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

going to pizza hut

At my next unit I started hot and heavy and trying new things and getting the unit back to where they needed to be. I was very surprised how little the guy I replaced did and 45 days into my tour I was due for a performance evaluation. Usually everything under 90 days is consider Unobserved and I expected that outcome. Next thing I know I received an Observed 45 day performance evaluation that was that Officer's #1 overall report that was ahead of (2) 365 day Observed reports for the guy I replaced. I was in shock and didn't think that was fair to the other guy (though inside I definitely knew I earned it) but the Officer insisted and pushed it all the way to the top for review because that was very unusual. That Officer earned my respect, and even more so, because he was very good friends with the other guy but didn't want to do ME dirty. That was a great time and a great unit.

We had the opportunity to test some new equipment which would greatly benefit our unit and possibly more. We ended up making some 'illegal' modifications to some vehicles to make it all work and we had amazing results. We kept our RGT CO in the loop the whole time and he loved what we were providing him in capabilities. We had an inspection team come down and they tried to hammer us for the modifications we made, and usually things never went well for us because a lot of COs use CYA. The CO didn't even bat an eye, said he authorized it (which is not entirely true and he knew it, and we knew it), and said "was there anything else?". The inspectors were dumbfounded, said no, and left. Our CO didn't mention it to the group ever and let us continue to do our thing. He earned mass respect for that and we fought even harder for him. We had some long nights and weekends but we were proud of what we were doing. Once people started rotating and new staff arrived, the CO would only talk to me and that really irritated my immediate supervisors, but they never tried to learn everything or figure out the CO's intent. Once the CO left my days were numbered there too and I happily left to my next unit who by-name requested me to do the same type of innovations there too.

When I first enlisted in the Marine Corps I was so excited that I would be getting a chance to see the world, learn how to fight and maybe even buy myself a charger with 27% interest, as dumb jr enlisted tend to do. As we all know, that's not the way it ever goes, well..maybe the charger part. Anyways, I absolutely hated the Marine Corps and was a SysAd at the time and on one particular occasion, myself and a few other Lcpls had just finished setting up a computer network with Korea and everything was running smoothly. I'll spare you the jargon but a hotshot Major comes in and tells me that we have to redo everything because he doesn't think we set everything up correctly. I insist that everything is perfect, we spent literal days working on this setup and I was not about to take everything down. I went over everything, step by step , and he kept interrupting me and telling me I was wrong. I'm getting pretty heated by now but I'm in a room full of officers so there's not much I could do. I decide I'm done listening to this idiot so I tell him "Sir, everything is setup perfect and I'm not wrong here. You're wrong! Stop telling me how to do a job you have no idea how to do." As you can imagine he was PISSED! The guy was ripping me a new one, I though he was going to put hands on me, when out of nowhere comes in SgtMaj H who tells Major Hotshot to "calm tf down". SgtMaj H backed me up and told the Major that I was entirely right and that he had no F-ing idea how to do my job. It was the greatest feeling I've every felt while enlisted. Looking back, I shouldn't have done that, I was being an ass. I was so bitter about my time in the Marines and the good memories are very few but this right here...this was one of the highlights.

Being recognized for the good work that I was doing as an aircraft mechanic by an E-7 and CO who referred me to Cobra training then after training making me a crew chief.

I had a Squadron Commander (BA) when I was a young SSgt. He was a Gulf War POW (Capt) and he was probably the most effective and yet humble commander I had in my entire 26 year career. He later came back as our Group CC (COL) and he was still the same person. I requested him to re-enlist me before my PCS as a M(Sgt) and he remembered who I was. Before we did the re-enlistment we sat down in is office and talked about the AF his time as POW and my time stationed at Mtn. Home. He is one of those guys you can say you were proud to have worked for.

Being put on a medivav in 1969 by Captain Kern Dunigan, a Medal of honor recipient

First unit stateside at Ft Bragg after Germany straight out of AIT, don't recall his name but I remember his face ... and position, a Major, our Bn S3. I arrived there as a SGT, and got sort of dual-slotted in S3 and Bn FDC, as the 3 Shop had a computer terminal that was intended to help the Ops folks stay updated on the firing batteries' activities and be a source for them to send movement orders and such. This is mid 1980s. Fast forward 10 years or so, late 90s, I'm a new SFC instructor at the Field Artillery School at Ft Sill. A TDY trip assignment to Ft Drum, NY is available. I'd been on one of these before as a SSG, the junior of a 2-man team. This time my section chief slots me as team leader of 3. We have to hand-carry the classified hard drives with which we need to upgrade the systems the 10th Mountain artillery folks are using, which creates some hassles with airport security in Chicago where we need to connect flights. Bad weather in early Feb. has us missing our connection from Dallas through O'Hare to Syracuse, NY, so we scramble to get the next bird of any airline bound for SYR. We make it to Drum Friday night in our rental car with our carry-on bags and the hard drives. Checked bags AWOL. Saturday we get into our classroom where the computers are already set up for our 2-week class and get busy on the software upgrades in our civvies. We're thinking we might need to start class Monday 0800 in civvies and wing it from memory if our checked bags don't catch up with us ... not to mention fresh socks, undies, lesson outlines, practical exercise booklets, etc. Halftime of the SuperBowl we get a call from the on-post motel front desk saying our bags have arrived from the Syracuse airport. Yay! Guess who is the Division Artillery Commander of 10th Mountain Division now? Yup, COL (Bn S3 from Bragg)! He remembers me as a sharp, squared away NCO, tells his staff to be as helpful as possible if we need admin support, like copying, phone access back to Sill, etc. (unlike the lukewarm treatment we got on previous trip from previous Cmdr). Our last night at Drum before returning to Sill he even invites my team to dinner in Watertown as a "thank you". Next monthly promotion and award assembly (in schoolhouse lecture hall) I get a surprise - that COL wrote my whole team up for ARCOM's.

The best encounter I ever had with a superior happened one night during a training exercise. It was winter and the temperature at that point was hovering around 10 degrees. While every other leader was huddled around a fire in the center of our position, my squad leader was out there with his men, trooping the line, checking our morale, and encouraging us. He could have hung out with his peers and stayed warm by the fire, but he didn't because his men were out there, in the cold, doing their job, and so was he. That moment made my respect and devotion to him as a leader unwavering.

The best encounter I ever had with a superior happened one night during a training exercise. It was winter and the temperature at that point was hovering around 10 degrees. While every other leader was huddled around a fire in the center of our position, my squad leader was out there with his men, trooping the line, checking our morale, and encouraging us. He could have hung out with his peers and stayed warm by the fire, but he didn't because his men were out there, in the cold, doing their job, and so was he. That moment made my respect and devotion to him as a leader unwavering.