As a leader, what do you feel is/was your most important responsibility?

Accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.

The welfare of my Soldiers cause if I take care of them they take care of the mission! Now in my current Instructor position Training and Teaching my students to be tactically and technically proficient SME'a in their field!

People, we are in a people business! That includes our Service Members & their Families!

To look after those I lead and to mentor them. To give them the tools to succeed

–My greatest responsibility was as an artillery forward and air observer in Vietnam. Artillery fire that I directed in 17 operations over 10 months took several hundred enemy lives; in doing so it saved many American lives. Brigadier William Fulton, commander of the 2nd Bde of the 9th Inf Div Mobile Riverine Force http://www.9thinfantrydivision.com/html/fulton1.htm gave me extraordinary and unpresidented authority to control artillery, air strikes and gunships over the battlefield. Even today, when I look back at that year I realize that of all the important jobs I've had since, don't compare.

The first Army mobile riverine force since the Civil War, we had nothing to guide us. Under Gen. Fulton's excellent leadership we wrote the book from scratch. It was almost by accident that the Birddog aircraft I flew in had the most radios (5) of any aircraft on the battlefield and was the only one capable of comprehensive fire support coordination. When Bde officers and troops discovered it was a second leiutenant dong the talking, they complained that the individual should be a more senior officer. Fulton said no, he wanted me doing the job. It's a good thing that then the 21-year-old I was did fully appreciate what was happening. I also must recognize all the great pilots I flew with. It was their great flying skills and courage that enable us to do what we did.

Taking care of Airmen.

Soldiers and Families! Without them we have no Army.

I was once told that it is very important to take care of your people/Soldiers under you. Because eventually, they will take care of you, and everything else will fall into place. He said to me, always take care of them, even if they make you crazy sometimes. Hahahaha!!!

Learned from combat-Don’t be fake and make decisions that will not only accomplish the mission but keep your people at the best advantage as possible for what the situation dictates.

As a leader I've always felt that my most important responsibility was the well being of those I led.