What information do I need to address in a letter to my Battalion Commander, as a new 2LT going to my first unit?

- sir excited to be part of a great team and making a contribution to the mission.
- looking forward to leading a platoon and learning my craft
- mention any schools you may be attending like ALPS, UMO, etc. if timing permits and you can ask for follow on schools at BOLC, ask the BC what he needs you to get.
- if you know your arrival date, tell him. If you have spoken with your sponsor, tell him.
- you can mention a little about you, especially if you have something to offer like a second language, prior service, schools you had in the past (saw you were a medical NCO) etc. you should include your ORB as a matter of courtesy.
- one page of letter + ORB, no more.

I don't recall new Lieutenants having to write a formal letter to their Battalion Commander when coming to their first unit... though this could be a unit by unit practice. If you were to write such a letter (assuming it was standard practice), keep it to one page max, and I would recommend focusing on three things, in the following order:

1) How you plan to contribute and learn. This is where you want to highlight yourself as humble, enthusiastic, a team player, and to showcase your knowledge of officer and NCO relationships.

2) Your own leadership approach/philosophy. This is something you would want to share with your first platoon anyway, so you might as well write it down here too and be consistent. Hopefully you have something worthwhile to say here.

3) Briefly show that you know something about the unit's history, its lineage, and its heroes. Express how you plan to live up to that reputation, to work tirelessly to continue its success, and to serve in memory of those who have come before you.

I think this is much more powerful than talking about what one did at ROTC, or at a service academy, or what sports they played in college, etc. None of that matters to your troops or leaders. You'll also have a chance to discuss more personal matters when you first face to face with him./her. Lastly, make sure your spelling and grammar is 100% correct. Mistakes here can put you in a hole before you even start.

Lastly, as to point #2 above, a lot of people will say (maybe even in this thread) that 2LTs need to just show up and not say anything and learn, but I and many others disagree with this extreme. I think you show up and learn, but it does not mean you have zero thoughts on leadership. If you deploy to combat two weeks after you get to your platoon, guess who is in charge? You are. You therefore can't be simultaneously a blank slate with zero knowledge and also expected to be respected. At the same time, you have very little relative experience, so you can't act like you know it all either. It's a tough balance that junior officers need to walk. Below are two threads on RallyPoint with advice to new lieutenants. I think new officers would benefit from reviewing the mass knowledge accumulated on those discussions:

1) Best Advice to an incoming LT (Army)
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/best-advice-to-give-an-incoming-lt

2) Leadership advice for a new Platoon Commander (USMC)
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/what-is-the-best-leadership-advice-you-could-offer-a-new-platoon-commander

As an old Adjutant who read these sorts of letters and wrote back to them for the Commander ... well, you are better off just calling the Adjutant (S-1) and chatting with him/her. There's an old adage, Writing is Risky. Why? Because what you write and what is read into it, interpreted, perceived, passed around may not be what you intended. One simple spelling error, missed punctuation or other grammatical error can literally put a red mark on you before you even show up.

Here's my advice: Call the S-1 and have a chat with him. The S-1 briefs the Commander on the Officer Slate at least monthly, which includes incoming officers and potential duty positions. Having someone who has at least met you over the phone talking to the Commander about you in person, well, that can be worth many letters. AND you don't start off with putting your new Commander through the drill of reading your letter and writing you back ...

... there's a pretty good chance that the S-1 is going to write you back anyway, either signing for the Commander or just giving the Commander the letter to sign. Believe me, though, the S-1 likely won't be that happy to write the letter ... but he's very likely to want to chat with you if for no other reason than to give a better briefing of the Officer Slate to the Old Man. Instead of a Letter, you'll have a Liaison ... at least that's how it worked with me.