What classes should I teach as an Infantry Team Leader? If you could go back, what do you wish your old TL/SL would have taught you?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:06:24 -0400

I am becoming a Team Leader pretty soon, and I need some advice. What classes could I teach my team/squad other than the typical, Battle drill 1-8(classroom, walk through & changing leadership roles), TLPs, land nav. (basics), and how to operate/assemble radios and weapons.
I feel like as a joe, I never had that Team Leader I always wanted to be like, because most of my old Team Leaders wouldn't teach classes and would tell us to go to our rooms and I definitely don't want to be that TL. I also think I am really far behind compared to some E-5 with Ranger Tabs, TLs from Ranger Regiment etc.
Thanks.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 6 at 2021 2:16 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:16:18 -0400

Manuever, Offense, Defense, Use of Terrain, Sector Sketches, Bounding.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2021 2:40 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:40:54 -0400

Get real good with basics, weapons handling, machine gun drills, CFF, battle drills, and then black out windows and do drills under nods. Like reloads.

Response by Cpl James O'Rawe made Apr 6 at 2021 2:59 PM

Cpl James O'Rawe — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:59:44 -0400

One thing I did all the time was hand/arm signals. Especially if you get boots assigned to you. Hand/arm signals are a must.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 6 at 2021 3:52 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:52:56 -0400

Describe to me how you point out targets when you are in the defense?

Response by SSG John Oliver made Apr 6 at 2021 4:53 PM

SSG John Oliver — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 16:53:46 -0400

Definitely battle drills. Formations and practice them In a field. The opportunities are only limited to your imagination.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2021 4:54 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 16:54:30 -0400

Anything that enhances the ability to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver, and to repel the enemy assault with fire and close combat. The mission of the Marine Rifle Squad. Endurance and stamina for fitness. Maneuver warfare, and gun drills. Then more gun drills.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2021 5:52 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 17:52:55 -0400

The basics. Download a copy of the Soldier Manual of Common Tasks, there is an Army one and a specific 11B one, those are what you should work on. Line it up with what is coning up on the training calendar. Have a defense lane coming up? Fighting positions and sector sketches. Have a live fire? Manuever your team, direct fire control measures. And weapon employment.

Response by 2LT Brian L. made Apr 6 at 2021 6:11 PM

2LT Brian L. — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:11:06 -0400

Outside of tactics... learn what your ERB means and how to maintain it, take turns leading PT so they can learn how to be in charge of a formation, how to be competitive at higher ranks, practice creeds and future board stuff, I always had my guys write a small essay about world events (keep them thinking and tied into the world),... the worlds yours... prepare them to advance you in rank and your heading in the right direction

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Apr 6 at 2021 6:57 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:57:13 -0400

I hate to throw this back at you, but....

What does your team NEED right now? There are all kinds of things to teach, but we don't know your Soldiers. Hopefully you do. If you don't - figure them out, and quick.

As a Team Leader you should be really focused on individual tasks. Grab an EIB Manual, and figure out what your troops are weak and strong in. Once they know everything in the EIB manual, start upping the game. They can assemble/disassemble. But can they do it at night? Or with Nods? They can perform first aid for bleeding - but what about triaging multiple injuries? Etc.

Once you have your troops proficient in the individual tasks - day and night, under stress - THEN move up to things like moving as a team, interlocking fields of fire, and then get with the squad leader to worn on things like squad attack.

But really, your job is to figure out what your Soldiers are weakest in, and then make them less weak. And that MIGHT be PT.

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Apr 6 at 2021 11:44 PM

CPL Douglas Chrysler — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 23:44:18 -0400

We had an instructor for hand to hand combat who taught us all the basics and insisted on lots of practice. Once we were able to react instinctively and stay within the bounds of our instruction, he encouraged us to take our best move and develop it further without weakening the effectiveness. This proved to be a priceless defense depending on the situation. So, no matter what you teach, allowing the students to own a piece of it could be a lifesaver.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2021 12:08 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 00:08:50 -0400

Please to this website. This is the Skill Level 1 Soldiers with the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 11B (Infantryman), trainers, training developers, and first-line supervisors. The Army made the Individual Critical Task List so Soldiers know what they need to train on. This list is everything that your Soldiers need to know and that you should be training them on. There is also a Individual Critical Task List for a 11B skill level 2 for you. It will tell you what you should know. This document also has links to how to correctly train and evaluate the task.

I will warn you that do not waste your time and the time of your Soldier with training that you can not evaluate. It is pointless and dangerous. This will also develop you in how to understand training and developing training plans for SL 1. If you need any assistance you can message me.

https://rdl.train.army.mil/catalog/search?current=true&search_terms=infantry%2011b&producttype=ICTL

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Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2021 12:09 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 00:09:23 -0400

My first team leader would assign me a subject out of the Ranger handbook. Setting up a patrol base for example. I would study it, make notes, then when I was ready I would give a class to the rest of the squad what I learned. My squad leader and both team leaders would listen and add in their notes at the end of the class. I learned really well this way as a private and it gave me confidence and made me take pride in my job. It also will prepare your soldiers to fill in your boots one day. Definitely get a Ranger handbook, that is the meat and potatoes of all things infantry in my opinion. You can also ask your squad leader to help you organize a class. My favorite though is when my platoon sergeant would get involved in our class because he’d see us and wanted to join in. So much knowledge to be gained from true leadership.
Doesn’t always have to be classes either, coordinate team pt outside of pt hours. Train up for the ACFT together. You or one of your guys want to go to Ranger school? Take a diagnostic RPFT together.
Last thing I’ll add, ask your guys how they’re doing, check in on them, genuinely show you care. You don’t have to be their best buddy, but you taking the time out of your weekend to check in on your soldier’s well being will have a positive impact on their morale. You can prevent poor decisions from happening this way too.
Know the resources available to your soldiers as well. Research all the programs the Army has to offer for families, mental health, finance, you name it. You want to set your troops up for life long success.
Anyways, I hope you got something from my input. Good luck out there!

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Apr 7 at 2021 1:43 AM

SSG Robert Perrotto — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 01:43:29 -0400

I would start with the basics, Land Navigation, IMT/BMT, Range cards, sector sketches, Call for fire, 9 line medevac/IED reports, Salute reports, Cammo themselves and equipment. Not sure if it still exists, but we had a book called the Soldiers Book of Common Tasks, and it contained tasks common to all Soldiers by skill level. Even if it's no longer part of the Military Pubs system, you should still be able to google it and peruse the tasks inside of it. Another good book to utilize is FM 7-8, or the Infantry Bible. there are a lot of tasks and training inside of those two books that still applies today. Plus. You yourself, get the added benefit of expanding your knowledge base, and tool box, becoming more technically and tactically proficient, and when you apply it to training Soldiers, expanding upon your leadership skills.

Just thought of another really great resource you can utilize. The EIB testing and training standards, now that we are not involved in large scale deployments anymore, earning the EIB is going to regain it's prominence of separating Soldiers from their peers when it comes to promotions, both by earning one, and how many of your team/squad earned one through direct result of your ability to teach and train them.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2021 1:53 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 01:53:18 -0400

When I was a young Senior Medic with my squad, I found I got more bang for the buck out of my time with practice rather than classes. I spent a lot of time teaching classes on higher level things that were good to learn, and that's great. But what made my squad really incredible was drilling them in the basics. Once they can do it basically then making it harder. So, as medics they understood how to do some more advanced techniques like a cric cut down or a chest tube, but they knew that wasn't what 90% of their job was. The majority of their job on a battlefield was: 1. Stop bleeding 2. Restore Airway 3. Provide fluid 4. Transport. So, once they could do it well, I made them do it well under the worst circumstances. For instance, if you can put a tourniquet on, can you put it on in under 10 seconds? In body armor? In the dark? In the back of a moving vehicle, in the dark, when you're both in body armor?

Identify the handful of things that are the highest priority and train them till they are perfect. Remember, amateurs train till they get it right, professionals train till they can't get it wrong. This isn't just an opinion. Ranger Regiment has always stressed focusing on a handful of skills and training them to high proficiency. Not long ago the Army had 40+ skills and drills it considered critical for every Soldier to know, but Ranger Regiment was focused on the Big 5 areas. A few years later the Army realized you can't train every Soldier to be an expert in 40 different critical skills and trimmed it down by 2/3rds.

So, look at the items you guys struggle with or have to face the most. It could be as simple as walking in a wedge formation with the correct interval spacing. Then drill that over and over and over till your squad is the very best at it. I used to keep it interesting by making competitions. If you're a weapon squad that could be Rattle Battles or blindfolded Rattle Battles for time. My guys used to do IV races and blindfolded casualty assessments. Make it challenging and your guys will stay engaged. Make them the best at something and they'll be proud instead of hating training

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Apr 7 at 2021 4:35 AM

SSG Robert Perrotto — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 04:35:38 -0400

This is what I love about Rallypoint. Lots of great advice and pointers from Infantry NCO's and Officers sharing their knowledge and experiences with Infantry Soldiers who want to better themselves, and their team mates. As we say in the 1-187th - RAKKASAN!