If you had a chance to speak with cadets and/or midshipmen before they commissioned, what wisdom, advice, and lessons would you offer them?

Your Senior NCOs know more than you do. When they are speaking, LISTEN. The very best Generals and Admirals began as Lieutenants and Ensigns. And when they were Lieutenants and Ensigns, the listened to their NCOs and learned from them.

Your mid-career Officers know more than you do. When they are speaking, LISTEN. But use your grey matter, too. Do *not* be a "yes-man." Push back, when necessary, especially if the plan is unnecessarily dangerous or risky, or if you just have a smarter way of doing things. Don't be insubordinate, but don't be a push-over, either.

Your flag Officers know so much more than you that they don't even realize how little you know. When they are speaking, ASK QUESTIONS. If you don't understand, it is OK. It is far better if everyone thinks you are dumb for asking a question than if everyone KNOWS you are dumb because you botched a mission. Most senior Officers (and NCOs) *want* to train junior Officers; they *want* to help you learn and grow. But sometimes they don't even realize that there is a knowledge / experience / learning gap that has to be bridged.

I’ve been commissioned for a little over a year after 8 years as an enlisted soldier. A few tips from my short commissioned career:

1) You aren’t God’s gift to your military service because you were enlisted. There is always room to grow.

2) Be confident in what you know. This isn’t your first military rodeo. You know what right looks like. Don’t let people try to convince you otherwise.

3) Look out for your Joes. All officers hear this (and the majority try to do it) but it’s different when you’ve walked in their shoes. Be the officer you always wanted.

4)Lead through your NCOs and give them room to handle NCO business. A lot of things can be handled at the SL/PSG level (E5-E7).

5) Listen to your COMPETENT NCOs. The vast majority of NCOs are great at what they do but don’t fall into the trap of thinking all NCOs know best. There are few who get in those positions when they really shouldn’t be there. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if something doesn’t sound right or to call BS if you know it isn’t right.

For prior enlisted officers, I would recommend that they be humble and realize their enlisted time doesn't make them gods. I saw far too many arrogant priors who sucked as officers.

For non-prior officers in technical roles (like I was), find your technical expert mid-level NCOs. Partner up with them and learn everything you can. Search out their bosses and let them know you want to learn from their subordinates. Being third generation military (father and grandfather were Army enlisted and warrants) helped me understand that. So many of my peers didn't get it.

SFC Casey O'Mally Provided the starter tips. They are pretty common advice and very sound. I always expand on them:

"Your Senior NCOs know more than you do. When they are speaking, LISTEN."

This is no excuse to not know what you are about. Learn as much as you can about your CMF, your profession as an officer and know your responsibilities. Have conversations with your colleagues and learn from their mistakes and successes. Be well read on Leadership. Your Commander or mentor can provide a reading list.

"Push back, when necessary, especially if the plan is unnecessarily dangerous or risky, or if you just have a smarter way of doing things. Don't be insubordinate, but don't be a push-over, either."

I can't agree with this enough. But get an idea of when is it absolutely necessary to push back. There are NCOs who will use you to get their way. At the end of the day the Commander's mission still has to get done. There is line between "dangerous or risky" and "inconvenience".

"Your flag Officers know so much more than you that they don't even realize how little you know. When they are speaking, ASK QUESTIONS."

This is true for everyone. Don't fake it. Most leaders will appreciate questions, especially if it is clear you are trying to develop or take care of Soldiers. Additionally, His comment, "Most senior Officers (and NCOs) *want* to train junior Officers; they *want* to help you learn and grow", is is so true. Most will take time to pass on lessons learned or advice. But be careful how much you dump on your Commander, "trying to learn and develop" can cross into "lack of capability" pretty quickly. Expand your network, make connections with your left and right, and use the resources available to you.

There’s a lot of good stuff already posted, so I highly recommend reading through them. You’ll see a lot of common themes, but I’ve boiled it down to a few ROTs (rules of thumb) I use often.

1. Be humble, creditable, and approachable.
2. Three things you never mess up/with: money, classified materials, and fraternization.
3. Learn from your leaders: bad ones teach the best lessons.
4. Look out for your people, and they will take care of you. Their success is yours and vice versa.
5. Ultimately, be someone you’d want to follow.

There’s always more to learn. Good hunting on your journey.

1. Leadership is going there first, and taking people with you.
2. Believe in the stupidity of the REMFs, keep copies of all the paperwork.
3. Volunteer for everything, learn as much as you can, there is no replacement for hard work, if someone says "Don't work to hard", politely excuse yourself.
4. Don't micro manage enlisted, remember you didn't like it.
5. Sarcasm with juniors is poison, with seniors it's insubordination.
6. If a senior officer asks your opinion, be blunt, honest and forthcoming, without throwing any fellow officers, or senior NCO's under the bus.
7. Don't whine up or down the chain.
8. Never disparage an officer to or in front of an enlisted member , regardless if that officer is a douchebag.
9. Plan for contingencies, failure to plan, is planning to fail... realize the first thing that fails in a crisis is your plan... be flexible(Semper Gumby), planning for contingencies allowed you to think through COA's ahead of time.
10. "No" is just a speed bump to "Yes"
11. Don't pull facts out of your ass, know your shit, and then stick to your principles.
12. Never, Never, Never... get drunk in a foreign country, and don't break General Order #1 it's a career ender, and so is DUI.
13. Don't fraternize either, that will kill you career pretty quick.
14. Kill the "Good Idea Fairy", change for change's sake creates undue burden.
15. Consider the implications downstream of your decisions.
16 Finally, from Mad-dog, Always carry a knife, you never know when there's cheesecake or you may have to stab someone in the throat.

I would say:
-Your real [insert Service] career starts now
-The academic and military education you are completing provides a base on which you will build your career
-Keep track of the cadets/midshipmen in your class. They will be a resource for you as your careers progress
-If you are headed for a school (Infantry basic, pilot training, etc.) forget where you came from. On the first day, you are equal to all the other students. Work hard, study hard, play a little, prove yourself.
-Integrity is invaluable. Live it, keep it.
-Expect to screw up. Admit it. Learn from it.
-Avoid three career killers: Abuse of legal or illegal drugs, poor handling of Government money and resources, abuse of other people
-Listen to your SNCOs. They know more than you do about almost everything. If in doubt, do what your First Sergeant/Sergeant Major/Master Chief said you should.
-Take time to relax. Balance your work, social, and personal life as best you can.
-Anything you ever say or show on-line never goes away

You can delegate your authority but the responsibility is always yours. Your NCOs make the mission happen, let them make you successful, if you don't they can just as easily make you a failure. Have their backs and they'll have yours. You can't do your job and your NCO's job.

It is hard to get a commission but even harder to stay an officer. It really depends on what Billet you are in. As a suppo, we are seriously overmanned so Navy is always looking at cutting officers from our who do not perform or do not have good paper. Be sure to get great fitreps at the minimum. Get NOBCs as much as possible when doing your ATs, ADSWs or MOBs. Keep up with training and get your Quals. Make sure your awards and records are up to date. Volunteer for the tough assignments as its easier to be a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in a larger pond.

My advice would be to listen first and then speak. Listening skills are important when you are a JO. Always be on time, as a matter of fact be at the appointed place and time at least 5 minutes before you need to be there. Never give any excuses for being late. Never gossip about your shipmates. You have to build trust with everyone, and you can't do that when you gossip. If you disagree with a superior use this: ... before you make a final decision, there is something you might want to know... Then offer some information that leads to a solution. Try not to bring a problem to a superior without a solution, or maybe a few different solutions.