How long should one leader be in a unit?

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:14:18 -0500

I have had the honor of serving as a 1SG for 20 months so far in my second company. How long do you think a key leader be it commander, CSM, or 1SG should stay in the same unit and do you believe more time hurts or helps that unit keeping those leaders in place?

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2014 11:22 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:22:22 -0500

Top,

In my opinion the minimum should be 24 months this will allow the 1SG or CSM to establish themselves and get their initiatives accomplish. In my last unit we had five 1SGs in 3 years and all of them had different leadership styles. Which became disruptive and hurt morale because once you start adapting to their leadership style they were leaving already.

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Jan 20 at 2014 11:49 AM

1SG Steven Stankovich — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:49:16 -0500

Congratulations 1SG!!! I selfishly wish I could have stayed a 1SG forever. I think that 24-36 months in one position in one command, is optimal. While we aim to hold onto our leadership positions as long as can (or at least we should), there are reasons why our Army moves us out. Replacing leaders after their "time is up" allows for continued unit growth. Fresh eyes, ideas and blood allow leaders to take the guidon and the reigns of the unit and to continue to move it forward. If leaders stay "too long" in one position/unit, stagnation may occur and in some instances, comfort and complacency. No good comes from that.

Continuity in the unit is important when changing leaders out, but as long as we have developed, trained and prepared our junior leaders, a transition at the top should be a seamless transition. With that being said though, I am a fan of staggered changes at the 1SG and Company Command level as well as at the BN CSM and BN CDR level.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2014 12:23 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 12:23:38 -0500

I agree with MSG Stankovich in regards to the staggered changes. As to the main question, I feel a senior leader should stay in position approx. 24 months. That seems to be the optimal time to effect changes without becoming too stagnant. I'm all for that same leader holding additional leadership time, just in another unit/echelon. Like SSG Cedeno, I have been in a unit where too much turmoil is not a good thing. In one unit, we had 3 CDRs and 4 1SGs at the company in a 24 month time frame. Some were moved for goof reasons (selected for advance schooling) others were removed due to negative reasons (pending adverse action).

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2014 3:38 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:38:46 -0500

Two years is optimal and three years is stretching it; from my perspective. Three years is understandable if you take a unit over, go to a training rotation, go on a long deployment, redeploy, and go through a major MTOE change or something like that.

I've seen leaders who spent their leadership time all in the same battalion; that's a bad thing. There's a narrowing of horizons in the entire unit when your senior leadership has known each other since they were junior NCOs (HRC seems to force officers to PCS) and they all have dirt on each other.
The worst I've seen is five straight years of the same brigade CSM. Considering that the average assignment is four years or less for most people, this CSM ran the entire operation like a personal fiefdom. The brigade commander never disagreed with his senior enlisted advisor, mainly because he'd already survived three brigade commanders and knew everyone in the entire unit.
There's solid reasons for limiting command time and I strongly believe that anything over two years moves a unit away from the Army standard and toward that leader's individual standard.

Response by Maj Walter Kilar made Jan 20 at 2014 3:52 PM

Maj Walter Kilar — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:52:49 -0500

It depends. Go back to the definition of leadership: "influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization." Can and should one leader do this for only two years in one unit? It depends on the unit. Some units are already squared away, and the leader can stick with the standard two years and yield the office to someone else who can use the opportunity. Some units need a lot of love and attention, so the leader can stick around for a bit to get the unit where it should be--or that leader should yield the office to someone better suited to accomplish the mission. Leaders should not sit in one place--they should be fixing problems, then moving on to the next fire that needs to be put out. There is a place for stagnant NCOs and officers, and that place is probably not in leadership positions. We cannot all be leaders, but those of us who really are leaders need to move around and grow.

Response by Lt Col Luis A. Rojas made Jan 20 at 2014 4:09 PM

Lt Col Luis A. Rojas — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 16:09:21 -0500

The Air Force typically keeps leaders (Commander, Command Chief, First Sergeant) in their position for no more than 2-years. I personally believe this amount of time is just right. I think more time could hurt because depending on the unit's mission, the leadership could "burn out". Additionally, new leadership brings new ideas, etc.

Response by CMC Robert Young made Jan 20 at 2014 5:54 PM

CMC Robert Young — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:54:06 -0500

1SG, you pose an interesting question in that some movement is required for individual growth, but movement that is too frequent actually degrades performance because it prevents establishing operational continuity; reduces the opportunity to develop needed relationships or master unit specific skills and nuances.

I read an article from a non partisan think tank several years ago which had researched average military tour lengths, and how rotation impacted individual and unit performance. The study showed that on average the Air Force moved its people slower than the other services while the Marines moved people more often. The ultimate conclusion was that very frequent rotation between assignments actually hindered unit and individual development, performance, and mission effectiveness. The study didn't offer specifics as to what an optimal tour length should be, but the indications were that something on the order of 36 months was probably better than shorter tours.

Response by MSG(P) Thomas Finn made Jan 22 at 2014 4:46 AM

MSG(P) Thomas Finn — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 04:46:05 -0500

Taht is a tough answer. There is that saying, If it ain't broke then don't fix it." but I believe as senior leaders we have an obligation to mentor junior Soldiers and every leader brings something new to the table. Problem is with the FML slots are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.

Response by CPT Mike M. made Jan 22 at 2014 8:11 AM

CPT Mike M. — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 08:11:36 -0500

I know the NCO and officer side of the house is different but at least for our end, I think key leaders should be changed out between 18-24 months, if that. I'm in my 2nd command right now and in a couple weeks will hit 36 months of command time. Personally, I'm getting burnt out on property, Soldier issues (although I've been blessed to have very minimal issues) and having every person who's ever been in Command trying to stick their nose in my business to tell me to do it their way when frankly, if I'm doing it differently, more often than not, it's not that I hadn't thought of their way, it's that I have a reason for doing it mine. I'm ready for a break. 17 working days left in the life of my deactivated unit!

Response by SGT Craig Northacker made May 3 at 2014 10:47 AM

SGT Craig Northacker — Sat, 03 May 2014 10:47:49 -0400

Hmmm-are they good or bad?

Response by SGT Craig Northacker made May 3 at 2014 10:49 AM

SGT Craig Northacker — Sat, 03 May 2014 10:49:32 -0400

A good top is worth his or her weight in gold, and provides stability to the unit as officers come and go. The same with a SGM and CSM. I have also had officers I never wanted to see leave, and others that could not leave soon enough.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 18 at 2017 4:23 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:23:42 -0400

Is their any regulation dictating how long a Commander should command? Or is just tradition that a commander will command from 24-36 months? I have a CO CDR that is trying to deploy to a combat zone with just one year of command. I don't want to jeopardize this commander's future promotion but think the commander has led well and is ready for a deployment.