What are your lessons learned as a TOC Battle Captain?

Obviously I was never a Battle Captain but I did work in a battalion TOC for awhile. The few things I can tell you for a smooth running TOC are:

1. Information flow. Make sure everyone who works in the TOC understands the SOPs for information flow. It keeps you informed of the things you need to be informed of and gets rid of the trivial sh*t the Battle NCO can take care of.

2. Maintain TOC control. People love to stick their heads in and give their 2 cents. It's your show, Sir, don't be afraid to kick people out of the TOC.

3. Update your Analog Trackers. This is one of the biggest ones. Never rely on CPOF or any other digital system. They go down. Ensure your map, battle tracker board, and all of your separate trackers are up to date.

4. Have a good RTO. Make sure your RTO isn't an idiot and can multitask. He/she needs to understand all of the above as well and need to be smart enough to handle the task. It's a big job and they need to own it.

Hope this helped, Sir!

Never ever cite CNN as your source -- it will end badly for you.

Here is a piece of advice I would give. Always log any changes, and brief all changes to your replacement during your shift changeover. Had this happened in one particular incident that I am aware of, friendly forces would not have been on the receiving end of "friendly" 120mm mortar fire.