What advice or observations do you have for someone moving into the 1SG position at a HHC BEB?

1SG Alan Boggs — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 08:47:24 -0500

I have spent most of my time in line companies and that the command model I am familiar with. One where the Commander and First sergeant are pretty much masters of their own destiny. I suspect an HHC 1SG doesn't enjoy the same level of autonomy.

Response by 1SG Steven Imerman made Dec 16 at 2019 9:06 AM

1SG Steven Imerman — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:06:30 -0500

Good luck. The S-3 and S-1 NCOICs will have as much clout as you or more. Be sure you are getting along with them. Be sure to stay in your lane, and touch base often with the section NCOICs. Tact and consensus building will be your best friends.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Dec 16 at 2019 9:19 AM

SGM Erik Marquez — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:19:04 -0500

1SG Alan Boggs I never had the position, but I was one of the many very senior folks in their "company" at both the BN HHC and DIV HHBN levels.

As the Div G3 SGM, like all the other HQ department leadership folks including the 2 star CG, his 3 one star ADC's, the Div CSM, and many others, we were a PIA for our HHBN 1sgt's ... Readily admitted.

At the Div level, planning, supporting, leveraging, battering, conference calls and Video meetings never stop with outside agencies or units.. SO a UA, is an all day deal, and you have to bring your UA folks to the HQ building and make it as easy as you can for them to comply. SO your set up in at least three areas, HQ command area, general staff area, and HHC company area.
APFT is a three day deal to get 50% of the company done...and you offer it at least quarterly so with luck you will get 95% done over the year.
Yes the HHC company "Commander" is in charge of all on his roster. and you as the ISG, all of the enlisted..but two things to keep in mind, many in your company by rank or position are in a position to ignore the CDR if not legally (Rank) then by duties/ duty position and support of their department head to Skip that HHC formation I need the briefing done, to not go to this months APFT as you need to be in the room when we are doing the VIDCON with the SMA, ect ect ect.
Work with the unit CSM closely they have a vested interest in the HHC being successful and will support the HHC leadership, but there is a lot of extra work for the leadership of a HHC leadership team. Some times you will need to remind the CDR (or yourself) just because you can, does not mean you should. And those that you "command" will need to do the same, in support of you. "Hmm, I could blow off that formation, no one will say squat...but, I can make time for it before the first meeting of the day, so I will" kind of thing.
Meet often with the HQ leadership, listen to their needs as a staff both support and timings considerations of company events.. You will be working company events around their scheduled..it may not be right but it sure is accurate

EDIT, 90% of what I said above is also true at the BDE and BN levels.....

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 16 at 2019 9:36 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:36:42 -0500

You will find that your battle will be in getting accountability and participation in all of the mandatory tasks we need to manage. PT tests, urinalysis, mandatory training, and the like. Staff guys are always "too busy" doing "important things".
Your best friend is also your worst enemy.
All those slides the staff is always working on - you have them too. Except yours have things like metrics on them. What I would do is have a by name list of people that were delinquent on things in the footnotes of the slides. I would make the Commander aware that they were there, and make sure he got the notes print out. Then for tact purposes, I would follow his lead on when to bring up the by-name list. It was pretty effective.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Dec 16 at 2019 9:49 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:49:44 -0500

Powerpoint, excel, metrics, MEDPRO's, constant fighting over whose" priorities" are actually priority and constant meetings... Fun times.
Be prepared to be a politician. You're going to have to achieve success through persuasion and relationship building. "Because I said so" won't work...

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Dec 16 at 2019 10:20 AM

LTC Jason Mackay — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 10:20:29 -0500

I've been an HHC Commander. I've also been assigned to HHCs almost exclusively since 1997 as a rank and file staff officer, staff primary, BN XO, and BDE DCO. Here is the perpetual challenge: keeping the linkage between what HHC needs and supporting the staff in their work to support the commander. The mission of HHC is that of enabling and readiness. The HHC Command team is not involved in what get gets done Day to day in the staff. The HHC commander isn't going to get their ass chewed over Battle Update Brief slides. This cuts both ways.

Some tips
- you are hard presssed to getting anything done in one shot. You have to offer mandatory training more than once. If you are a BDE HHC, the DIV will invariably unravel your staff support with a no notice hey you t the staff or it's during USR and the S3, Chemo, S4, and S1 won't be able to support your focus area. I had a two times three in the morning rule. I'd offer training, scheduled twice, the third time would be three am on a Saturday. Sometimes the XO will resource a way to do mass training because the issue is also impacting hem or it is a directed thing from higher. Be ready either way.
- The XO/DCO are your point of entry. They have to know what you are doing and obtain their support. Many times, what you are asking for is a stretch for the staff and the XO has to sometimes tell the staff there is no good time for this and the staff just needs to suck it up. There is only so much gas in that tank.
- Army basics like weapons and APFT are hard. You need rotation plans to ferry people and weapons to/from the range. If you make it customer friendly and get XO buy in, you'll get the support. The APFT and weigh ins are through long range coordination.
- buy in from staff primaries (S1, S2, S3, etc and their NCOICs) is important for day to day support. The NCOICs will usually attend your training meetings and bring back the info to the staff. Just understand that in the case of small sections like the UMT and S2 as examples this might be 50% of that section. Generally giving advanced notice is powerful. You have to take seriously things you think are bullshit. The BDE Maintenance Meeting for your Support Operations Section in a Logistics unit is a prime time event and how their success is measured day to day. While it may seem unimportant to the HHC team, thismis the SPO focus. Likewise, the myriad of USR tasks may be done for you after you submit the SORTS and slides, the S1, S4, and S3 are just getting started.
- training the staff. The XO is going to train the staff. Your training is usually centered on common task, readiness, and support you deliver to the staff and commander. HHC is a critical enabler to staff field training like deploying the TOC. You will need to work closely with the S3.
- this is all about developing and maintaining mutually supporting relationships with the staff.
- as I said, staff sections are not the same, you have to be conscious of this when filling details. As a long time staff officer, I frequently wrote off my E4 and below because they were always tasked. Staff sections have to be cognizant of tasking companies in directives and orders because that tasking is a boomerang booger flick when HHC executes it. They are us, seems obvious but not always. Small sections can't be treated like a "Platoon".
- demand attendance at your training meeting. Get XO support. Make your training meeting streamlined and organized. Plug in an agenda item to see what they have going and what they may need.
- motor stables. The XO will,likely crush nuts over support of this. Ensure the unit maintainers are present and ready to support it. I dragged staff sections through broken glass over parts received, not installed. Ensure if thatnis a focus area the following is available without chasing PFC Lickknob on appointment and they have access to tools: the parts received, not installed report; parts; and tools. Ensure they know what I see recoverable and what isn't. Ensure that at the training meeting, focus areas other than vehicles is advertised in advance like CBRNE, Commo, and weapons.
- occasionally staff primaries will want to run their own stuff. Encourage this. If I knew we were heading into a high optempo period, I'd send my folks to the arms room and clean weapons and do PMcS as the SPO, if I knew their annual gauging was coming.
- soldier issues. Ensure the .NCO and Primary know what is happening so they can 1. Support, 2. Not make it worse. If you have a joe or staff officer that is overweight, they can ensure he is there at PT without fail.
- .periodically attend the section admin meetings to get a feel for their activities and challenges. It will be come a platform of opportunity for you to put out your message.
- the HHQ staff has a tremendous impact on your training and activities in way of support available by your staff. Can't say this enough. Division will preach training, PT, etc but their staff will call yours and set your calendar on fire. Especially if the commander needs to brief it personally.
- Command and staff. Resist the temptation to narc out the staff at Command and Staff. The XO is your point of entry. Also, if the XO isn't supportive, the CSM may be the next place you stop. If you've tried this without success, then weigh that risk and roll the dice.
- encourage dialogue.
- your commander needs to make peace with being relegated to having control over himself and burst radius around his desk after 9am each day. He/She will need your counsel more than ever. They will mysteriously only have soldiers when they are broke and in trouble. It's the job. Embrace it. Walk the staff each day and see what they need. If you have friction with anstaff section grab it by the belt and work through it.
- you and your commander will have to use leadership muscles you didn't know you had. It is much more peer leading than positional leadership. Get it right, and you will be very well equipped to handle higher, more nuanced positions later on.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Dec 16 at 2019 10:50 AM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 10:50:54 -0500

Don't be scared of telling the CSM and CDR that the staff isn't participating in unit training.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 16 at 2019 11:06 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:06:36 -0500

Join the Irondimonds group on face book.

Response by MAJ Michael Cummings made Dec 16 at 2019 11:32 AM

MAJ Michael Cummings — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:32:32 -0500

I feel for you. After having a line company command I went into command for a HHT. My 1SG and I were both new but I had been an HHC XO and he had been the S6 NCOIC before. These 1SGs and other CDRs are steel on target with their comments. You have to be a master manipulator/negotiator/pull it out of your arse person to be successful. The section NCOICs and the company commander are going to be key. Push for more support from the sections through the company commander and work the NCOICs for it to actually happen.

I hated APFT, IWQ and mandatory briefs because you always had to run them 3 or 4 different times or have some incredible buy in from the NCOICs. I was fortunate enough that the S3 and XO supported me as long as I tried to support them and they would keep the staff in check from making to many excuses.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Dec 16 at 2019 11:35 AM

SGM Bill Frazer — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:35:35 -0500

A never ending battle between you/requirements and staff/support section leaders. Need to go to range- 5k excuses why they don't have anybody due to SPT requirements. Sometimes you just have to have the CDR put their foot down.

Response by 1SG Frank Boynton made Dec 16 at 2019 1:11 PM

1SG Frank Boynton — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 13:11:49 -0500

Worry about the things you are responsible for. The enlisted soldiers. I was 1sg of a 2 star billet HHC. Most the soldiers were officers. They are not your responsibility. There is no way you’re going to get LTC’s, full birds and general officers to join your PT formations and they take the written portion of the PT test. You’ll also have issues with other E8’s and E9’s. Theyve been there and done that. Work with them. They can be your biggest asset or your worst enemy. Most of all the E7 and below are your focus. It’s not an easy job being in the HQ leadership team but when you’ve done your 2 years and have good marks you’lol probably already have been selected for CSM academy and the rank will follow.

Response by 1SG Dennis Hicks made Dec 16 at 2019 1:46 PM

1SG Dennis Hicks — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 13:46:23 -0500

Being an HHC/HHB 1SG in my opinion is like herding cats on ice. You will hear a million excuses and even some newly invented ones, you will need a good supply of aspirin. Just sort thru it all do the best that you can and be the 1SG that they need, not the one they want.
I was BDE HHC 1SG for a little while, I had a BG as the commander. When I took over I had an accountability formation and noticed a great deal of missing bodies. This was my first time as a 1SG and I came from an Infantry PSG background. I guess I was a little loud when I went back into the unit building and starting speaking loudly and clearly. I was using my command voice when I yelled out, I better see everyone one of you sneaky, shamming ghost out in my formation right F-ing now. I walked back outside and low and behold all sorts of NCO’s, Captains, MAJ's a few LTC's and the BG with CSM in tow came out and got into formation. I got my accountability, identified my shamers and finished up in about ten minutes. The BG and CSM both with smiles on their faces looked at my uniform and said thanks Top this is the 1st time everyone fell out for formation since he took command. I told him I don't expect him or the CSM to be in formation again as they have better things to do unlike the internet surfing contest the other were doing at their desks 90% of their days.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Dec 16 at 2019 2:28 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 14:28:33 -0500

Your CSM is your best friend. You should be meeting with him/her even more often than the other 1SGs.

You need to finesse your staff - they only belong to you on paper, they really work for the BC/CSM. The staff WILL and SHOULD push back - again, they work for BN, not Co. But when they push back TOO much, that is when you ask the CSM for help. Also, utilize the S3 SGM, (s)he pretty much runs the staff, in cooperation with the XO and S3. If you, the CSM, and the SGM are all on the same sheet, you will be able to plan around their "staffiness" and they will be able to support your training and taskings.

One thing I liked to do as a Company Ops NCO in a BDE HHC was throw taskings back on to the S3. A good S3 will understand that even though you have the largest Company, you usually have the smallest amount of "available" manpower. Whenever I got tasked as much or more than the line Companies, the very first section I tasked was the S3. When they told me they couldn't support their own tasking, I would just get squinty eyed and cock my head until it sunk in. Not a card to use regularly, but one to keep if needed.

Finally, get you a good, competent Orderly Room/Ops NCO. Have this NCO help you look forward to training needs (like APFT due in next 90 days, as an example). You need to look farther out and plan better because the staff WILL have excuses. A good Ops NCO will help with that. But just because (s)he is good, don't keep him/her forever. 1 year, then let them go back to their MOS. Don't screw this NCO over career-wise.

Response by MSG Gary Eckert made Dec 16 at 2019 3:49 PM

MSG Gary Eckert — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:49:46 -0500

Be prepared to compete for time with the primary staff NCOs and their daily mission. My personal philosophy was I never asked for anyone to be full time exempt from DA Form 6 duties because that is the fairest way to share the load and I expected the 1SG to give me some latitude to have someone "D" from the duty roster when I needed the person. I especially expected that over other staff offices that had permanent exemptions from the duty roster. For the other stuff that comes up, bad news doesn't get easier with time. As a Staff NCO it is much easier to react when you give me a couple of weeks notice rather than a couple of minutes.

Response by 1SG Alan Boggs made Dec 16 at 2019 4:47 PM

1SG Alan Boggs — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:47:03 -0500

I am very thankful for the insight everyone has provided. There's no substitute for experience and I appreciate your sharing it with me. The good news is the outgoing 1SG and I used to be a PSG while I was a Section Sergeant in the same company so I know I will get a good hand off before he retires.

Response by 1SG Jason Almond made Dec 17 at 2019 10:02 PM

1SG Jason Almond — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 22:02:38 -0500

I had a job a lot like that......chasing down LTC’s to get their mandatory stuff done....
I was very diplomatic in many cases and just got ran over.....then blamed.

I simply started pushing notes and delinquent status charts in easy to read / view formats, provided 2-3 times that I would be available to facilitate whatever it was, and if you went past the date—I’d simply flag you in the system and move on. You can explain it to the COL why his BN commanders can’t read emails / OPO’s and FRAGOs from the 3. They were all satellite commands working basically independently anyway.

Response by 1SG George Harvell made Jan 24 at 2020 8:46 AM

1SG George Harvell — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 08:46:32 -0500

Your biggest headache will come from the Staff Sections. You have to build a working relationship and be ready to compromise. Staff always have something else to do...You and your Commander have to be consistent in all you do, but can't be to demanding. Expect them to let you down more than help. This is where your diplomacy skills pay off and along with experience in a Line Unit helps prepare you for CSM...