Posted on Oct 7, 2022
SGT Medical Service Technician
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I just got promoted to E5. My question is what are the things i need to prioritize to make myself a solid NCO? I want to do whatever i can to be an effective leader for my soldiers.
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GySgt Kenneth Pepper
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So much good advice here, so all I can tell you is to be true to yourself. If asked a question you can't answer, admit it and go find out. Don't be afraid to ask for input from your team, but know the buck stops with you.
Even if the assignment you are about to hand out completely sucks, never start with "the PSG said we have to...". Own every assignment handed to you, delegate accordingly, and get it done. Set clear expectations and hold people accountable.
Never walk away wondering if they understood you. Clear, concise orders with established expectations.
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SPC Civil Affairs Specialist
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Lead by action, not just rank. Look outside the Army for leadership development (Dale Carnegie, John Maxwell, many others) and read as much of their material as possible. Remember that you can learn from anyone, make it a point to learn even from subordinates and implement things you’ve learned. Find NCOs and officers you respected and ask them to mentor you.

Lots of good advice on here, best of luck SGT!
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SGM William Everroad
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SGT (Join to see), lots of great advice here. To add:

Know your job. Know your Soldiers, even the ones who don't work for you (68W don't tend to get assigned leadership positions until SSG).

Know your job means a couple things:
As a medic: understand your MOS, grab the Skill level books and know the material, find a way to get evaluated from a senior medic.
As an instructor: Sergeants, serving as FLL, are the primary instructor for Soldier and MOS tasks. Not only do you need to be a subject matter expert, but you need to be able to teach others to become an SME. Strive to make medics better than you are.
As an NCO: Study and start to understand the Leaderhisp Competency Model and how you can gain experience and/or trianing to improve in all areas.
As a Soldier: at this point you ahould be able to outperform the average enlisted SOldier in Skill Level 1 Soldier tasks. If you fall short, study and practice until you are. It helps to also instruct them. One day you should be able to do it without the book with no errors.
As a member of your unit: It looks like you are in a CAV unit, understand their job. Can you operate their equipment? Do you understand how it works? Can you operate/install communications equipment? Assist with PMCS? You are a member of a team.

Know your Soldiers means a couple things as well:
Soldiers directly assigned to you are looking to you for mentorship and leadership. Never leave them in the dark and unequipped for the mission (knowledge, motivation, and actual equipment).
Soldiers not directly assigned to you count on you for the same things, just in a different way. You are a standard bearer. If you do something they will always see it and assume it is the correct way. Even the small things like hands in pockets, cuffing sleeves, buying special gear from MCS, your motivation and effort level. They will emulate you.
As a medic, people will treat you like a counselor, a doctor, or an advocate. Understand your limits and what you do not know. You can still aid Soldiers, but do it the right way. They have their own FLLs, make sure you have good working relationships with all the Team Leaders and Squad Leaders.

Never stop trying to develop yourself and others.
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SFC Billy Huether
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Well, first issue is; did you get promoted to "E-5" or did you get promoted to SERGEANT? Any piece of meat with two eyes can be promoted to E-5 (which is your pay grade).
My two cents for being a fine NCO is know your authority, where it comes from and how to wield that authority. It's not about the "Do you know who I am?" bullshit. It's all about your Soldiers! You cannot accomplish anything without them. You must get to know your Soldiers, their families, birthdays, anniversaries, kids names and ages. Why?
Because it's important to them! Therefore, it should be important to you.
It is/was my leadership philosophy that every single Soldier has a switch which will motivate them. For some, it's awards. For others, it maybe time off or something as simple as an "Atta-Boy". Some might need a good old fashioned (loud) ass chewing. Some you can look them in the eye and tell them they really disappointed you and/or let you down.
It's all about finding the switch!
Read! Read! Read!
Be humble, yet, be arrogant at the same time! Oh, what a tangled paradox Leadership is! ie: You are never wrong! Slightly mistakes at times, however, Never Wrong!
You must be able to convey yours Standards! Never, under any circumstances, allow your Standards to slip or backslide.
You must be willing to take a heat round to the chest for your Troops or fall on your sword for them. When this happens, it's inevitable, they will do anything for you!
You must Lead from the front. Never doubt yourself! Make informed decisions.
By action, show your Soldiers that you have no fear of asking questions of your peers and superior. This tells them you may not have all the answers, however, you know where to get the answers. Confidence!
Be approachable at all times 24/7-365!
NEVER sell out Soldiers to make yourself look good. If you do, you should have your lips permanently attached to your supervisor and then you should be castrated. This way you won't contaminate the gene pool with suck ass prone douche nozzles!
Taking care of your Troops is inspecting equipment such as TA-50, In Ranks(daily, weekly?), Dress Uniforms, etc.
My opinion is "leaders"(notice lower case L) are quick to admonish and point out deficiencies, but, hardly ever give compliments. What do you think the morale, motivation and dedication of that unit is? It will SUCK!
Everything is good! When you screw up? Good, you're learning what not to do.
Ensure you teach your Troops ALL your mistakes so they're not repeated.
Digest the aforementioned and hit me up if you have any questions!
"If you aren't the Lead Dog,
The view is always the same!"
God Bless!
SFC HEAT
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1LT Chaplain Candidate
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Congratulations! Keep up the good work. From the officer side of the house, be good at your job but don't try and do everything. I don't need a jack of all trades. I need a SGT who knows their MOS and cares for their squad.

Also, maintain your gratitude. When you commit to sustaining a fresh sense of gratitude as a leader, you will create an infectious sense of resiliency.

"In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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yummy Kool-Aid
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CWO3 Robert Fong
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SGT, in the3 sea service and I'm not so sure its all that different in the Army there are these fundamentals that are required of a candidate. 1. Keen knowledge of your rate (MOS) requirements; 2. Ability to teach and demonstrate; 3. Fearless and not careless; 4, Diplomacy; 6. Learn the requirements of the next rate (grade); 7. PEOPLE. For us people make the crew and without the crew the Cutter goes nowhere and consequently is a mission failure that adversely affects other people who depend on your organization to get the job done.
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Forget the army values and take up standing by your team even when they are morally wrong. The get out and watch as the VA shreds your life with Pills.
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You alright man?
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1LT (Join to see) - I am now. thanks for asking brother!

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