Senior Leaders and their opinion on the "E-4 Mafia"?

It is a real thing, and a senior leader needs to take heed. One of the best things I ever did was enlist key members of the SPC Mafia - I like to call the ringleader the "Silverback Specialist" - as a back up information channel. Not to subvert their NCO leadership, mind you. More like making sure my intent and long-range plan made the rounds at the lower levels. One of my better ideas, and very effective.

NCO's are the backbone of the Army. The E-4 Mafia are the spinal discs! Couple good SPC's under your belt and you could concentrate on mentoring the LT even better.

According to legend, U.S. Army Ranger specialists formed an unofficial, secretive organization in the 1970s. They called it the “Spec 4 Mafia,” and its purpose was to administer corrective action to deficient privates—making those privates better soldiers. It was created by Rangers, exclusively for Rangers. That was most likely the original Spec 4 Mafia, but during the 1990s, a new mafia was born.

This new organization did not exist only in Ranger battalions. It was, and still is, Army-wide. The modern Spec 4 Mafia (S4M) quickly became an underground network of proud U.S. Army specialists who, as rumor has it, provide quality assistance to fellow specialists before providing for privates, NCOs, or officers. These new mobsters will occasionally “motivate” young, under-performing privates, but their primary mission is to take care of their own in their own way.

Supposedly the new origin of the E4 mafia started in Bosnia (Operation Joint Endeavor) during the spring of 1996 with four Military Police specialists. They were known as “The Four Horsemen.”

SPC(P) (Join to see) AD, USAR or NG, the Spec 4 Mafia is all the same, just depends on your environment. When I was that SPC, I was a driver for BG Claudia J. Kennedy at the time. All the other drivers, would gather and exchange 'Intel' while the GO's would have their meeting. Once completed and the GO's & Aide-de-Camp both back in the vehicle, they would get a back brief on any pertinent intel.