What makes someone a great leader? What makes a SM say "I will go to the depths of hell following said leader"?

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 06:46:51 -0400

I've seen Veterans and Service Members say this. Give a specific example of an action they took that went above and beyond their normal duties. Also, feel free to tag any leader that has impacted you in a positive way.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 22 at 2016 6:53 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 06:53:59 -0400

Someone that is willing to risk his neck for his people, now that's a great leader. Seen a couple of NCO's stand up for someone from a different platoon that was accused of a crime that he didn't and got him cleared. The person that impacted me the most was an old CO. Came up through the ranks, before going to OCS. Knew how to treat his men.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2016 7:27 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 07:27:30 -0400

Always ready to mentor and train
Fair
Communication Skills
Leads by example
Knows when to swallow her/his pride
Stands up for what's right

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2016 7:47 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 07:47:32 -0400

When I was offered PLDC, we were short staffed at my assignment. Work schedule was 12 hours a day 4 days on 4 days off. The Shift NCO from the opposite days offered to cover my shift while I was at PLDC, because at the time it was hard to get slots for. He worked 15 days straight, then added one more to give me time with my family on my return. He never held the fact that he did that for me over my head, nor expected anything more than a thank you. This proved to me that he was top notch among the SSG's I have met in my 21 years of service.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2016 8:16 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 08:16:26 -0400

My current Senior Chief is one that I would "go to the depths of hell following said leader". He has helped me through many issues that I have faced in the Navy recently. My husband and I are both serving in the Navy. When I got pregnant while on sea duty I had to be sent to shore duty. By instruction I was supposed to remain on shore duty for one year after I gave birth to my daughter. However, the Navy was trying to send me back to sea duty instead while my husband was also on sea duty. I tried to explain to my detailer that it wasn't allowed unless they pulled my husband from his ship instead and sent him to shore duty. There was quite a bit of a fight with my husband's detailer (who refused to do her job properly), my detailer, my Senior Chief, and myself.

The reason I was being sent back to sea was to finish up the sea time I hadn't completed when I got pregnant. My detailer was trying to force my husband's detailer to pull him from sea duty early in order to meet co-location requirements (especially since we are still currently overseas in Japan). My husband's detailer absolutely refused. My Senior Chief finally got sick of her not doing her job and went to her chain of command, the Master Chief that was in charge. When he did this I was cut orders to extend my time at shore duty for an extra year as long as I promised to go back to sea duty once I finished (which I now have verbals to Norfolk, VA to the USS Abraham Lincoln). My husband will now be on shore duty once we both rotate out of our respective commands come this fall.

My orders weren't the only issue my Senior Chief is helped me through. Currently I am battling an issue dealing with a warfare pin that I am qualified to wear. When I was on my first ship I got qualified to wear the Enlisted Service Warfare Specialist pin. Upon arrival to my second ship I was told I had one year to requalify for the new ship. However, during that year we went through INSURV. Because INSURV took priority our Commanding Officer put out that all qualifications (Including ESWS) was to be put on hold, back dated, and would recontinue upon the completion of INSURV. Due to my pregnancy I was going to be leaving the ship sooner than expected and before my one year mark even hit.

Several months after I left the ship we were all instructed to look through our service records for any anomalies. I found out that a Senior Chief from my second ship put in my service record that I was no longer qualified to wear the ESWS pin. He had put in a remark saying I did not qualify in the time I was supposed to. Despite what the CO had put out and the fact that I had left before I was supposed to requal. This Senior Chief had put it in without my knowledge, without the proper signatures, and without using the proper channels. Currently my Senior Chief is fighting a battle to have the mark removed because of the shadiness on how this was done, many witnesses who can testify on my behalf of what had happened, and the fact that when it was submitted I was long gone off the ship and they should have had no access to my record anymore.

My Senior Chief does a lot for not only myself but the rest of my division. He keeps us from getting dragged into collateral duties that we shouldn't be taking a part in or taking on battles he knows we wouldn't be able to do by ourselves. He's very by the book and is fair in every way. He is one of handful of Chiefs that I have looked up to and respected so far in my Naval career. Someone who is willing to fight for their sailors no matter how exhausting or frustrating it can get, or someone who can point you in the right direction for getting qualified, fair to their subordinates across the board, doesn't play favorites, tells you like it is, doesn't mind getting down and dirty when it comes to maintenance or repairs to a system, or helps you with your studies for making the next rank, is what to me, makes someone a great leader.

Response by Cpl Jon Westbrook made Apr 22 at 2016 8:36 AM

Cpl Jon Westbrook — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 08:36:41 -0400

Technical and Tactical expertise, cool head under pressure, ability to stay objective and avoid favoritism, fairness when it comes to discipline, not drinking the Kool-Aid, trusting your subordinates to do their job and not micromanaging, holding your men accountable, being a likeable person in general, I could go on. The point is a good leader is a great many things and a combination of some without the others, except when they aren't. the reason this is talked about so much is because people want a formula to follow so they always know what decisions to make and when, but it doesn't work like that.

You can be a good leader in certain situations, and be a terrible one in others. A person with outstanding leadership qualities could get the wrong leaders themselves and be labeled a shitbag, or a shitbag could make the right decisions at a critical moment and be labeled a good leader.

Leadership is ultimately about being liked by your men but respected as their leader just as much, accomplishing the mission, and taking care of your people. There is no one right way to do it, but there are a hundred thousand wrong ways. Plato said it best.

“It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good but to be willing to descend again to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not. And this they must do, even with the prospect of death.”
― Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Apr 22 at 2016 10:08 AM

SGM Erik Marquez — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 10:08:33 -0400

Some days ago... sitting on the firing line in a HMMWV, assigned as the 9th REGT commanders Aid.
"SGT Marquez, take us to the airfield"
Yes sir, whats up?
"There is a C-130 landing in a few minutes"
Ok sir...we are not set to fly out for 3 more days....
" You are getting on it and going back to Ord.... Your wife is deploying in the morning...say good by....and get back here"

18 months later......
As we stand in the cold drizzling rain at O-dark thirty waiting for some small number of Soldiers to get off a bus, having just returned home from Desert Storm .. not from our unit, not attached...
Sir,Im here, and would be even if not an order.... But why ? Why do we come to every return ceremony on post, no matter the unit.
"Because, no one was there when we came home (the reference is viet Nam, something he and I had spoken about previously)

a few days later, at the return ceremony for my wifes unit.
"She is home, go to her, I do not want to see you till monday... SGT...when I told you those times in past months she was ok.... I was not guessing, she was never safe..... but I never told you she was OK, without knowing it for a fact"
What I found out later is, he had kept track of her unit, knew where they were, actions involved, locations they had gotten stuck or bogged down at.. For 18 months, Desert Shield and storm, from when she arrived in country to departed.
I don't know where that leader is today, I do know if he called this moment there is nothing that would stop me from going to his aid.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2016 9:56 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 09:56:40 -0400

Hi, SPC Bernardy.

I was AF Security Forces (we used to be called SPs, for Security Police...it was Air Police before that). SPs are tasked with securing the base and mission assets, and performing on-base law enforcement. One of those mission assets are the planes and, depending on their protection level (PL), SP presence around those planes varies. When I was stationed at Tyndall AFB in 2001, the protection level for the ramp required an SP to provide, among other things, a motored response element on the ramp.

It was bloody hot in the summer of 2001 in North Florida, and the SP on the ramp was driving a beat up 6-Pack truck with no air conditioning (because we're cops...we can't have nice things.) The area supervisor, an E-5, cleared it with our operations center, and swapped his air conditioned patrol vehicle with the 6-Pack so the junior-enlisted airman on the flightline could have some relief.

That's servant leadership. The SP on the flightline never wanted another supervisor after that.

"A true leader is the servant of his subordinates." - Umberto Eco

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 26 at 2016 12:26 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:26:28 -0400

By being about it instead of just talking about it. Take the time to get to know your Soldiers...go to bat for them...teach them...show them that you can be led....be honest...just some of the things that i think make an excellent leader.