How do I best prepare for an assignment as a First Sergeant? What is your best advice?

CSM(P) (Join to see)
In the spirit of brevity, in order:
1. Get your unit in the field and do a hard assessment of its capabilities, limitations, and strengths of individual Soldiers.
2. Compare that assessment with the Company Commander. If you disagree in some areas, you might have caught on to something he didn't.
3. Have a nice long talk with the CO about his goals and objectives.
4. *Spend some time on this one* - formulate a plan to develop your Soldiers, NCOs, and unit to meet the CO's goals and objectives.
5. Get buy in from the CO, and bounce your plan off the CSM.
6. Get buy in from key players within the unit.
7. Lay out expectations and set high standards for performance. Set out to be the best.
8. Do things that build esprit and teamwork. Such as a cookout, unit-wide competition days, etc.
9. Determine ways to measure progress towards goals. Be prepared to make adjustments as needed.
10. Celebrate success. Recognize people who bust their hump for you in formation, with or without an accompanying award. An early release, Pass, or coin carries a lot of weight and gives others something to shoot for.
11. Never settle. If you attain your goals, set new ones. At any given time, I have three short-range, three mid-term, and three long-term goals active. When I attain one, I celebrate alone or with others (depending on what it is), then set new ones.
12. Always remember, support, and take an interest in the success of your Soldiers, even after they leave the unit. Your job is to make your unit AND the Army better. Remember that and your men will remember you.

Best of luck. It has been the toughest assignment I have ever had, but certainly the best.

The first thing you can do is stop looking so angry in your pucture! Second always listen to your PLs. They know everything. Look at random regulations everyday and ask questions about them in your morning meetings to assert your knowledge of all things. Never add cream or sugar to your coffee, if you do, let no one see you! And most importantly, walk through your company/troop/battery area and randomly do push ups in the presence of the lower enlisted soldiers.... This will build their confidence that you are capable of leading them into any fight!. Lol. Congratulations MSG, you made it and the fact that you are asking for advice lets me know you will be an awesome 1SG.

Loyalty! It's gonna be an easy assignment if you and your commander mesh. It'll be a hard one if you don't. Be loyal until he puts Soldiers in danger or is way off mark. Take time to groom him/her. They look to you for advice, but never give them personal advice. Tell them that you are the NCO and they are the officer. Don't try to do his job and don't let him do yours. Finally, watch wreck it Ralph. There's a scene in the beginning where Zangieb states that he's a bad guy. It's funny. But it relates. It's not easy to be the standard bearer. You will want to put your hands in your pockets, grown long hair, gamble and drink with the boys. But don't do it. There's always someone waiting to take your place. And if you allow your armor to crack, they'll take advantage of you. There is no book on how to be a great leader. Everyone's company is different. Your CSMs will give you advice that worked for them. But times are changing. You must be able to accept change while still maintaining the standard. One more thing. pT is great. But not all great Soldiers are great at PT. Don't let a pt score be the standard for sending troops to school. As you can see, it worked for me. But I don't agree with it. Allow those who are total soldiers schools. You will see that it will pay off in the long run.

MSG -
I'm making a couple of assumptions, but hear me out.
1. Start STRONG. Understand the PSGs pretty much are going to size you up from Jump Street. Impress them with your strength of character and conviction, and you've won half the battle in the first five minutes.
2. Know your people - starting with the PSGs. You don't need (or want) to know every intimate detail, but things like whether/where they've deployed, what they see as needing fixing - can help form the basis of a common operating picture. They need to know what you expect and how you plan to operate.
3. Let your people get to know you. Again, not on an intimate basis, but enough to know what you expect.
4. Lead from the front. There's nothing I hate more than some lard-ass paper-pusher sitting in a chair, ginning up Power Point slides while I'm breaking my butt. That's the wrong answer. If your Soldiers are out doing PT, you should be out-PT'ing them. Don't worry if you cant outrun them - but pushups and situps are easy, low-hanging fruit. Even at my age (I'll be 60 next month), I hit 60+ pushups and situps all the time. I believe it leaves an impression with my Soldiers and encourages them to dig deep, too.
5. Have FUN. Apart from being a Drill Sergeant, the 1SG billet is the best job the Army's got. Enjoy it, but remember -- Soldiers are the reason you're in business; NOT the other way around.

Well Ken, being as where you came from and where you are going, you are going to need to adjust approach.
I think I saw someone mention it here, but I think the single most important thing for me as a 1SG was having a relationship with my commander. And, I saw the difference when I got a commander that understood command team importance. If you two can't be brutally honest with each other, then we'll, good luck.
You have to understand you ate gonna have three Classes of Soldiers. You are gonna have your Solid well rounded Soldiers, you are gonna have your profile super geeks. They barley pass the APFT, can't spell AWT, but they are SMEs in their MOS, and you are gonna have soldiers that just need to go. They tried the Army and it is clearly not for them.
You to know your SSGs and SFCs are not gonna have the skill sets you think they should for their rank. Have patience, teach them. Lean on your platoon or section sergeants, how ever you have it set up.
Don't lie to your Soldiers or commander.
You are gonna have days when you don't get it right. That is okay. Just remember to fail foward. Get up, dust off, and keep running.
Your soldiers are never gonna see everything you do for them. But they will always remember when you have them doing stupid stuff and wasting their time.
Your soldiers will want to be challenged. Challenge them physically, mentally, and tactically.
And most of all, enjoy the time...

Be yourself and don.t change horses in the middle of the stream, meaning do not change things that are working and do not need changing. Focus on the substandard and improve on them. Show your Soldier tough love and not a popularity contest. Counsel in private and not public and allow them to improve do not ride them for mistakes made. And never I say again never point to your Diamond or say I am the 1SG they know who you are and remember to always listen, be a good listener. Soldiers want a leader who really cares for their well being and not just say they do but demonstrated through their action. And finally remember Respect is up and down and earned not given or taken.

MSG Vaillancourt,
Congratulations on your selection. I too have been selected for a First Sergeant position and am doing all I can to prepare. Having been on a battalion staff for the last 5 years, I started out by rereading "The Three Meter Zone - Common Sense Leadership for NCOs" by J. D. Pendry; a little refresher training. I also ordered "The Diamond" by CSM (Ret) Bobby Owens and "The First Sergeant - Getting Started" by Jessie Sasser (Both available on Amazon.com). They both offer a variety of pre- and post-assignment timelines and ideas for establishing a Leadership Philosophy as well as flow-charts for likely situations that a First Sergeant might encounter. I've already started looking at unit measures of performance to visualize the overall health of the unit and to arrive somewhat prepared to conduct initial counseling within 15-30 days. I'd be interested in comparing notes with you after we've both been on the job a few weeks.

Good Luck Top!

1. You can't fix/amend all things you want in one day.
2. There's a lot of things being done right now that aren't "wrong" just different than you're used to, and if they're working let them ride.
3. Fixing small issues will snowball into fixing big issues.
4. Praise publicly, chastise privately.
5. Have a reason for doing what you're doing, not because "I said so". There's a time and a place for that (like in battle) but by giving your Soldiers some buy in (when feasible) lets them know you're not on a power trip and there's a reason behind the madness, and therefore they'll trust you in those moments you can't give them the explenation.
6. When you don't know something - don't fake the funk! Just be honest and flexible enough to learn.

1) Find out the company background
2) Know the strength and weaknesses of the Senior NCO's
3) Enforce training and readiness
4) NCO Meetings at least twice daily and make it clear about any complaints and problems bring a solution along with it. I can't stand a person who whines and try to dump things in your lap, teach leaders to be solution base problem solvers which they should've learn in their leadership courses.

I hope this helps just throwing a few ideas to help you along the way, I wish you well in this position.

Congrats CSM(P) (Join to see) on your upcoming assignment. I will also be putting the Diamond back on very soon for my second stint as a 1SG. There is no better position in the Army than that of 1SG (in my humble opinion). One of the things that I remember from my first stint was taking a few weeks in the beginning to assess. Assess the procedures that are in place, assess your NCOs, your Officers, and your Soldiers. While the handover will provide you the "one over the world," there is nothing better than seeing and evaluating with your own eyes. Second, sit down with your Commander. Understand his/her philosophy and leadership style. Make sure that he/she also understands yours. In my experience, understanding each others leadership styles and "non-negotiables" are important when getting started. Third, be fair and transparent with everything. And last but not least, have fun. Good luck!!!

Congratulations on the appointment of Company First Sergeant! While I don't really have any advice to give to you, I can share what a 1SG once said to me.

He said as a First Sergeant he is only as good as his newest NCO and that he is therefore charged to not only the best voice of guidance to the commander but the best mentor and leader he can be to ensure he's success.

I guess at the end of it all, what I'm trying to say is that all of us are only as good as those around us and while we might do a great job with our primary roles, the secondary roles can be just as if not more important.

You have to be in tune with your Commander. If you're going one way and the Commander is going another then you will not be effective. Set a list of things that you want to get accomplished, i.e.. awards in a timely fashion, evaluations on time, recognize a Soldier of the Month or Quarter, etc. These are things that can help, but you need to know want to get out of it professionally. All units will have a mission, train for that mission with incremental steps that are increasingly more difficult. If you can accept failure from your subordinates in a way that helps them learn from their mistakes then you will be successful by building trust, confidence and overall experience.

I have only recently discovered RallyPoint and I see this was posted almost a year ago. You will have already discovered that you have to love soldiers and love soldiering. Don't become a First Sergeant to "Check the Block". I also found that even after 6 later years as a CSM at Battalion and Brigade levels, my favorite "job" was First Sergeant, but wouldn't have been able to stay as long as I did (29 years) if I hadn't gotten promoted.

My 2 cents as a guy who had a line and a HHC: Be better than competent in CAS/MEDEVAC & LOGPAC. Lead by example: wherever your soldiers are you should be (when possible). Build strong NCOs: do this by having a relevant NCODP at the company level. Gather info through conversations, events to determine weak points in your NCOs and work to improve them. Hold your NCOs accountable regardless of rank. Allow your PSGs to run their platoons while you guide and shape them and their PLs. Avoid micromanaging your people, if you set clear guidance and expectations there should not be a need to. Establish a clear line of communication with your XO and CDR. You are the voice of the enlisted soldiers in your unit, represent them in your commander's decisions but also do your best to make your commander successful. Get NCOs in place to run some of the more demanding programs that IG will inspect (typically weight control is the hardest one to keep up with, depends on the OPTEMPO of the unit). Remember that all eyes are on you to lead.

I'll close with I cared about my people, I tried to learn who they were and what they were about. Emulate the traits you saw in good leaders and be the 1SG you wanted when you were in their shoes. Being a 1SG was my last opportunity to build, influence and interact with soldiers at a personal level. Embrace and enjoy it, despite the stress of the job I really miss it.

First off congratulations on earning that assignment and I'll be short and to the point.
1. Keep your Commander grounded, foster a genuine relationship, always be united unless behind closed doors.
2. Know your Unit, its Equipment, and its capability. Go to the field and evaluate, chose your KCT's based off your mission and train.
3. Be around your Soldiers as much as possible, if they are cutting grass, I'm out cutting grass, if they are washing vehicles, I'm washing vehicles. I never put myself above any work I ask them to do.
4. If you promise something to the company, deliver. They only way you build trust is by following through with your promises.
5. Make it fun, you will eat the shit sandwich, the company will look to you on how to respond, acknowledge the shit sandwich and let them watch you take the second bite with a smile on your face.
6. Look out for everyones needs to include the officers, mentor the PLs from an NCO point of view as much as possible.
7. Trust your Platoon Leadership! Listen to them.
8. MENTOR MENTOR MENTOR your Squad Leaders, they will make or break you. When I see any NCO in my CP they know automatically they are coming in the office for a chat and mentorship.
9. The most important thing I can say as that it is long hours, and you are going to deal with things that will make you want to slam your head in a wall, but you really have to sit back and enjoy your Command Experience, it is most likely the last time you will push troops so enjoy the Company and its Soldiers.

Good luck!

When I accepted an appointment as First Sergeant, my CSM asked me if I knew what the number one responsibility of a First Sergeant is. I answered, accountability. He said yes, and accountability means, if a cockroach dies in the hallway, its your fault.

Their your sons--including the officers---Think of them in that capacity----What would you do for your son.

My last activity duty 1SG was an unexpected blessing. He came from a sister unit that was "different" and we were concerned with whether he would understand our mission sufficiently. He had high standards for his NCOs regarding supervision and knowledge of the troops. If a soldier was recommended for an Article 15, he wanted to see the counseling records and the corrective actions that had been attempted. Generally speaking, he would not proceed with taking the case to the CO unless the NCO had taken the appropriate steps to correct the problem. He set high standards for us, then supported us.

Have Lunch with the out going NCO. Pick his Brain. Have sit down with CSM and get his vision.
1. Don't use this info to judge use it as a platform.
2. Have a sit down with each Plt Sgt individually. Get a base line.
3. Take a look at your motor pool ALONE over the weekend. It will give you a base line on discipline and attention to detail. My first unit I used some shoe tags and gave away 5 3 day passes if they were found and turned in that week. Use your judgment from there.
4. Have a meeting with each plt and find out there problems.
5. Get em to the field and evaluate the out come and shortages
Note. Your PAC and Supply folks are your support. If they are weak you will have problems.

What can I say 1st Sgt it's a1st Sgt know your Marines because eventually they will take care of you back in the rear or in country but if you care about your Marines 1st Sgt we will have your back 100%