What should you do when your full time PSG is also the readiness NCO, and seems to have no time to mentor a PL?

2018-01-15T22:42:13-05:00

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2018 10:47 PM

2018-01-15T22:47:42-05:00

Mentor him/her on Time Management and seek input from other SFC's.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2018 11:07 PM

2018-01-15T23:07:39-05:00

What do you mean by no time? Is he tied up in completing full time duties during drill?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2018 10:47 AM

2018-01-16T10:47:55-05:00

When I was the PL in this situation I would always email or call my PSG before drill and ask what he needed to complete that weekend to stay up on his AGR duties. If it was overwhelming between drill activities and work that needed to be done, we usually went out to dinner once the duty day was complete. It gave us time to talk about our platoon and for him to input how he wants things implemented since he wasn't always around due to AGR needs. Doing the dinners really helped form a bond to accomplish missions.

Response by SGT Tony Clifford made Jan 16 at 2018 11:09 AM

2018-01-16T11:09:13-05:00

I would ask him what the platoon needs to do. The senior squadleader should be able to fill in if he's swamped. Make sure you're on the same page so that things can get accomplished without his supervision. As for mentorship, your platoon's other NCOs should have enough experience to teach you the fundamentals on leadership. Maybe have a huddle with all of your NCOs at the start of every drill and explain the taskings. Once your squadleaders know the mission, you can let them do their thing with occasional spot checks. You can even shadow various squads when you're not busy with your duties. The best way to learn leadership is to watch and learn. I always respected officers who wanted to learn from the NCOs.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 17 at 2018 10:19 AM

2018-01-17T10:19:42-05:00

Reach out. There are other NCOs in your unit that are full of experience. Your 1SG should be a wealth of information for new PLs to learn from.

Response by SFC Robert Pearson -SFCPearson made Jan 27 at 2018 9:59 PM

2018-01-27T21:59:41-05:00

I was that person, both the RNCO, PSG. I had both a great Battery Commander and 1SG, I briefed them as to the drill requirements and tasking, and they allow me to train my Platoon and help guide my PL. Before drill closed we would debrief each other a hand off the drill requirements and assume fulltime duties.

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Feb 25 at 2018 8:15 AM

2018-02-25T08:15:24-05:00

That happens alot in the Guard. Lots of time the full time staff are promoted into positions they are not qualified for so on Drill weekends they always are " I must work on my fulltime stuff". We had a SFC "Motor Sgt " when we deployed that wormed up to BN to basically become a E-4 clerk. Not missed, had a E-5 that did a super job.