What is the most challenging position/ assignment you have ever had?

SSG Christopher Freeman — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 13:16:49 -0500

This discussion is meant to share tough experiences with others.

For me, it is a tie. When I made Sgt., my first position was plt. sgt. of the chapter and medboard plt. It was rough beyond words, especially because I had no idea what I was doing. Thankfully, I had a ssg show me some ways to help get these Soldiers onto their next step in life.

My other one is my current assignment. I work in the ISAF Combined Joint Operations Center (CJOC) as a Public Affairs Officer. It is an O-3 billet and I can see why. I am responsible for monitoring all forms of social media as well as news sites for any news pertaining to Afghanistan. It ends up being a 25ish page report that goes out daily. I also respond to media queries and prepare numerous other daily reports. It is a mentally draining assignment, but I have learned a lot from it. The main thing I learned is there is a lot more going on in Afghanistan than I ever knew of.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 18 at 2014 5:39 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:39:20 -0500

My most challenging assignment was - believe it or not, SSG Christopher Freeman - as a student at the Defense Language Institute. Not because I had trouble just passing the course, rather because I wanted to excel. During my 47-week course, I spent three to four hours every evening and more hours on the weekends studying Polish, memorizing vocabulary, learning verb forms, grammar, etc. (you name it).

I see now that this was a self-induced challenge, but at the time I was just trying to be all I could be, and the pressure I put on myself was pretty intense. In the end it led to success - top graduate in the class and a max score on the DLPT in Polish.

Response by SGT Michael McKean made Nov 20 at 2014 11:15 AM

SGT Michael McKean — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 11:15:36 -0500

Performing duties that I could not discuss with others. Finally decompressing in special VA program for Acute PTSD.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jan 14 at 2015 12:18 AM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:18:27 -0500

I received an assignment to give courses on "NCO DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION" to the Ukraine Ministry of Defense General Staff in Kiev. The courses were a week long and I had to prepare all my material and submit it to the Military Liaison Team in Kiev NLT 45 days prior so it could all be translated into the Ukraine language.

Upon arrival I spent the first day with my translator who was fantastic and very professional. It took a little for us to get in it together, but soon I learned how much I could say before she needed to take over. I'd prepared power point slides and when I looked at them, they were now all in Ukraine language, so I had to really know my material. We began at 0900 and finished at 1530. I think the question / answer periods at the end of each block of instruction was the hardest. At the end of a day I was exhausted, almost more than if I'd spent the day under a ruck in the field.

The attached is me presenting a Command coin to the 3 SNCOs from Ukraine military (l), myself, my translator

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 14 at 2015 7:42 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 07:42:22 -0500

From a career of PFC to 1SG, then 2LT to MAJ; I can say with all certainty the Battalion S-3 of an Airborne unit with minimal, if any staff! Between two battalions, been at it for almost 5 years now. I either suck at it and continually being punished, or I'm actually good at it.

Response by SFC Royce Williams made Jan 14 at 2015 7:53 AM

SFC Royce Williams — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 07:53:53 -0500

Being and Infantry Platoon Sergeant in an Armor Bn. That was not a fun assignment for me at all. Had a 2lt that told me he should have been enlisted and he acted that way as well. Overall the toughest leadership challenge ever.

Response by SFC Michael Jackson, MBA made Jan 14 at 2015 8:29 AM

SFC Michael Jackson, MBA — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 08:29:35 -0500

Response by SFC Jeff Peters made Jan 14 at 2015 9:02 AM

SFC Jeff Peters — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:02:50 -0500

The most challenging position I held in 20 years was as the BN FDC Chief and BN Training NCOIC in my next to last unit. As the FDC Chief, I was responsible for 7 subordinates, 2 M577A2 tracks, 3 HMMWV, and all other equipment, including generators, radios, antennas, OVM/BII, etc, not to mention weapons and all the soldiers individual equipment and barracks rooms ready for inspection. The problem was that the job of training nco kept me in the S-3 office from 0430 to 1900 at least 5 days a week when not in the field. This made it really hard to supervise and train my soldiers. Luckily, I had a great SGT and some great soldiers working for me.

Now if the question would have said anything about the worst assign/posting, I would have said Recruiting. I was a recruiter for 3 years and it was absolutely the worst, most miserable 3 years of my life. As a recruiter, you have no control over anything, example; you find someone that wants to join, doesn't tell you about an injury and fails the physical, it is your fault. Or they pass the physical but tell someone at the MEPPS that they have a felony that they didn't tell you about, your fault, or they have no problems, pick an MOS, join, and swear in. They ship out to basic training in 3 months, during which time, they get a job and fall in love, this causes them to change their mind and they refuse to ship. You guessed it, your fault, and there is nothing you can do about it because by law, the only thing that you can do is tell them they don't have to go. Now if they go to the MEPPS and swear in the 2nd time, and then don't get on the bus, it's not your fault and they can get in trouble, but until that 2nd swearing in, they do not have to go.

The best assignment I had was my last, I was in an AC/RC unit, active component/reserve component. We trained and evaluated reserve and guard units and also worked with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) on the MSCA (Military Support to Civilian Authorities). Both of these jobs were educational, fun, and fulfilling.

Response by SSG Mark Ives made Jan 14 at 2015 9:36 AM

SSG Mark Ives — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:36:37 -0500

Not sure about challenging, but being a Permissive Action Link (PAL) operator and Emergency Action Message (EAM) B Team member in a Pershing missile firing battery on QRA status in Germany during the late 70's & early 80's was the most stressful position I had. There was a time when an EAM message came down as a actual launch message and we started preparations for launch. Luckily, higher command came down with a correction. I'm sure it contributed to the start of my premature grey hair at age 22!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 14 at 2015 10:32 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 10:32:09 -0500

Drill Sergeant duty was the most challenging and rewarding position I have held thus far. I was fortunate to be surrounded by awesome Drill Sergeants as well as Command teams at all levels. I can't believe they still have the article up (not to toot my own horn) ;-) from when I was selected to represent Ft. Knox as the Drill Sergeant of the present. Below is the picture and article if you care to read it. (Bravo Company "Bonecrushers" 2-46 IN, 2007-2009).

FORT KNOX, Ky. -- Staff Sgt. Mark Gomez recently completed the Senior Leaders Course (formerly known as the Advanced NCO Course) at Fort Gordon, Ga. He finished as the honor graduate by maintaining a grade point average of 97 percent, in addition to passing his physical training and field training exercise with flying colors.

On top of those, he won the Distinguished Leadership award, which is something his classmates voted on.

Gomez is a drill sergeant in Company B, 2nd Battalion, 46th Infantry on Fort Knox, and he loves it.

"I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing," Gomez said. "It's been a dream of mine ever since I was in basic; I love training new Soldiers."

With two tours to Iraq under his belt, Gomez is a qualified instructor and believes that experience helps him to train young Soldiers.

"(Soldiers in training) understand you know what you're talking about; they have more respect for you," he explained. "They know you functioned in combat situations, so they need to learn from you."

Gomez deployed with the 75th Field Artillery Brigade as well as the 555th Combat Engineer Brigade. He said the strongest NCO influence in his career came from a now-retired NCO .

"My last NCO at the 'Triple Nickel' taught me how to take care of Soldiers and train them while still taking care of myself and my career," Gomez said. "He taught me to balance Army life with civilian life."

The 27-year-old enlisted in the Army right out of high school, so he's been in nine years. The father of three children, Gomez said his wife is very supportive, even though being "on the trail" takes extra hours away from the family. She stays busy through the unit family readiness group, friends and their children.

In spite of the toll it takes on the family, Gomez is proud of his work.

"An NCO's job is rewarding; it's almost like being a teacher. You see (SITs) graduate and know how much you impacted them," he said. "They come in as civilians and walk across the stage as Soldiers. That is really rewarding."

He cites another example of an NCO's reward.

"One of my Soldiers from a combat tour in Iraq is now a coworker in the same company," Gomez said, "and he's also a drill (sergeant). I was his first NCO. I think I was a good influence."

No job, however, is without its drawbacks. If he could make one change in the NCO Corps, Gomez said, he would pump up the knowledge base.

"NCOs need more time to get together and go over NCO business to ensure everybody is training to standards," Gomez said. "Many NCOs today are very young; promotions come faster and perhaps some younger NCOs are in leadership jobs without the NCO knowledge they should have. Perhaps we just need some fine tuning of NCO knowledge."

That NCO knowledge, of course, is necessary to accomplish an NCO's most important job.

"The most important thing NCOs do is to take care of Soldiers and train them, set an example for them, be a good mentor, and show them what 'right' looks like," Gomez said.

According to Lt. Col. Matthew Coleman, the 2-46 Battalion commander, Gomez is a professional NCO who carries out his mission extremely well. "He is what 'right' looks like," Coleman said.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 14 at 2015 10:39 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 10:39:43 -0500

My most challenging assignment was as a non-qual on my first boat. The main reason it was challenging is because qualifying Submarines IS hard, but it was made worse by my attitude, lol...

A little background for the attitude: I was prior service Army when I joined the Navy. Because of this, I had a "staff" position at bootcamp and was the class leader in Nuclear Field Machinist's Mate "A" school and was promoted to PO3 upon completion. I washed out of Nuclear Power School and went to Basic Enlisted Submarine School. Because I was prior-service AND a Petty Officer, I was class-leader. When I went to Torpedoman's Mate "C" School, same story. I was DEFINITELY a "Full Bird Third", lol. THEN I got to my first boat.

In the Submarine community, if you're not qualified, it doesn't matter if you're a Chief (E-7), your opinion is invalid, lol... "If you don't have your Dolphins, you ain't shit..." This is a phenomenon I was not aware of and when I got to my boat, I had E-1's or 2's trying to give me an order and I was like, "Um, I'm a Petty Officer in the United States Navy, better recognize..." Uh... If I could have only had a chat with myself back then, life could've been SO much easier for me, lol...

Response by CW5 Sam R. Baker made Jan 14 at 2015 10:46 AM

CW5 Sam R. Baker — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 10:46:58 -0500

I think it is about to ensue..............Command Chief Warrant Officer

Response by 1SG Timothy Trewin made Jan 15 at 2015 5:55 AM

1SG Timothy Trewin — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:55:10 -0500

To me the most challenging position I have ever served in is Recruiter, especially in a town that is nowhere near an active duty Army base. You are the face of the Army, your job is sales based meaning that "no" is a very common word that all recruiters need to get used to hearing. They say that something like 90% of the country is not qualified for military service, it is your job to find the other 10% and show them how the Army is the right choice. You are constantly doing this while competing against the other branches, colleges, the private sector, and against stereotypes (i.e. join the Army and you will go to war and die, or the Army is the branch for those with no other options etc....). Once they are in you need to train them so they are somewhat competent before shipping.

I was told once that being recruiting was the purest form of leadership and when I first got there I doubted it, but after three years doing it I agree completely. You are their NCO but all you really have in your favor in regards to leading them is your natural charisma. You have little to no true authority over them, you can't counsel them for failure to appear or doing something (you can, but it holds absolutely no weight). Your only recourse for those who do not want to do the right thing is to threaten to remove them from the Army or actually do it which is exactly the opposite of what the Army and USAREC actually wants you to do. You have to keep these kids who change their mind like the wind motivated to ship when most of their friends and peer groups and in some cases schools are telling them they are making a huge mistake. Some kids join as a junior in high school and they won't ship off for 14 or more months so you as their leader have to keep them motivated for that long and ensure they actually graduate on time. Anyone who has teen would understand how flaky they can be at times.

Lastly you have to show them how the Army is right for them while giving them a strong dose of reality. In other words if you have a DUI give up on going medic or MP, or you don't have the scores for MI, or you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting firefighter, or how Airborne Ranger and Sniper are not MOS's. Also you have to motivate them while keeping them humble as most think they are doing the Army a favor by considering the Army. Plus you have to do all of this while dealing with constantly changing regulations and ensuring all paperwork is correct. It was without a doubt the most challenging assignment I have ever done.

Response by CPT Steven Harder made Jan 24 at 2015 11:00 PM

CPT Steven Harder — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 23:00:51 -0500

The most challenging position I ever had?

Easy one . . .

As a junior 1LT, I was assigned as the Post Operations Officer of FT Greely, AK. 634,000 acres, mainly training area. Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC), Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), approx.. 1,000 permanently assigned personnel, and up to 10,000+ visiting troops at any given time. Intel, NORAD, JTF plans, etc. Worst part was being over 100 miles from any real civilization, while dealing with temperature reaching over -60F.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 14 at 2016 2:52 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:52:34 -0500

I used to think it was being a DET SGT (zulu position) in Afghanistan 2002, but now being an officer for the past 13 years, and being the constant BN S-3 in an airborne battalion with no S-3 Air section for the past 8 years, is begining to kick my ass!!!