Posted on May 22, 2020
What advice would you give to enlisted soldiers interested in entering the officer ranks?
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Officers
Enlisted
Enlisted-to-Officer
Leadership
Toxic Leadership
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 93
Suspended Profile
You are accountable; to your leadership, to your subordinates, to your peers, and to yourself. As you rise in rank and responsibility the light will shine brighter. Find and correct your own flaws else others surely will.
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5 things to consider or remember.
1. Everything that happens or fails to happen ultimately falls on your shoulders. It’s sometimes a heavy cross to bear when you come into a less than stellar unit.
2. Don’t be a dick! Be the bad guy when you have to, but build relationships with your leaders and joes. The more you move up the less you are around them.
3. Embrace the suck. There will be hard times, but if you persevere it makes the good times that much better.
4. Listen to your NCO’s. They’ve been there, done that, and got the shirt more times than you ever will.
5. Be your own man. Never be exactly like one person. Take the good leaders you’ve learned from and make your own leadership style.
1. Everything that happens or fails to happen ultimately falls on your shoulders. It’s sometimes a heavy cross to bear when you come into a less than stellar unit.
2. Don’t be a dick! Be the bad guy when you have to, but build relationships with your leaders and joes. The more you move up the less you are around them.
3. Embrace the suck. There will be hard times, but if you persevere it makes the good times that much better.
4. Listen to your NCO’s. They’ve been there, done that, and got the shirt more times than you ever will.
5. Be your own man. Never be exactly like one person. Take the good leaders you’ve learned from and make your own leadership style.
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Timeo. My suggestion is simple make sure that you understand the duties an responsibilities of an officer first. It will be very good to ask someone in your COC to let you see over their shoulder for couple of weeks.
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As a Mustang myself, I'll tell you what I told my junior officers and NCOs, "Leadership is the ability to motivate others to do something, not necessarily in their best interest, willing, without fear of punishment."
Your leadership skills and techniques will be dependent, to a large extent, on your personality and experience. If you truly care about your people and their ability to accomplish the mission, you'll do fine.
Your leadership skills and techniques will be dependent, to a large extent, on your personality and experience. If you truly care about your people and their ability to accomplish the mission, you'll do fine.
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#1 Must have an unwavering call to Honor, Duty, Country.
#2 Must be able to show firm compassion and make hard decisions as to UCMJ and troops.
#3 Must be willing to spend more time away from family performing your duties
#4 Must be willing to know individuals troop names who comprise your command
#5. Must have a wife who supports your call as an officer and contributes to that goal.
#6. Must have military bearing under all circumstances
#7. Must continue your education to next levels
#8 If you have a command, must be able to be in your unit before reveille and until taps are
sounded.
#9. Hold your junior officers accountable
#10. Hold your sergeants accountable
#11. Have frequent planning meetings and evaluations for junior officers and Sergeants.
#12. Strive to become a team with your first sergeant, he is the backbone of your success or failure
#13 Stand your ground under UCMJ when an illegal order is given. Never get involved in the politics
#14 Be sure to include your XO in details and responsibilities.
#15 Always get a complete inventory of your supplies and TOE, you will be held accountable
#16 Always be prepared for an IG inspection and hold your junior officers and NCO's accountable.
#17 Don't be afraid to frequently converse with your superior officer on a professional level.
#18 Be comfortable in your position as an officer and enjoy the ride.
#2 Must be able to show firm compassion and make hard decisions as to UCMJ and troops.
#3 Must be willing to spend more time away from family performing your duties
#4 Must be willing to know individuals troop names who comprise your command
#5. Must have a wife who supports your call as an officer and contributes to that goal.
#6. Must have military bearing under all circumstances
#7. Must continue your education to next levels
#8 If you have a command, must be able to be in your unit before reveille and until taps are
sounded.
#9. Hold your junior officers accountable
#10. Hold your sergeants accountable
#11. Have frequent planning meetings and evaluations for junior officers and Sergeants.
#12. Strive to become a team with your first sergeant, he is the backbone of your success or failure
#13 Stand your ground under UCMJ when an illegal order is given. Never get involved in the politics
#14 Be sure to include your XO in details and responsibilities.
#15 Always get a complete inventory of your supplies and TOE, you will be held accountable
#16 Always be prepared for an IG inspection and hold your junior officers and NCO's accountable.
#17 Don't be afraid to frequently converse with your superior officer on a professional level.
#18 Be comfortable in your position as an officer and enjoy the ride.
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I made 7 pretty fast and didn’t expect to make 8 on my first look, but I did it I was seriously considering doing it.
The HUGE issue I was worried about was living the life of a 2LT.
That was a deal breaker for me.
If you’re going to do it- do it now.
The HUGE issue I was worried about was living the life of a 2LT.
That was a deal breaker for me.
If you’re going to do it- do it now.
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About 18 months ago there was a similar thread with this topic. The response chain really stuck with me and I saved it, and it went like this:
Young Solider:
I know, it seems obvious, go to the dark side, the pay and benefits are amazing and you don't have to deal with all the enlisted bullshit. But I know there's got to be your fair share of officer bullshit to deal with. Is it worth the swap? I've been getting advised to switch over for a while, and as of now my plan is to apply for green to gold following an upcoming deployment. I am a little worried I might miss the enlisted life though. Officers, what's it like? The day to day schedule? Time for family? Opportunities to personally lead soldiers? Control over your career? I never really talk to officers on the day to day so I want some inside info before I make a commitment here.
OFFICER1:
Officer work is harder in different ways. Here are some analogies. Enlisted hard is like breaking rocks with a hammer for 10 hours a day with instructions, tools, and meals provided, and when you're done, you're usually* done. Officer hard is like you're lost on an island with a live volcano that's about to erupt, and you're trying to build this raft to get away. You want to work 14 hours a day building the raft, scavenge for food, and build shelter? Your call. You want to spend 8 hours a day? Your call. How do you balance the time spend on scavenging for food, vs building shelter, vs building the raft, vs making spear against predators, cloth for warmth, or etc? Again, your call. How do you build the raft? What kind of weather should the raft withstand? How big is it? What kind of materials is it made of? All of those again are your call. At the end of the day you will have to escape this island before the volcano erupts. If you manage to escape this island, you'll land in another island with the same situation. It just keeps going and going.
OFFICER 2:
I really like this analogy.
But what about trying to fight off/cooperate with the other people on the island trying to build rafts? Do you try to make yours better than theirs, take their supplies, or pool your resources to make a bigger and better raft, or build the raft while he hunts for food for the both of you?
OFFICER 1:
That’s a good addition. Also don’t forget at the same time you’re responsible for a bunch of orangutans who like to fuck shit up from time to time.
OFFICER 2:
Those fucking orangutans. I'm tired of their shit
YOUNG SOLDIER:
I feel like half the battle is just knowing what needs to get done.
OFFICER 1:
Awesome, U Going to build a raft?
Young Solider:
I know, it seems obvious, go to the dark side, the pay and benefits are amazing and you don't have to deal with all the enlisted bullshit. But I know there's got to be your fair share of officer bullshit to deal with. Is it worth the swap? I've been getting advised to switch over for a while, and as of now my plan is to apply for green to gold following an upcoming deployment. I am a little worried I might miss the enlisted life though. Officers, what's it like? The day to day schedule? Time for family? Opportunities to personally lead soldiers? Control over your career? I never really talk to officers on the day to day so I want some inside info before I make a commitment here.
OFFICER1:
Officer work is harder in different ways. Here are some analogies. Enlisted hard is like breaking rocks with a hammer for 10 hours a day with instructions, tools, and meals provided, and when you're done, you're usually* done. Officer hard is like you're lost on an island with a live volcano that's about to erupt, and you're trying to build this raft to get away. You want to work 14 hours a day building the raft, scavenge for food, and build shelter? Your call. You want to spend 8 hours a day? Your call. How do you balance the time spend on scavenging for food, vs building shelter, vs building the raft, vs making spear against predators, cloth for warmth, or etc? Again, your call. How do you build the raft? What kind of weather should the raft withstand? How big is it? What kind of materials is it made of? All of those again are your call. At the end of the day you will have to escape this island before the volcano erupts. If you manage to escape this island, you'll land in another island with the same situation. It just keeps going and going.
OFFICER 2:
I really like this analogy.
But what about trying to fight off/cooperate with the other people on the island trying to build rafts? Do you try to make yours better than theirs, take their supplies, or pool your resources to make a bigger and better raft, or build the raft while he hunts for food for the both of you?
OFFICER 1:
That’s a good addition. Also don’t forget at the same time you’re responsible for a bunch of orangutans who like to fuck shit up from time to time.
OFFICER 2:
Those fucking orangutans. I'm tired of their shit
YOUNG SOLDIER:
I feel like half the battle is just knowing what needs to get done.
OFFICER 1:
Awesome, U Going to build a raft?
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I would have this to say. Go at it with the attitude of you are a well paid E5 with different collar decorations. Work it like you did before- with the inclination to speak your mind a bit less and with more caution.
One of THE best XO's on board ship was a mustang. Got things done on the officer front but still knew how to pull an E3 aside and hand him his ass when needed- like the chief petty he was before. I saw him as an exceptional officer. He wasn't a spoiled over educated handled with kit gloves academy grad with no real world experience. He may have been a Ltjg but had leadership skills learned from 10 years enlisted. Something you can't teach academy kids. They see one side of the coin and often, to the detriment of other academy O's, act like untouchable children.
I would say to follow the path of leadership you were already on as an enlisted. Treat your men/women as you would want an officer to treat you. Don't fall into the trap of other mustangs by creating adversaries of other officers. Guide them. I often see young officers afraid to ask for help or guidance in leadership as they are fearful of poor performance reports by senior officers. Guide those you can, work around those you can't.
One of THE best XO's on board ship was a mustang. Got things done on the officer front but still knew how to pull an E3 aside and hand him his ass when needed- like the chief petty he was before. I saw him as an exceptional officer. He wasn't a spoiled over educated handled with kit gloves academy grad with no real world experience. He may have been a Ltjg but had leadership skills learned from 10 years enlisted. Something you can't teach academy kids. They see one side of the coin and often, to the detriment of other academy O's, act like untouchable children.
I would say to follow the path of leadership you were already on as an enlisted. Treat your men/women as you would want an officer to treat you. Don't fall into the trap of other mustangs by creating adversaries of other officers. Guide them. I often see young officers afraid to ask for help or guidance in leadership as they are fearful of poor performance reports by senior officers. Guide those you can, work around those you can't.
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Stay humble, no matter the direction you take - as the COL stated there will be the good, the bad and the ugly in everyone.
Remember you were once a private and you will be a private again just with brass this time never forget were you came from. Respectfully.
Remember you were once a private and you will be a private again just with brass this time never forget were you came from. Respectfully.
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