Best advice for a Maintenance Officer in a Signal Battalion?

* Establish working relationships with as many people as you can, especially your 'customers' and 'suppliers'. Understand what their needs are. Talk to them one on one, take them to lunch. Building trust makes everything ten times easier.

* Inspect, inspect, inspect. Know the equipment you are responsible for inside and out, because it will build credibility with the people in bullet #1. If you have good NCOs they will help you do that, because they know that they will build trust with YOU by doing it.

* Be able to recite exactly why a given piece of equipment is non-mission-capable or why its functionality is degraded at any given time. Always be able to explain what is being done to bring it to full functionality. The gold bar gives you authority, but credibility has to be earned.

Remember that your Maintenance operation exists to support the users, not the other way around. Keep standards high. Know your stuff and take care of your soldiers. Your NCOIC knows what he/she is doing. Help them succeed. Never blame. Take responsibility for the team's actions. Your enthusiasm to learn and dedication to your team will show in the readiness metrics. Good luck.

Trust you shop NCOIC much like a platoon sergeant he can make your time much more pleasant and he will educate you.