REFLECT
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: Collaborating Up, Down, and Across
by Haley Morton In 2CR, staff work is particularly difficult to synchronize due to the lack of an onsite division headquarters and the frequent expeditionary deployment operations in the European theater. I wish I’d known the importance of...
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...
The One Thing Series: Sharing the Profession with Department of the Army Civilians
By Tom Dull “The Army profession develops Soldiers and Army civilians who demonstrate character, competence, and commitment through career-long training, education, and experience.” – ADP 6-22: Army Leadership and the Profession In the...
3 Signs that a Star Performer is on the Path to Burnout
This post originally appeared on Bridge3.com and was written for a corporate audience, however the topic and the advice offered has equal application for military leaders. By Jonathan Silk How does a star performer turn into a loose cannon, or...
The Three Hardest Words for Leaders: “I Don’t Know”
“Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows.” – Epictetus, Discourses I think three of the hardest words for leaders to say are, “I don’t know.” No matter the...
Leaders Must be Ready When Tragedy Strikes
By Brittany Simmons Following my time as a battalion and brigade S3, I experienced a broadening opportunity working in the Department of the Army’s Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at Army Human Resources Command for about 20...
Balancing Authority and Responsiblity
By: Aaron Haubert We begin with two scenarios: 1) Without a formal role, an extra officer joins a headquarters company and dives right in. His rank ensures he’s listened to, but his directions run counter to the rhythm of the shop. Soon the shop is...
On Networking: It’s Not About You
By: Jason Criss Howk In the fall of 2002, I was a first lieutenant on the 82nd Airborne Division Staff in Afghanistan when I was selected by Major General Karl Eikenberry to be his aide. I extended my 4-month tour to a year-long deployment, and...
Future Army Leaders: Expert Specialists or Master Generalists?
By Franklin C. Annis, EdD Many of us know the adage, “A jack of all trades and master of none.” This phrase, in the modern usage, is usually used to describe an individual that is functional in several different skills but lacks the ability to...
What To Do When the Army Stops Promoting You
By: Major Bob Gordon Imagine you’ve been married for more than 15 years. There have been ups and downs, but for the most part, it has been a fun, exciting, mutually beneficial, and fruitful relationship. Then one day, your spouse comes to you and...
The Universal War
By: ML Cavanaugh Whether I was with cadets or Koreans, I had a problem. As a military officer assigned to teach military strategy at West Point, and then on a staff alongside officers from the Republic of Korea, I kept bumping into the same...
Are Customs, Courtesies, and Traditions a Thing of the Past?
By SGM Paul Ellis Since it’s creation, the Army has undergone numerous evolutions, ranging from everything such as the way we fight to the weapons we bring to the fight. In recent years, the Army also seems to be transitioning to a culture where it...
Three Books You Should Read Before Company Command
For most officers, company command ranks in the top ten of their professional highlights reel. It’s a rewarding, yet humbling position for those who experience it. Over the course of 12 to 36 months, command provides captains with the authorities...
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Should I Go to SAMS?
By: Jim Greer Someone recently asked me, “Why should an officer attend SAMS (the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies)?” But, in fact I think that is exactly the wrong question. The question ought to be, “Why would any officer not want to...
10 Rules for the Iron Major
By. Chad Foster Lists of “rules” are always problematic because they are never really complete or perfect. There is ALWAYS a better way to phrase something or a key idea that gets left out. However, the list below is one that has stayed with me for...
The Iron Major: War Stories From the Staff
By Steve Leonard, creator of Doctrine Man!! It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The “Iron Major” phase of your career can seem to drag on forever, drifting in that twilight zone between the nostalgia of company command and the...
The Field Grade Survival Kit
By Aaron Childers You are going into a survival situation and you can only bring ten things… Sometimes being a field grade is like being in a survival scenario. You have a lot to do, build shelter, find water, and search for food. All of these...
The Major’s Guide to Hurting Soldiers
This is the first post in the Field Grade Week Series (#FGWEEK). The intent is to provide company grade officers and new majors advice on making the successful transition from captain to major. This particular article by BG Ross Coffman was one of...
Investing in People: A Brigade Commander’s To Do List
By: Colonel (Retired) Rob Campbell Taking command of a Brigade in the 101st Airborne Division in 2013, I knew I had to focus on making people better people. I had to invest in them. To invest is to dedicate time, talent and resources to gain...
Are You a Third Generation Leader?
When most of us think of leadership, we think of the immediate. Our leadership focus tends to be on the task at hand, not really looking beyond the next rifle range or field training exercise. But, eventually we will move on and continue to climb...
Let’s Stop the 100-Hour Work Week: Letting the Horses Go
The Problem of Letting Go In the opening of Elting Morison’s Men, Machines, and Modern Times, he recounts the story of a British officer who, in the early 1940s, had a time motion expert study pictures of a light artillery crew going through...
The Janitor Who Helped Put a Man on the Moon
By: Joe Byerly In 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited NASA for the first time. During his tour of the facility, he met a janitor who was carrying a broom down the hallway. The President then casually asked the janitor what he did for NASA, and...
The Power of Informal Leader Development
By Scott Nusom Introduction Leader professional development (LPD) is a critical component for growing and progressing the Profession of Arms. Army Doctrinal Reference Publication 6-22, Army Leadership binds leader development into the Army...
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