It's aggravating enough when it happens in response to a BC's ill-thought out question.
yup.
Things Every "O" Should Know
- Thread starter Marauder06
- Start date
It's aggravating enough when it happens in response to a BC's ill-thought out question.
yup.
I just wanted to add listen to others. When the Ninth Infantry came to the delta their officers would not even listen to the Navy officers. When we inserted the ninth the casualties were terrible and the operation could have come out different. Our people were on that river and in those areas daily. The first thing we did when we hit a new area we looked up the operating A team for a meet and greet. saved a lot of sailors lives.
Bill
Bill
Don't be that guy.
I have always tried to live by three rules.
1. Mission accomplishment comes above all else. Mission has priority isn't just a cool t shirt slogan. Sometimes, well oftentimes, this means sacrificing the thing that you love most: your Marines. This is a rough business. We don't trade in dollars and cents, we trade in blood and often times we have to pay dearly. If you aren't comfortable with that, find another line of work. I have seen platoons tuck in their tails and pull off the ex because they started to take casualties. That is unacceptable. Take care of your wounded, insert a new magazine and take the hill.
2. Let no man call you a coward. Follow me isn't just a cool t shirt slogan. The first life you risk or sacrifice may well be your own. Go see how many platoon commanders from 3rd Battalion 5th Marines are in Walter Reed or Arlington right now. When things get crazy someone has to remain sane and get the train back on the tracks. Officers are responsible for getting their Marines from the line of departure to the last three hundred yards through proper planning and fire support. Once his unit is within the last three hundred yards, the NCOs will take over the fight and will drive their teams. When something goes wrong, you are pinned down and you lose comms, guess who needs to get up and make something happen? Suck it up, buttercup! This is why you get all that extra pay right?
3. Never put your Marines before your self. The mission comes above all else, but the men come right after. Often times we as officers can become too focused on the numerous demands that higher places on us. Take care of your Marines and they will take care of you. Our military system isn't perfect and officers exist to right wrongs when they occur. Most times you have to rock the boat because some other officer probably screwed things up in the first place. If you are doing something or not doing something because you are afraid of hurting your fitness report or some other selfish reason you have no backbone and you should do us all a favor and go away.
1. Mission accomplishment comes above all else. Mission has priority isn't just a cool t shirt slogan. Sometimes, well oftentimes, this means sacrificing the thing that you love most: your Marines. This is a rough business. We don't trade in dollars and cents, we trade in blood and often times we have to pay dearly. If you aren't comfortable with that, find another line of work. I have seen platoons tuck in their tails and pull off the ex because they started to take casualties. That is unacceptable. Take care of your wounded, insert a new magazine and take the hill.
2. Let no man call you a coward. Follow me isn't just a cool t shirt slogan. The first life you risk or sacrifice may well be your own. Go see how many platoon commanders from 3rd Battalion 5th Marines are in Walter Reed or Arlington right now. When things get crazy someone has to remain sane and get the train back on the tracks. Officers are responsible for getting their Marines from the line of departure to the last three hundred yards through proper planning and fire support. Once his unit is within the last three hundred yards, the NCOs will take over the fight and will drive their teams. When something goes wrong, you are pinned down and you lose comms, guess who needs to get up and make something happen? Suck it up, buttercup! This is why you get all that extra pay right?
3. Never put your Marines before your self. The mission comes above all else, but the men come right after. Often times we as officers can become too focused on the numerous demands that higher places on us. Take care of your Marines and they will take care of you. Our military system isn't perfect and officers exist to right wrongs when they occur. Most times you have to rock the boat because some other officer probably screwed things up in the first place. If you are doing something or not doing something because you are afraid of hurting your fitness report or some other selfish reason you have no backbone and you should do us all a favor and go away.
You're one of those officers that doesn't eat chow until after your Marines have eaten, aren't you?
This is a repost of something I posted in another thread.
You know what "zero tolerance" is? It's a leadership crutch. It's a tool for the indecisive and for those too weak-willed to judge a situation on its own merits. "Zero tolerance" gives functionaries a shield to hide behind so they don't have to make a tough call. Having a "zero tolerance" policy on something is a hell of a lot cleaner than having to exercise some leadership or put some thought into a case and its appropriate punishment.
Matters of extenuation and mitigation matter- or at least they should. In all my time in command, I never had a zero tolerance policy on anything. Even in cases when a guy wanted to "plead guilty," I heard the whole thing out before I made a decision. Then again, I never had to worry about getting my ass sued off because Johnny got kicked out of school because he's a thug, but Suzy made an honest mistake and got to stay like they do in schools these days.
Any kind of absolutism is bad. Absolutism in leadership is a sign of weakness.
You know what "zero tolerance" is? It's a leadership crutch. It's a tool for the indecisive and for those too weak-willed to judge a situation on its own merits. "Zero tolerance" gives functionaries a shield to hide behind so they don't have to make a tough call. Having a "zero tolerance" policy on something is a hell of a lot cleaner than having to exercise some leadership or put some thought into a case and its appropriate punishment.
Matters of extenuation and mitigation matter- or at least they should. In all my time in command, I never had a zero tolerance policy on anything. Even in cases when a guy wanted to "plead guilty," I heard the whole thing out before I made a decision. Then again, I never had to worry about getting my ass sued off because Johnny got kicked out of school because he's a thug, but Suzy made an honest mistake and got to stay like they do in schools these days.
Any kind of absolutism is bad. Absolutism in leadership is a sign of weakness.
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'One size fits all' rules.
Institutional solutions for individual situations.
These seem to be the achillies heel of any organization bigger than about 3 people.
Yes.
It's important to have standards, but it's likewise essential to not have inflexible standards.
If my commanders had a "zero defects" mentality when I was coming up through the officers' corps, I never would have made it past O2 (when I was an O1 I had a platoon sergeant to mitigate my mistakes- when I was an O2 I was on my own). Some leaders forget they were young and dumb once too. By all means enforce standards, it's a fundamental function of leadership. But don't limit your options or abrogate your leadership responsibilities by a "zero tolerance" mindset.
I was on my 2nd tour in RVN and a sergeant (E-5), acting as the Platoon Leader. New replacements arrived at the FSB and the field first sgt gave me two for my platoon. There was a sharp looking dude named Diggs and a scruffy looking guy named McShane. I assigned Diggs to the 3rd squad and McShane to be the assistant gunner on an M60.
After three days of humping the bush, we were in a Fire Support Base. The CO called for all of the platoon leaders for assignments of Ambush Patrols. Two of the Platoon Leaders were officers and the other two were experienced sergeants. When I got to the company CP, the captain said, what are you doing here?” I replied that he had called for all of the platoon leaders. The CO asked me where LT McShane was? I didn’t even know that McShane was an officer. When I got back to my platoon, I pulled McShane aside and asked him if he was a 2LT. McShane confessed and when I asked him why he hadn’t told me that he was commissioned, McShane said that his father had been an Infantry Company Commander in WWII, and he told his son that when he got to his first unit, to listen to his sergeant and do whatever the sergeant said.
McShane ended up as a great PL who led the platoon for the rest of his year and was awarded a silver star.
After three days of humping the bush, we were in a Fire Support Base. The CO called for all of the platoon leaders for assignments of Ambush Patrols. Two of the Platoon Leaders were officers and the other two were experienced sergeants. When I got to the company CP, the captain said, what are you doing here?” I replied that he had called for all of the platoon leaders. The CO asked me where LT McShane was? I didn’t even know that McShane was an officer. When I got back to my platoon, I pulled McShane aside and asked him if he was a 2LT. McShane confessed and when I asked him why he hadn’t told me that he was commissioned, McShane said that his father had been an Infantry Company Commander in WWII, and he told his son that when he got to his first unit, to listen to his sergeant and do whatever the sergeant said.
McShane ended up as a great PL who led the platoon for the rest of his year and was awarded a silver star.
lol, great story ;)
badass story.
Who Packed Your Parachute?
http://www.authorstream.com/Present...0-packing-parachute-education-ppt-powerpoint/
http://www.authorstream.com/Present...0-packing-parachute-education-ppt-powerpoint/
The intial top six that have saved me so fa.
1. Get dirty with your soldiers. Busting your ass and working as hard as them or harder makes you one of them (or as close as possible).
2. Take criticism, give well constructed criticism
3. you’re not an NCO, let them do their job. Trust them.
4. DBALB…don’t be a little bitch.
5. Listen twice as much as you talk ( all your education hasn’t taught you shit).
6. Put an NCO between you and a problem but keep yourself knowledgeable about it.
7. Know the basics.
1. Get dirty with your soldiers. Busting your ass and working as hard as them or harder makes you one of them (or as close as possible).
2. Take criticism, give well constructed criticism
3. you’re not an NCO, let them do their job. Trust them.
4. DBALB…don’t be a little bitch.
5. Listen twice as much as you talk ( all your education hasn’t taught you shit).
6. Put an NCO between you and a problem but keep yourself knowledgeable about it.
7. Know the basics.
Cochise
Verified Military
Great story, sfmike!
My favorite part of this post, is that this list is of the Initial top SIX that have saved him so far.
Then, I count to seven...
Just busting your balls sir, but it is cool that "O"s like you can acknowledge the valuable knowledge and skill that your NCO's possess.
Cochise
Verified Military
Extremely ironic, RAGE275. I was just having a "discussion" with my Chief regarding this exact same topic. Well said.
Well really, how many 2lt's do you know or even CPT's (Army) that could give a shit less what their NCO's have to say. You look at Company leadership and the mistakes they make in combat and it's no surprise. It's the same for an NCO though, it's our job to maintain that professional relationship as a mentor and leader. Get dirty with your joes, but your team leaders are responsible for HOW they girl dirty and WHY they're doing so. Never take anything personal, constructive criticism is just that, be humble, and if joe smells some "butt hurt", respect is hard to come by after that.
STAND UP FOR YOUR DUDES You all know that sometimes, you're told to do some bullshit, and it's retarded. Don't be afraid to stand up and say fuck that, we're doing this, Sir. You guys will respect you regardless of what you're ordering them to do, but if they know that it's not coming from you, and it's either preventable OR there's an easier, commonsensical approach to accomplishing something, do it your way. (Of course with the in put from your NCO's.)
Keep abreast, of every issue your guys may have. Make sure your open door policy is known.
Know, I'm not an officer OBVIOUSLY, but, those are things I've noticed in my career that "O"s really could of benefited from keeping in mind.
Just my .02
