REFLECT
Your Biggest Barrier to Clear Thinking Under Stress: Bolstering
By Jared Massie Stress can be a double-edged sword for leaders. It can heighten awareness and prompt decisive actions, but too much has the potential to paralyze, cloud judgment, and impede logical reasoning. When our stressors seem too weighty for...
Don’t Lose Yourself in Your Service: Why I Couldn’t Stay in the Navy
By Marina Muenster A few months ago, I wore my Navy uniform for the last time. In total, I spent nearly 10 years in the service, first as a midshipman at the Naval Academy and then as a Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer. I am often asked why I left...
The 10 COMMANDments: A Company Command Team’s Reflections
by Dan Kinney and John Singharath Regardless of branch, commanding a unit is one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever have as an officer or senior NCO—it’s also one of the most rewarding. With anything in the Army, it’s been done before and there’s a...
Make Combat Arms Fit Again
by Michael E. Pittman While serving as a basic training drill sergeant for incoming infantry soldiers at Fort Moore, Georgia, I saw a steady decline in overall fitness. In the past, trainees were easily able to pass the 1-1-1 assessment (1 minute...
The Oath of Commissioned Officers Demands We Pursue Perfection
by Christian A. Dionisio For the vast majority of Americans, the relentless pursuit of perfection is completely unreasonable, even irrational. In the profession of arms, however, the relentless pursuit of perfection is illuminated in our oath,...
The Most Neglected Path to Leader Growth: Self-Development
by Brian McDonough Arguably one of the most discussed but neglected concepts among Army Leaders is one’s self-development. Every day leaders must balance responsibilities to their organization, their soldiers, their families, and themselves....
Soldiers With Stripes: A Perspective On Junior NCOs
By James Duncan Recently, I engaged a trusted squad leader for some much-needed feedback. I wanted to know his perspective on the state of the company: what are we doing well and where do we need a course correction? After several minutes, the NCO...
When Ego Leads
by Meaghan Parchert “Leadership in a democratic Army means firmness, not harshness; understanding, not weakness; justice, not license; humaneness, not intolerance; generosity, not selfishness; pride, not egotism.” – GEN Omar Bradley...
“Leading Up” as a Company Grade Officer
by Mike Martino “Someone got Sir off topic again…” Forty of us, students at the Infantry Basic Officer Leader Course (IBOLC), were huddled into a corner of Building 466A listening to our platoon tactical trainer. We were supposed to be discussing...
To Captains in the Marketplace: Consider Recruiting Command
by Ben Potter Are you an Army Captain whose AIM marketplace is open? If so, you may see Company Command positions within the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (“USAREC”). These positions are a phenomenal broadening opportunity, and you should consider...
Leading into the Future: Why You Should Write a Thesis at CGSC
by Benjamin Van Horrick To the incoming class, welcome to Fort Leavenworth and the United States Army Combined Arms Center Command and General Staff College (CGSC). You are embarking on the most pivotal—and certainly not the easiest—year of your...
10 Rules to Live by on Social Media for Those who Serve
by Orlandon Howard “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” – King Solomon (1010-931 BCE) It’s easy to make mistakes when communicating regularly on social media....
The One Thing Series: Seeing the Best in People
by Brad Ruttman It was very difficult to choose the one thing I wish I knew before taking command. After 8 years of operational and strategic level command, there are so many. However, there is one in particular that I never thought that I would...
The One Thing Series: Burnout
by Bob Shelton I failed … my family, my unit, and my leaders. As a teenager, I had a t-shirt that said “Eat, sleep, and go like hell.” I put a lot of stock in the latter part of that slogan…I believed it. Twenty-two years...
The One Thing Series: You Are Not the Point
by Ben Durdle Our education plants the seed of our perceived exceptionalism, our training waters it, and our experiences prune and bathe it in sunlight. We have signed up to do something extraordinary and believing we are capable and, in many ways,...
The One Thing Series: Mentoring Through the Gauntlet
by Don Gomez The one thing I wish I had known before I started my last job is that, in mentoring relationships, the mentee is almost always looking for practical advice – not cosmic wisdom. That may seem simple, but is truthfully...
One Thing: Systems and Processes for Command
by Jared Massie Within the first few weeks of Battery command I knew I needed to get organized. I began to develop practical products that, looking back, are my greatest lessons learned. They focus on an organized weekly calendar, a ready-made unit...
The One Thing Series: The Criticality of Composure
by Benjamin J. Elliott If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; – Rudyard Kipling To meet the...
The One Thing Series: On Self-Preservation
by Nadir Attar Of the myriad of things which come into my mind reflecting on my time as a company commander, one word stands out: self-preservation. At first glance this might look like an awkward, even selfish choice. Isn’t command...
The One Thing Series: Find a Mentor
By Marc Meybaum “Mentorship is the voluntary developmental relationship that exists between a person of greater experience and a person of lesser experience that is characterized by mutual trust and respect.” – AR 600-100: Army...
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War on a Budget: What Can the S-8 Do for Your Team?
by Henoch Gassner A relatively late addition to the Brigade Combat Team (BCT), the Resource Management (RM) staff, or S-8, enables the brigade commander to make informed decisions on how to maximize lethality by executing their budget. Although the...
Garrison Command: Lessons Learned as a Strategic Leader
By Chad R. Foster This might not be the outcome you expected or wanted. You might be shocked, excited, disappointed, or angry – perhaps all four at once. Regardless of what you know (or think you know), you are going to find that Garrison Command...
Sprinting the Marathon: Lessons Learned from an Advanced Individual Training Commander
by David G. Moehling Commanding an Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Company presents unique challenges vastly different from those in conventional units. The training calendar is cyclic and repetitive, the property book is minimal, and...
Accepting Risk in a Postmodern Military: Reducing Dependency on Information Through Creative and Critical Thinking
by Marc Meybaum The radio squawks to life, a message flashes on the screen in front of you, and your cell phone vibrates on the dash. As you sit in your vehicle during a field training exercise you cannot escape the seemingly endless requests for...
Faithful and True: Lessons Learned at Combined Resolve XVI
by Samuel “Joe” Nirenberg During the past nine months, I was fortunate to command 1-5 FA while it served as a part of the rotational ABCT in support of Atlantic Resolve. Up front, I will say that the Atlantic Resolve mission allows...
Do We Disdain Intellectual NCOs?
By Chris Melendez Former officer and scholar James Joyner critiqued anti-intellectualism within the U.S. military. Opinions will diverge on Joyner’s assessment on whether such bias exists or whether an ideal balance can be struck between the...
The Garrison Command Sergeant Major
By James Brasher You have been waiting for months and, finally, the Centralized Selection List (CSL) results are published. You have been wondering which brigade you are going to assume responsibility for. You open up the CSL, see your name, and...
Professional Fulfillment: How Finding Your Purpose Promotes Unit Cohesion
By Andrew J. Bibb The first time I took the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) I felt as if a massive burden had been lifted off my shoulders. My Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) scores were steadily declining as I aged. I was frustrated...
What are Chaplains For? Five Suggestions on How to Best Utilize the Chaplain
By Caleb Miller There are many guides for officers or NCOs to become better leaders. There are also guides for chaplains to improve. However, I see very little out there helping leaders develop, utilize or rate the chaplains in their midst. This...
An Aversion to Ambition
by Brennan Randel What is it about open displays of ambition that can cause an eye-roll so deep it results in temporary blindness? Imagine a room full of combat arms second lieutenants on the first day of their basic officer leadership course. To...
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