Posted on Mar 23, 2016
What is the best way to prepare for a battalion S3 or XO job?
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I am specifically seeking feedback from senior officers and NCOs; What makes an S3 or XO "good", and what are some "traps" to avoid? How should the "Big 5" in the battalion work, and how did it REALLY work when you were there? How do you create/maintain a work-life balance?
Posted in these groups: 
CSM
Battalion Commander
Battalion Executive Officer
Battalion Operations Officer (S3)
Leadership
CSM Battalion Commander Battalion Executive Officer Battalion Operations Officer (S3) Leadership
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 21
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Be good at your job, don't forget you are still a leader, stay in shape, take care of your subordinates and peers, and stay in sync with you boss. Same advice for every job you'll have in the military.
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There used to be a great Army Professional Forum online called S3-XO.NET (now on MilSuite) that connected S3 and XO practitioners to share knowledge and experience. I would start there.
I will share my top 5:
Good characteristics for both are 1. to be systems thinker and see how things work together. 2. To understand the Operations process and how to produce a standard OPORD quickly and effectively. No bigger waste of time in a battalion or brigade is a screwed up orders process. #3 would be problem solving ability 4. Both need an ability to communicate effectively and 5 is a high degree of emotional intelligence. Things like tactics, training management and maintenance management can be learned quicker than the other 5.
Mike
I will share my top 5:
Good characteristics for both are 1. to be systems thinker and see how things work together. 2. To understand the Operations process and how to produce a standard OPORD quickly and effectively. No bigger waste of time in a battalion or brigade is a screwed up orders process. #3 would be problem solving ability 4. Both need an ability to communicate effectively and 5 is a high degree of emotional intelligence. Things like tactics, training management and maintenance management can be learned quicker than the other 5.
Mike
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Your single largest requirement as an S-3 is to get the Commander to make a decision. I always had two COAs for my bosses. As an XO, my job was to give my Commander room to breathe. None of them appreciated it until I left the job and got the medal, it's part of the turf. You WILL learn from all that you see, and it's tool time.
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A lot of good stuff already said here. Having just finished a shipboard XO tour, a bit of technical advice that helped enormously: Have an e-folder somewhere with every pub and reference you'll need. As XO you are the head staff officer for your unit, and the person people will go to for 'the book' answer many times. I didn't always know everything, but having all the major (and many of the minor) references I would need available, and organized, made life much easier coming out the gate. My folder now has over 160 pubs and directives, many of them e-marked-up with personalized tabs and notes. It's not very glamorous, but being organized makes it easier to take care of the paperwork and more time out and about with your folks.
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A great deal of good advice already offered,but here are a few additions - be skilled in the following:,problem solving, decision making, judgment, communications, know yourself and key team members inside and out, build trust, hone your ability to learn on the fly and use what works.
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As a staff officer, your job, YOUR ONLY JOB, is to support the troops who obey the COMMANDER, not you. In my career, I knew too many staff officers who believed they spoke for the commander and were fond of giving orders in his name without checking with him. Staff officers don't fight the battle. They support those who do. They do so in terms of reasonable executable battle plans, logistical support, the best available intelligence, and proper infusion of new troops to replace casualties.
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Two things -
First, get no-crap grounded in current doctrine and implement it in what you do. You will spend a lot of time in either job training company-grade officers on their first staff assignment what right look like. You are the lone or maybe one of two Majors there. Be the example.
Second, spend some effort learning and improving the current "system" for developing operations, staff function, and orders formulation and execution. Trying to reinvent the wheel will crush you in time management and de-synchronization of effort. If things need improving, build and evolve it steadily over time, and get buy-in from the Primary Staff Officers that need to execute on it.
One more thing. It is the commander's unit. He/she will have well-established ideas for how his/her unit should run. Make sure you are on the same page for style. Disagreements are private, support and enthusiastic implementation is public, every time.
First, get no-crap grounded in current doctrine and implement it in what you do. You will spend a lot of time in either job training company-grade officers on their first staff assignment what right look like. You are the lone or maybe one of two Majors there. Be the example.
Second, spend some effort learning and improving the current "system" for developing operations, staff function, and orders formulation and execution. Trying to reinvent the wheel will crush you in time management and de-synchronization of effort. If things need improving, build and evolve it steadily over time, and get buy-in from the Primary Staff Officers that need to execute on it.
One more thing. It is the commander's unit. He/she will have well-established ideas for how his/her unit should run. Make sure you are on the same page for style. Disagreements are private, support and enthusiastic implementation is public, every time.
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Speak softly but carry a big stick, identify the strengths and weaknesses of your Soldiers/subordinates. Utilize the strengths and develop the weaknesses. The ultimate goal is to accomplish the units goals, and execute the CDR's intent.
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Don't micromanage your NCO. Provide them with your and the CO's intent as far as training and planning goes then let them do their jobs. AS mentioned already, the S-shops are teams
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MAJ (Join to see)
As an add-on to SFC Squires comment, your Operations Sgt and Assistant Ops Sgt are only as good as you as you allow. I had the opportunity to work with many good officers when I was an Assistant Ops Sgt at V Corps and 7th ID and as the JOPFOR Operations Sgt. Make sure your Enlisted Ops staff understand the ongoing mission and contingency missions and are prepared to support those missions. They are an integral part of the Ops team. I still remember when there was a particularly difficult issue, the Ops Officers turning to me and asking, "Alright Sgt Q, what do we do now?" The fact that they were professional enough to know they didn't know everything and respected their Ops staff enough to ask their opinion resulted in some very interesting outcomes, that would not necessarily have been considered. Later in my career, I was assigned to the BN S3 as an Operations Officer the same day the S3 was relieved. Luckily, I my experiences with great operations officers helped me keep the BN going for the next few months until a replacement arrived.
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