National Guard Platoon Leader Time

When you get out of OCS the first thing you're looking forward to is your time as a platoon leader. If you're anything like me this is what you signed up for. As I've talked to more 2LT's across the Guard I've made a few observations that I'll pass along:

1. It's nothing like OCS. No one is there to belittle you every time you make a tiny mistake, your superiors will probably be genuinely interested in your welfare, you might even start to find you're enjoying the Guard. Coming from a background that was nothing but training, I was extremely relieved to finally join my unit. If you do your job well (or at least show that you're trying to learn it as fast as you can) you'll be part of the team in no time.

2. You may not get that coveted PL role. In the regular Army they'll send you to a staff role if there isn't a PL slot open. In the Guard they'll probably just double stack you on a platoon. How does that work? It doesn't. This is what happened to me when I commissioned- my unit went from having no LT's to 5 within a matter of months. So we all got to "share" PL responsibilities. My advice- find a project or a niche within your scope of leadership and go at it. Find a way to be useful. In rare circumstances you might get slotted as an XO or CO if the company is really hurting for officers- good luck with that.

3. Get a BOLC slot as soon as humanly possible. Until you finish BOLC you aren't MOS qualified. On the surface that means you usually can't do all the hooah fun stuff that your Joes are doing. Worse than that is you don't know your job. Walk in with humility and learn as much as you can from your NCO's, Specialists and Privates. Yes, even the lowliest of Privates just out of AIT know more than you do about your job.

4. Formally introduce yourself on the 2nd or 3rd drill. Prior to that spend some time observing. Do what the commander needs you to get done, but observe. Spend time in the motor pool, hang out with the supply Sergeant, sit in on training classes. Show your Joes that you're interested in what they're doing. Most (especially the junior enlisted) will be more than willing to tell you all about their MOS and what they do for the unit. They're feeling you out too. When you address your platoon for the first time tell them about yourself, tell them why you're there and what they can expect from you. It doesn't need to be super formal or long, just enough for them to feel like they know about your background and that you're there for them. Don't be afraid if you feel like you have to earn their respect. You do. Especially your NCO's. They might be a little cold toward you until they feel like you're not going to get their soldiers killed at the first opportunity. Its all part of the process- lead with presence, character, confidence, and competence and they'll get behind you.

5. Take time to care about soldiers. Find out what's going on in their lives. Celebrate with them when they have babies, learn what their Army and civilian career goals are, listen to them when they tell you about family problems, give them advice when they ask, find out the real reason they showed up to formation drunk. I could go on, but I can sum it all up by saying the real reason you're a leader is for them. That's the kind of superior officer you want to have, and they're no different.

Those are probably my top 5 suggestions to a new butter bar. They're not unique revalations that I've had they're more universal truths for the position. Any officer or NCO will probably give you similar advice. As always, I enjoy fielding questions you may have. Feel free to drop a line in the comments or to my email address.

Best of luck to Texas OCS Class 57 as they head to Phase III!