So why is it 2nd LTs get such a bad rap?

Being an inexperienced officer with three or four months experience put in charge of men with 10-15 years’ experience is no easy task either. You want to support your men and you don't want to be a damn fool; both difficult tasks to pull off with zero experience.

I was fortunate to have a top NCOIC in my first assignment who trained me well. He would come in to my office and tell me about a problem and ask what I wanted him to do about it. I would tell him what I thought, and he would say "Right away sir" and start for the door.

Then he would pause at the door and say "Sir, if we do that and this happens, what then"? I hadn't thought of that, so I would suggest that we do a second thing instead, and he would say "Right away, sir", and leave. I would find out later that he had already done that second thing a couple of days earlier, but he just wanted me to tell him to do the right thing for the right reasons.

He could just as easily have destroyed my career by just keeping his mouth shut and letting me hang myself with my own ignorance. As it was, he made me look competent until I became so. There is nothing I would not have done to support and defend him from then on out; as far as I was concerned he walked on water.

It is a team effort; just as it is important for an officer to watch out for and support his men, it is just as important for the men to support their officers wherever they can. It is a two-way street in any well run outfit.

Folks tend to forget that new SMs will think they know it all, until humbled by circumstances and the experienced. In just a few years, the spike in responsibility/accountability can be substantial. Remember that the young LT you give grief to, is quite possibly your future Commander. Help them grow, and be professional always.

Because butter is bad for you? Lol!

The occasional statement "well in my experience" - poor choice of words sir, poor choice of words.

Haha if you cant poke fun at yourself then grow some skin. I was just like this character hard charging and saying stupid stuff. Tradoc tends to wind you up pretty good prior to your first post. Even as prior service the mystical powers of the golden bar have an effect on ones brain :)

They get a bad rap and is unfortunate I think much of it has to do with simple inexperience my commander used hand every new lieutenant a chemstick. And a simple explanation your military career Will be full of new learning experiences this is the first and only time you'll ever hear me say this to use this Chemstick you must break it to make it work

From the perspective of the Canoe Club, the problem with Ensigns (O-1) is that by "regs" they have authority, but they have no skill set, especially on a submarine. In any situation where experience makes the difference between success and failure, it's too risky to follow someone who has no experience. In the Navy, our Chief Petty Officers (E7-E9) usually act as a buffer in daily situations, but on board a ship in the middle of a casualty, you can't count on having one "lying around". In a "soldier" or "marine" environment, I would assume that there's a senior sergeant somewhere with the platoon...

They are non-useful bodies (NUBs) yet command respect. That's not an easy thing to swallow for Prima Donna nuclear / submarine Petty Officers who've been-there-done-that with the HARDWARE of operating a nuclear plant / submarine.

Just my experience from back in the day ('83-'89)...

SGT William Howell
Good 'ol LT Dick... I think he was based on our very own CPT (Join to see) or possibly CPT L S! :) I jest of course!

I had a 2LT who became my platoon leader. The first month or two he would ask, "Sgt Roth, what is that? Sgt Roth, how does that work? Sgt Roth, may I touch this?"
He was annoying, and always looking over my shoulder. I could barely get away from him. Because of this curiosity and thirst for knowledge, he became an excellent 1LT. The tables turned rather quickly. Best officer I ever followed.

Not Mustangs