If you are going to be *A* training NCO (i.e. working for a more senior NCO), then you need to sit down with THE training NCO and find out where you fit in. I have run Training rooms with one other Soldier, and we both tag-teamed everything. I have run them with 4 NCOs and 2 junior enlisted - each Soldier had a primary and alternate responsibility (so everyone had a backup in case they were sick or on leave or just overworked) and we operated a LOT on trackers. Know what *your* lane is and get good at it quick - and then start learning about what everyone else does just in case you have to cover down.

Never, EVER go behind 1SG or CO's back. Ever. Ever EVER.

You will have to do a lot of work with the BN Staff (personnel/finance actions/awards/NCOERs with S1, Training meetings and land/ammo requests with S3, etc.). Learn how to fight for your Company WITHOUT burning bridges - you WILL be seeing those NCOs again, and in the very near future.

Those are the basics. Scared yet?

There is no S3 at the company level. The Company Commander doesn’t have staff. Are you talking about an Ops NCO the Commander takes out if their MTOE slot and puts in the Co HQ?

The "S" shops are all at battalion or brigade level since those are staff sections. There are none at a company level. Where did you hear about S3 at a company level? You could be in the training room at the company...but S3. No.