What Was Your Best Experience With a Superior While Serving? Share and Be Entered to Win!

When the new female Lt. stop in front of me during inspection. She said, '"I don't know how you got your shoes that shiny."' Good work.

When I was an airman with barely one stripe, I was serving as an orderly room administrative specialist. Though a lowly airman, working in the orderly room meant I worked closely with both the first sergeant and the squadron section commander. I was very fortunate that both the first sergeant and squadron section commander of my unit were intelligent and had good senses of humor.

One day, the squadron section commander, a first lieutenant, had stopped at my desk to ask me a question or tell me something; I forget which. Anyway, when he'd finished, I looked up at him and said, "Thank you, lieutenant; that'll be all." His eyes widened, and he muttered, "Oh, okay..." and walked away. We all had a good laugh!

While stationed at MCAS Miramar, my wife, Lisa, became deeply involved with the LINKS program and became good friends with the 3rd Marine Air Wing CG’s wife. LINKS provides new spouses the Lifestyle, Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills in relation to their new life with their Marine. So Lisa was invited to tea I believe at Mrs. Bolden’s house and she drug me along since I was involved with LINKS as well. The girls were chatting and Gen. Bolden happened to be home as well and we began to talk. I knew of his history as an astronaut and casually mentioned my son and his 1st grade class were talking and learning about space. Without hesitation (or prompting from me…) he quickly offered to go to their class and tell them about HIS experience in space! Obviously I said that would be fantastic. He made the time and the kids loved the presentation. What a great and modest man.

Col Edwards believed in 2nd chances and leading by example. I'll never forget this.

BDE Sgt Mjr say a contraband poster of Kat Von D in my barracks room and allowed me to keep it because nobody else had a problem with it. He always made me feel like a person and made me feel heard.

Working with my senior medic in our makeshift clinic, flushing ears and doing foot inspections during deployment.

Senior Master Sergeant Smith was an amazing boss and human being. We played racquetball together and run for exercise together and when we were at the office we worked very well together. He really was a mentor to me and I never thought to tell him that he was someone I truly looked up to and admired greatly.

Went to a transit unit that used me and the other female 63S as KP for our whole platoon, while in Saudi. When newly assigned warrent officer came he saw this and started training me on dashboards instead of KP ever other day.

I've had two big ones that affected my whole career. The first was at my first duty station after enlisting in the Army. Because of my prior service (Navy Hospital Corpsman), I was made an Army Medic and assigned to Walter Reed (Wash., D.C.). I was assigned from there to the satellite Health Clinic at Ft. Myer, VA as an Ambularnce Driver because I wanted out of the medic field. The clinic's 1st SGT helped me by editing a DF requesting assignment to the MP Corps. It went from three PAGES to three concise PARAGRAPHS, thanks to his knowledge.
The next (related) biggie was while driving the clinic shuttle vehicle back and forth to Walter Reed with service members and retirees getting treatments. At the time, our 29 passenger buss was broke down and I was using one of those six-door "Checker" cab vehicles. The last passnger was a LTC who I asked NOT to sit up front as someone was already there and I didn't like driving with someone RIGHT BESIDE me. He complied and was a 4th person in one of the two rear seats - a tight fit.
A few miles from Watler Reed, the front passenger gasped and fell over onto my lap. I pulled up a side street in a high class neighborhood and ordered EVERONE to get OUT of the vehicle. The Colonel was the only person in uniform. As a SP4 (E4), I "ordered" (literally) the LTC to get in the seat behind me and hold the gentleman. I turned around and sped back to Walter Reed (the guy was breathing), carefully blowing red lights whild flasing the high beams and blowing the horn. Got the guy to the ER and "ordered" the LTC to go in and get a guerney (stretcher) while I got the guy out of the vehicle, layed him on the guerney and rushed him into the ER.
On the way back to pick up those who I left behind, the LTC started asking me for my name, rank, SN and my plans for the Army. It hought I was in some DEEP do-do. When submitting my DF requesting transfer to the MP Corps, I was told at Walter Reed Personnel by the SFC/NCOIC, that it was vitually a NO-GO as the medic MOS was critically short (as was the MP's) and had a reenlistment bonuse of 4 ($10K) versus a renlistment bonus for the MP's of 1 ($2K).
The LTC had me drop him off at the Ft. Myer O Club, saying to me, "You will hear from me, one way or another." I thought I was TOAST! The following week, my Section NCOIC told me to drive the shuttle again telling me to report to Personnel between runs. When I did, the SFC/NCOIC there, pretty much angrily asked, "WHO DO YOU KNOW?!" I asked what he meant and he said, "I told you it would be IMPOSSIBLE to change to the MP's! WHO DO YOU KNOW AT THE FORRESTAL BUILLDING in downtown D.C." Confused, I told him I didn't know what he was talking about.
He more or less tossed a set of orders at me and said, "Tomorro morning, you repoort to the 437th MP Detachemnt! You've been transferred to the MP Corps and will have to do 90 days of OJT! I KNOW that YOU know someone downtown! Some Colonel pulled strings and you're going to the MP Corps and you report tomorow morning at 0700 hrs to Captain Farber, the Detachment Commander!"

I took my LtC boss, another visiting LtC out for opening weekend of duck hunting in ND. Shot bunches of ducks, never paid for a meal. I did have to teach them how to properly clean a bird. Never pluck, just skin them and fillet out the breast. Oh well, officers, somebody has to teach them….