What was your best Sergeants Time topic and experience?

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:09:20 -0400

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made Jun 2 at 2016 4:20 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:20:08 -0400

One time as a Finance Commander we had watched We Were Soldiers for SGT's time. That piqued a lot of interest.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 4:23 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:23:04 -0400

My unit has had a run of boring training and death by PowerPoint. So I created a class on small unit movement and tactics and basically tailored to fit the zombie apocalypse. It definitely got the attention of all the younger Soldiers and engaged them with questions and different scenarios on what to do when attacked. Had Soldiers practice the movements outdoors and had the NCO's act the zombie part in the scenarios.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 4:31 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:31:22 -0400

So, the very first time I ever experienced SGTs time was in the Reserves. My platoon took control of a room and proceeded to watch the movie MASH.....my platoon sergeant justified it as we were a field hospital.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 5:54 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 17:54:26 -0400

Problem Solving & the Role of the Non-commissioned Officer...it was cool to see the light bulbs going off in the room. It brought to light a serious lack of mentoring at the unit level and some POI failures at NCOES (we had multiple recent attendees at BLC & ALC in the room).

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 10:35 PM

MCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 22:35:39 -0400

We had a buck sergeant way back when (1982) that had been a chef prior to coming in. Our section was all single guys (Infantry), and we had several Saturdays of Sergeant's Time with him teaching us how to cook simple crap. Some of the guys whined about it - but after one got a girlfriend and made her dinner, everyone started asking for more classes.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Jun 2 at 2016 11:19 PM

MSG Pat Colby — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 23:19:19 -0400

A rousing game of Hide and Seek! Set the area limits. I gave the Soldiers 2 hours to cammo up and hide. Freaking people hiding 20' up in trees, under logs, buried in rocks...

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 3 at 2016 12:31 AM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 00:31:25 -0400

We took a bunch of Log guys in an HHC and did a series of STT sessions and prepared them for urban ops. The GC let us clear a few buildings using battle drill #6. Guys used to lawn details and office jobs were totally digging real soldiering.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2016 10:12 AM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 10:12:00 -0400

In my opinion, the preparation was the best part for me. We had a very organized and proactive Platoon Sergeant who ensured that all of his Squad Leaders knew well enough in advance when they were to provide training and what topic too. That gave me ample time to use the 8 Step Training Model to research my training, gather my training aids, plot my training grid coordinates, conduct a terrain walk, prepare my Sergeants Time binder and rehearse for the training. I was always prepared and this provided my Soldiers the best training experience possible and that's all that mattered in the end.

Response by CW3(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2016 10:39 AM

CW3(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 10:39:36 -0400

i cant remember which NCO came up with the idea, but we took a trip to Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich. It was interesting and eerie at the same time but i liked it. A lot of history. makes you not want to take things for granted. it also put the whole training and readiness thing into perspective