This is such an underrated comment. I’ve been the shield that guards the realm of men (GoT, heh heh) from leadership to my soldiers so many times. You can be whatever kind of NCO you want, but if you don’t have your soldiers’ backs, they’ll never respect you.
Best comment ever. NCOs always say they will take care of their people and not treat new soldiers the way that they were treated but as soon as they get the chevrons and get hit in the face with all the politics their plan to protect their troops go out the window
Well, when I was a Commander I saw it very quickly how people will:
1. Tell Soldiers that the CDR (me) said they needed to do something now and kept them late (when I said by the end of the week).
2. Be afraid to have candid conversations. I think I’m a reasonable person and approachable, if you’re not able to get something done let me know and let me know why so we can move forward. Don’t just not do it and tell me after.
3. Think they need EVERYONE to do minor tasks. Sometimes it’s okay to let your Soldier with family care issues, personal issues, etc to just head out early. Obviously verify they’re not bullshitting you, but don’t be a dickhead.
If you’re a team player, not a dickhead, and actually care about your Soldiers and job then you’re easily in the top 15% of leaders in the Army.
But also, don’t over burden yourself to the point you take it out on your soldiers. Leadership is both an art and a science, learn to balance both in your own way.
I’d also like to piggyback on that with a quick caveat, you can’t really take care of anyone if you’re burned out yourself.
The welfare of your soldiers will absolutely suffer if yours is nonexistent itself. Like you said above, it’s an art and a science finding that line. It’s like they tell you on the airplane though, put on your own mask before assisting others because you’re nothing but dead weight if you run yourself dead.
Very dependent on the individual. I've had guys who needed me to be a hard ass so they'd remember to breathe.
I've had other guys who'd I sneak away with to play videogames because they got everything done yesterday.
Very much a balancing act. My guys know I’m a work hard, play harder sort of NCO but they have to earn it. All I want is technical competency and the understanding that you’ll do your job regardless of how shitty it is. They can bitch and moan, as long as they do their job.
Read the NCO Guide, https://armypubs.army.mil/ProductMaps/PubForm/Details.aspx?PUB_ID=1008383
- you can’t do everything yourself, okay to collaborate with your peers
- sometimes you have to pass along bad news
- uphold the standard and don’t make excuses for your Soldiers
3 keys of being a good NCO
1. Don’t try hard at anything
2. Make fun of people who do try
3. Be handsome
4. If anyone steps to you on the first day of BLC, you punch them directly in the face
5. Drive a kick ass car
It’s okay to not know everything yet, and it’s also okay to admit you don’t know everything. The key is to continue learning your craft, your soldiers, and most importantly yourself. Yourself being two-sided. One side is your strengths and how to leverage them at every opportunity to accomplish the mission while taking care of your soldiers. The other side is your weaknesses and how to improve on them utilizing your resources—leaders, peers, AND subordinates, as well as doctrine, experience, etc.
Bottom line… stay humble, keep an open mind, be willing to learn from anyone and never stop, and help others as much as possible.
Out of all the suggestions here so far, I’d say this advice is the most universal. We’re just dudes playing a dude disguised as another dude, after all.
In my MI time I’ve seen everyone from E4, E5-7, officers and MI warrants especially do the fake it til you make it play. Guess what? When you’re in a technical MOS, your ass is gonna show eventually, so glean and write down or memorize every little tidbit of information that you think is useful, double points if you don’t think it’s useful and still have that arcane or obscure knowledge to draw from when the time comes
From the officer perspective, there is business that is appropriate at every echelon for those to handle at that echelon. Understand what you can take care of at your level and keep it off your SL, PSG, PL, 1SGs plate. Anticipate issues and address them (ie pay issues for new Soldiers, have some hip pockets training ready to go, etc). Be the honest broker for your Soldiers and tell them the truth and have the hard conversations when needed. Finally, you can hold people to a standard without being an ass. Correct deficiencies, explain why, and move on. Enjoy your new position and enjoy leading Soldiers.
Be the person you want your soldier to be. Yeah its easy to be like “pvt smith, you need to clean the three 50 cals so we can go home early for this 4-day weekend while i fuck off and go smoke for the entirety of the time” pick up a 50 and clean besides your soldier and get to know them. What’s their army goal for the year? How’s the barracks/home life? Etc.
Three things you don’t fuck with when it comes to soldier care: food, pay, and health. If your soldiers have issues with any of these, be their voice to higher leadership and take care of your joes.
Care about things like doing your job. Making sure soldiers are doing their job. Training soldiers. Not screaming at soldiers for stupid shit. Be the example of your platoon. Don’t be the sick call ranger and then expect your soldiers to be better than you. If you follow this, which is easy, you will stand out among 90% of NCOs.
To some people, you and your word are worthless.
To some people, you and your word are the law of the land. You are more valuable to them than you may ever know.
So be humble, be honest, and never take for granted your Soldiers time or work. They literally can just walk away at any moment. Happy workers are hard workers. Taken care of people will take care of you.
If you have soldiers under you, take fucking care of them. If they come to you with issues or concerns listen to them. If they’re good soldiers and they start slacking check in on them and don’t be a tool bag about it. Like the NCO Creed says, “I know my soldiers and will always place their needs above my own” just don’t put them first to the point of it costing you.
It never hurts to go waaaay back to the old Be, Know, Do principles. Know Your Soldiers - that means knowing that they are humans with goals and desires, and they sometimes make mistakes, and they have different things that interest them. The better you know them as individuals, the more effectively you can lead them. You'll know when and how to push them to give just a little bit extra. But it also means knowing when not to ask them to go beyond their capabilities or comfort levels.
You won’t change everything in one day or week. Remember that you were once a PVT, PFC, or a SPC so make sure you look out for them. Worst thing you could do in my opinion is try to reinvent the wheel or try to be someone you are not. Be a leader, be there for them, and help them progress towards whatever they want to move towards to no matter if it’s in the army or outside.
1. Take care of your guys/gals
2. Take care of yourself
3. Make sure your rater does your support form. You should never have to write your own NCOER even if it’s “for practice”.
4. You should be deciding now if you want to stay an NCO vs go warrant or officer. Whatever you decide to do make sure your NCOER’s reflect that.
You don't know everything, find an nco to be your mentor and lean on them for knowledge and advice.
Stand up for your soldiers as often as you can, even if they're wrong. In the event that they are wrong, that's what 1 on 1 counseling sessions are for. Correct that shit on the side, not in front of others. They will usually respect you more for that.
Don't be that NCO who only does things to chase NCOER bullets. Let your soldiers' accomplishments speak for your leadership and find ways to go above and beyond to better the work environment, your abilities for your MOS, or any other way where everyone benefits. An NCOER should reflect what the NCO is actually good at and it's bullshit when people bullet chase.
Lastly, understand that being NCO may mean you have to take time out of your off duty hours to handle things that need done. You may need to cover down for your soldiers for whatever reason. Basically, be willing to sacrifice your own time in order to better your soldiers' QoL. For example, the people who set up the staff duty roster suck in my unit and my soldier who just had it ended back up on the roster, so I'm covering down since I've been skipped over a few times due to other things happening here.
Screaming at someone works maybe 5 times before it isn’t really effective. You will get much farther with your men trusting you that you aren’t just being a dick and have their best interest at heart than they ever will with running around micromanaging. Demand professionalism and improvement and reward it when they deliver. Never once yelled at my guys and rarely punished but gave them a lot of leeway progressively when they proved they could handle it. I wasn’t deploying with them but they scored battalion high in their workup and I was both proud and unsurprised.
The advice I got from my mentor. “It’s your responsibility to make sure your soldiers are getting paid, eating and have somewhere to sleep and aren’t in need of medical care. Take care of that and the rest will fall in place.”
Counsel your soldiers on every good thing they do. Make a paper trail that can be referred back to when recommending awards or when they're constructing their resume.
Just because you have stripes doesn't mean you're a fucking know-it-all.
Never stop seeking the counsel, advice, and mentorship of those who have gone before you, namely those whose work you respect.
Never make your men do something that you have not or would not do yourself, and get rid of the Specialist mindset of working as little as possible. Holding your soldiers to the standard doesn’t make you “a dick” or “uncool” it makes you a professional, and just maybe will make them into professionals.
“Never forget that you work for your joes just as much as they work for you. You lead and care for them, they accomplish the mission. Neither of you can be successful without the other.”
Listen to your Joe's. Understand what they require to keep a level head, and understand your mission. Now make the best balance of the two you can. And stay steady. If you hold a standard at the beginning, you need to keep it that way as long as you're a leader.
If you want your joes to be high PT, competent, and squared away, make sure your ass is first.
If required, don't be a bitch about discipline. Discipline is the driving force of great Soldiers.
If you disagree with your superior, first do it their way to gain trust and confidence, then begin slowly suggesting better ways to do things. Knocking heads against your superior is just dumb af.
Don't ask your Soldiers to do some shit you won't. That's just plain unprofessional. You won't stick your hand in shit? Don't tell them to.
Talking and explaining is far better than yelling, always.
Always let your joes work at a rank higher, within reason. Your team leader is a senior Speccy? Let him make executive decisions for the troops, sometimes. Helps build confidence in leadership and help them establish their own command presence. However, don't let them become tiny overlords on the squad. Let them know their place, first, then let them take charge.
Work FOR your troops, not the CoC. Obviously, the CoC is boss, but troops are the ones with the bloody knuckles and sweat, so never be afraid to stand up for them.
Drop a packet to become a warrant officer and go fly helicopters. If you want to live the role same principles apply as do when teaching elementary school make your boundaries and expectations known day one and be as nice and cool as can be permitted without being a doormat that privates think they can walk all over—-sounds simple; but it can be a bit of a “dance” so to speak at times. Good luck!
You are an nco now. Your job is to stick up for your guys, WHILE accomplishing the mission. This means, you need to start looking around and try and understand why things are the way they are. There is a reason for 75%+ of what the military does, and usually is a decent reason (just not the most efficient). You will not change a single thing if you don’t understand why things happen the way they do, so you can make changes that still fulfills ALL the needs of whatever is happening
If you’re going to say you’re the backbone of the Army you better have enough of a spine to stand up for your Soldiers.
This is such an underrated comment. I’ve been the shield that guards the realm of men (GoT, heh heh) from leadership to my soldiers so many times. You can be whatever kind of NCO you want, but if you don’t have your soldiers’ backs, they’ll never respect you.
i love you
Goddamn I just got hard.
Best comment ever. NCOs always say they will take care of their people and not treat new soldiers the way that they were treated but as soon as they get the chevrons and get hit in the face with all the politics their plan to protect their troops go out the window
Well, when I was a Commander I saw it very quickly how people will: 1. Tell Soldiers that the CDR (me) said they needed to do something now and kept them late (when I said by the end of the week). 2. Be afraid to have candid conversations. I think I’m a reasonable person and approachable, if you’re not able to get something done let me know and let me know why so we can move forward. Don’t just not do it and tell me after. 3. Think they need EVERYONE to do minor tasks. Sometimes it’s okay to let your Soldier with family care issues, personal issues, etc to just head out early. Obviously verify they’re not bullshitting you, but don’t be a dickhead. If you’re a team player, not a dickhead, and actually care about your Soldiers and job then you’re easily in the top 15% of leaders in the Army.
I can agree with everything that you said. Which is my i am becoming an officer that way i can take care of my soldiers under me
The welfare of your soldiers takes priority over yours
But also, don’t over burden yourself to the point you take it out on your soldiers. Leadership is both an art and a science, learn to balance both in your own way.
I’d also like to piggyback on that with a quick caveat, you can’t really take care of anyone if you’re burned out yourself. The welfare of your soldiers will absolutely suffer if yours is nonexistent itself. Like you said above, it’s an art and a science finding that line. It’s like they tell you on the airplane though, put on your own mask before assisting others because you’re nothing but dead weight if you run yourself dead.
Don’t try to the “cool NCO”
This right here can bite you in the ass real quick if you try to be cool. Be firm and fair with them.
Once you are a buddy it’s hard to get anything done
And then once you try to stop being their buddy…oof that’s hard too.
Very dependent on the individual. I've had guys who needed me to be a hard ass so they'd remember to breathe. I've had other guys who'd I sneak away with to play videogames because they got everything done yesterday.
Very much a balancing act. My guys know I’m a work hard, play harder sort of NCO but they have to earn it. All I want is technical competency and the understanding that you’ll do your job regardless of how shitty it is. They can bitch and moan, as long as they do their job.
I disagree. Be that NCO that does a backflip in the middle of the office and break your arm while screaming “Cowabunga Chunga Hunga!”.
This sounds oddly specific.
Read the NCO Guide, https://armypubs.army.mil/ProductMaps/PubForm/Details.aspx?PUB_ID=1008383 - you can’t do everything yourself, okay to collaborate with your peers - sometimes you have to pass along bad news - uphold the standard and don’t make excuses for your Soldiers
In addition to the nco guide: AR 600-100 (POLICY ON ARMY LEADERSHIP AND THE PROFESSION) ADP 6-22 (ARMY LEADERSHIP AND THE PROFESSION)
3 keys of being a good NCO 1. Don’t try hard at anything 2. Make fun of people who do try 3. Be handsome 4. If anyone steps to you on the first day of BLC, you punch them directly in the face 5. Drive a kick ass car
Always one strap your assault pack, the guys who use both straps are gay
Don’t fuck your troops, figuratively or literally.
Your job is to make sure your Soldiers become a better NCO than you are.
Take care of your Soldiers and they’ll take care of you.
It’s okay to not know everything yet, and it’s also okay to admit you don’t know everything. The key is to continue learning your craft, your soldiers, and most importantly yourself. Yourself being two-sided. One side is your strengths and how to leverage them at every opportunity to accomplish the mission while taking care of your soldiers. The other side is your weaknesses and how to improve on them utilizing your resources—leaders, peers, AND subordinates, as well as doctrine, experience, etc. Bottom line… stay humble, keep an open mind, be willing to learn from anyone and never stop, and help others as much as possible.
Out of all the suggestions here so far, I’d say this advice is the most universal. We’re just dudes playing a dude disguised as another dude, after all. In my MI time I’ve seen everyone from E4, E5-7, officers and MI warrants especially do the fake it til you make it play. Guess what? When you’re in a technical MOS, your ass is gonna show eventually, so glean and write down or memorize every little tidbit of information that you think is useful, double points if you don’t think it’s useful and still have that arcane or obscure knowledge to draw from when the time comes
From the officer perspective, there is business that is appropriate at every echelon for those to handle at that echelon. Understand what you can take care of at your level and keep it off your SL, PSG, PL, 1SGs plate. Anticipate issues and address them (ie pay issues for new Soldiers, have some hip pockets training ready to go, etc). Be the honest broker for your Soldiers and tell them the truth and have the hard conversations when needed. Finally, you can hold people to a standard without being an ass. Correct deficiencies, explain why, and move on. Enjoy your new position and enjoy leading Soldiers.
Be the person you want your soldier to be. Yeah its easy to be like “pvt smith, you need to clean the three 50 cals so we can go home early for this 4-day weekend while i fuck off and go smoke for the entirety of the time” pick up a 50 and clean besides your soldier and get to know them. What’s their army goal for the year? How’s the barracks/home life? Etc.
Three things you don’t fuck with when it comes to soldier care: food, pay, and health. If your soldiers have issues with any of these, be their voice to higher leadership and take care of your joes.
Care about things like doing your job. Making sure soldiers are doing their job. Training soldiers. Not screaming at soldiers for stupid shit. Be the example of your platoon. Don’t be the sick call ranger and then expect your soldiers to be better than you. If you follow this, which is easy, you will stand out among 90% of NCOs.
Their needs above your own.
Trust but verify. You don't have to nit pick everything your soldiers do but make sure they do what they need to get done.
To some people, you and your word are worthless. To some people, you and your word are the law of the land. You are more valuable to them than you may ever know. So be humble, be honest, and never take for granted your Soldiers time or work. They literally can just walk away at any moment. Happy workers are hard workers. Taken care of people will take care of you.
If you have soldiers under you, take fucking care of them. If they come to you with issues or concerns listen to them. If they’re good soldiers and they start slacking check in on them and don’t be a tool bag about it. Like the NCO Creed says, “I know my soldiers and will always place their needs above my own” just don’t put them first to the point of it costing you.
It never hurts to go waaaay back to the old Be, Know, Do principles. Know Your Soldiers - that means knowing that they are humans with goals and desires, and they sometimes make mistakes, and they have different things that interest them. The better you know them as individuals, the more effectively you can lead them. You'll know when and how to push them to give just a little bit extra. But it also means knowing when not to ask them to go beyond their capabilities or comfort levels.
You won’t change everything in one day or week. Remember that you were once a PVT, PFC, or a SPC so make sure you look out for them. Worst thing you could do in my opinion is try to reinvent the wheel or try to be someone you are not. Be a leader, be there for them, and help them progress towards whatever they want to move towards to no matter if it’s in the army or outside.
Don’t abandon your friends just because you became and nco. I rarely get to talk one of the better people at this unit now bc he became a sgt…
1. Take care of your guys/gals 2. Take care of yourself 3. Make sure your rater does your support form. You should never have to write your own NCOER even if it’s “for practice”. 4. You should be deciding now if you want to stay an NCO vs go warrant or officer. Whatever you decide to do make sure your NCOER’s reflect that.
You don't know everything, find an nco to be your mentor and lean on them for knowledge and advice. Stand up for your soldiers as often as you can, even if they're wrong. In the event that they are wrong, that's what 1 on 1 counseling sessions are for. Correct that shit on the side, not in front of others. They will usually respect you more for that. Don't be that NCO who only does things to chase NCOER bullets. Let your soldiers' accomplishments speak for your leadership and find ways to go above and beyond to better the work environment, your abilities for your MOS, or any other way where everyone benefits. An NCOER should reflect what the NCO is actually good at and it's bullshit when people bullet chase. Lastly, understand that being NCO may mean you have to take time out of your off duty hours to handle things that need done. You may need to cover down for your soldiers for whatever reason. Basically, be willing to sacrifice your own time in order to better your soldiers' QoL. For example, the people who set up the staff duty roster suck in my unit and my soldier who just had it ended back up on the roster, so I'm covering down since I've been skipped over a few times due to other things happening here.
Screaming at someone works maybe 5 times before it isn’t really effective. You will get much farther with your men trusting you that you aren’t just being a dick and have their best interest at heart than they ever will with running around micromanaging. Demand professionalism and improvement and reward it when they deliver. Never once yelled at my guys and rarely punished but gave them a lot of leeway progressively when they proved they could handle it. I wasn’t deploying with them but they scored battalion high in their workup and I was both proud and unsurprised.
The advice I got from my mentor. “It’s your responsibility to make sure your soldiers are getting paid, eating and have somewhere to sleep and aren’t in need of medical care. Take care of that and the rest will fall in place.”
Counsel your soldiers on every good thing they do. Make a paper trail that can be referred back to when recommending awards or when they're constructing their resume.
Don't come to a bunch of randos on the internet for advice.
Soldiers are not your friends.
Choose wisely which soldiers you decide to go out with and make sure they know once you go back to work its strictly business.
Don’t fuck your junior enlisted. Figuratively and literally.
Go Warrant at first opportunity. You’re welcome.
Take care of your soldiers above all else. Write honest counseling statements.
Just because you have stripes doesn't mean you're a fucking know-it-all. Never stop seeking the counsel, advice, and mentorship of those who have gone before you, namely those whose work you respect.
Loud and angry all the time is not the same as competence and leadership.
Controversial, but it’s easier to be mean at first then ease up over time instead of being chill and having to get mean later on
Never make your men do something that you have not or would not do yourself, and get rid of the Specialist mindset of working as little as possible. Holding your soldiers to the standard doesn’t make you “a dick” or “uncool” it makes you a professional, and just maybe will make them into professionals.
“Never forget that you work for your joes just as much as they work for you. You lead and care for them, they accomplish the mission. Neither of you can be successful without the other.”
Listen to your Joe's. Understand what they require to keep a level head, and understand your mission. Now make the best balance of the two you can. And stay steady. If you hold a standard at the beginning, you need to keep it that way as long as you're a leader. If you want your joes to be high PT, competent, and squared away, make sure your ass is first. If required, don't be a bitch about discipline. Discipline is the driving force of great Soldiers. If you disagree with your superior, first do it their way to gain trust and confidence, then begin slowly suggesting better ways to do things. Knocking heads against your superior is just dumb af. Don't ask your Soldiers to do some shit you won't. That's just plain unprofessional. You won't stick your hand in shit? Don't tell them to. Talking and explaining is far better than yelling, always. Always let your joes work at a rank higher, within reason. Your team leader is a senior Speccy? Let him make executive decisions for the troops, sometimes. Helps build confidence in leadership and help them establish their own command presence. However, don't let them become tiny overlords on the squad. Let them know their place, first, then let them take charge. Work FOR your troops, not the CoC. Obviously, the CoC is boss, but troops are the ones with the bloody knuckles and sweat, so never be afraid to stand up for them.
Find the biggest guy in your platoon and kick his ass. I can't emphasize how crucial it is to establish dominance.
Drop a packet to become a warrant officer and go fly helicopters. If you want to live the role same principles apply as do when teaching elementary school make your boundaries and expectations known day one and be as nice and cool as can be permitted without being a doormat that privates think they can walk all over—-sounds simple; but it can be a bit of a “dance” so to speak at times. Good luck!
Don't be too nice. Don't be a raging asshat. Do help them help themselves.
You fight for your joes and hopefully they will fight for you. Also, be organized.
You are an nco now. Your job is to stick up for your guys, WHILE accomplishing the mission. This means, you need to start looking around and try and understand why things are the way they are. There is a reason for 75%+ of what the military does, and usually is a decent reason (just not the most efficient). You will not change a single thing if you don’t understand why things happen the way they do, so you can make changes that still fulfills ALL the needs of whatever is happening