Colder Than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir was written and published by Joseph R. Owen in 1996. This book gives us a riveting point-of-view of the early and uncertain days of the Korean War through the eyes of Owen himself, as a platoon leader (PL) in a Marine rifle company. As a PL of a mortar section in Baker-One-Seven-Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment- Owen witnessed his hastily assembled men of a few regulars and reservists (who to mention some that have not gone to boot camp) quickly harden into the superb Baker-One-Seven known today. He makes it known quickly (in the foreword and the preface) that some of the major problems he initially encountered was due to how unprepared his unit was. Owen makes the …show more content…
Lt. Owen's mortar section had little to no experience on the weapon systems that they were working with. He trained them from darkness to darkness with consistent drills in different types of situations. Lt. Owen also admits that despite excess training before the war, their first battles were "far-from-perfect exercises." This made me realize that not only does an officer have to be adept at his duties, but he needs to motivate and instill to his soldiers the same level of proficiency, regardless of peace or war time. Also utilizing complacent time as a means to further train such as when they were at sea. From the lesson of training, I also realized the weight that officers hold when it comes to building trust, motivating, and pushing their soldiers. They are going to expect the utmost level of skill as well as professionalism that you must provide as an officer. In return, it is your right to expect the same level of excellence from your soldiers, being there to push them above the standard and holding them to being experts and professionals. This is a trait that no matter how skilled you or your soldiers may be, there will always be room for constant improvement and
The book is less concerned with describing their strategy and more with Sledge’s personal experience. This paper will include events that Sledge experienced and his life throughout the war in his own words. Sledge began his military career with a short stay at the Marion Military Institute. Sledge enlisted
Ulysses S. Grant, 1861-1863 The paper conducts a chronological examination of the impact operational education and experience had towards the rise of U.S. Grant as an operational commander, focusing on involvement during the initial two years of the American Civil War in the Western (Mississippi) Theater. The origins of Union Strategy, and Grant's evolution as an operational commander, is seen through operational experiences in early Civil War battles at Belmont, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg. Discussion cites the complementary nature of a firm moral foundation towards credibility as an operational leader and commander, highlighting experience as a key in the commander's education in balancing the operational factors of time,
I chose the book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick because it was recommended to me by First Lieutenant Smaldone. He had to read it as course material during his training at TBS (The Basic School). Officers go to TBS following Officer Candidate School where newly commissioned officers learn to lead and inspire fellow Marines. Black Hearts is a non-fiction story about the 502nd Infantry Regiment’s deployment to a region south of Baghdad, Iraq and it’s breakdown of leadership, morale, and discipline. The Unit was known as “The Black Heart Brigade.”
Captain Dennis Whittaker of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI) fought on the front line at The Battle of Dieppe. He explains how the officers had no real training. He said, “They simply played soldier on weekends. The CO, Colonel Bob Labatt, was a stockbroker.” Whittaker talks about Bob Labatt in the interview and emphasizes how he was very untrained and was not strategic or passionate about his job as a colonel.
In the weeks after the 1st Marines’ campaign on Guadalcanal—when naval lines were secure enough to fill supply needs to the rear, but not sufficient as yet to meet the needs of the Marines on the front—Leckie details one instance where he and a fellow soldier snuck to the rear and crawled into the food dump in search of anything edible to take back to their comrades. While Leckie weaves a likeable story of cat-and-mouse with those set as guard to the food dump, the story does not overlook the dire situation of the Marines on the frontline, who had subsisted for weeks on worm-ridden rice taken from Japanese soldiers killed in
he NCO 2020 strategy is focused on creating a system that will provide the NCOs with access to develop and broadening the experiences needed in both garrison and within operational environment. In addition, leaders will individually help to commit to long-term careers, which will be essentially focused on the development of educational, professional and with the fulfillment of having a ready force for war at all times. Essentially the strategy of the NCO 2020 is to have leaders at all levels understanding that the development of Soldiers must be constant and continuous throughout their career. The best way to expand and provide better NCO development is by focusing on proficiency in each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and leadership
This means we must communicate clearly and consistently with each other, train together, trust each other, and allow for Soldiers to be human every so often. As leaders, we often forget the challenges we faced as junior professionals, and we also don’t always know what is going on with the commands or Soldiers we support that may be making mission accomplishment challenging. The culture we instill within our Human Resources operations can either contribute to a climate of teamwork and taking care of Soldiers, or it can contribute to toxic leadership. It is up to us, as Human Resources Sergeants, to embody the Army Ethic, which consists of “the moral values, principles and martial virtues embedded in its culture that inspire and regulate ethical behavior by both Soldiers and the U.S. Army in the application of land combat in defense of and service to the Nation.” (The Profession of Arms, 2010) We must be the example for and instill confidence in our leadership, our peers, our subordinates, and our customers, the Soldiers.
The area manager, an O-6 in the navy was set to inspect my platoon on personal appearance, sailor knowledge, and in-place drill. In the weeks leading up to the inspection, my platoon was far from ready. My cadets wouldn’t be able to perform the most basic movements and commands, failing to answer a simple basic knowledge question correctly, and had no motivation to succeed in the upcoming inspection. I took action by motivating my subordinates through competition and positive reinforcement. I used the time I had effectively and pushed to prepare for the inspection.
Recognizing these qualities in future CET candidates is essential while selecting candidates that will become the next generation of CET’s. Although other competencies are required to become a successful CET, the six that were discussed in this paper are essential. The reliance and high expectations that Commanders have in CET’s is a result of the high standards that have been maintained by past and current CET’s. To ensure accurate recruitment, and investment of training dollars in future CET candidates, core competencies must be assessed and
This crucial battle proved to be the turning point for Caputo and the others. In the monsoon rains, insects, diseases, random sniper fire, and finally full out battles, the Marines charge into their notions of the war. They searched villages full of Viet Cong and crept along passages laden with explosive mines, trip wire, or ambushes. They hardly slept, ate cold food, and slashed through miles of jungle in the middle of the rain and with every step, they were running on a high that comes from staring down at death, knowing any of them could be shot by a sniper or blown to bits by a mine. This environment of high tension, however, came at a high price.
Lastly, as a Warrant Officer I am expected to be the subject matter expert in my field. With no knowledge of my personality or past, Soldiers will expect me to have a high amount of knowledge on my particular field; therefore, I will need to ensure their trust in my knowledge is not wasted. The new found responsibilities that await me offer up challenging new challenges. I have always been a firm believer in the value of hard work.
The background of the book RifleMan Dodd by C.S Foster takes place in the Napoleonic Wars. It 's about this English RifleMan who finds himself behind enemy lines of the French when his regiment was ordered to retreat. He attempts to turn back and catch up with his unit however French patrols cut off his route. the book goes into the details of Dodd 's journey within the now controlled French territory and how he finally managed to reunite with his regiment. Dodd 's bravery and commitment to carry out his duty with little promise of hope to survive was inspirational.
For example, Davis states,“ROTC had trained Oscar well: he knew how to motivate people. He made sure all of his that all of his team members were in the room and focused when he contacted experts to explain tough science concepts.” This explains that
As people and technology continue to evolve so do the ways we fight wars. There is currently a gap in the knowledge and skills between current Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) and the NCOs future operations will demand. This paper goes over what the NCO 2020 Strategy is and how it will close that gap. It will identify the reasons for the NCO 2020 Strategy, the end state, and tasks NCOs must complete in the interim to realize that end state. This paper starts with the statement of the overall vision and intent of this strategy before delving into the three Lines of Effort (LOE).
Leaders must apply the Army Values when leading soldiers because of the fact that it builds trust and a bond. The same goes for the soldiers, in order for them both to work as an effective team and to get the mission done efficiently they both must live by these values. Once these values are integrated in a soldier’s lifestyle, it becomes too easy to work as a unit. An example on how loyalty and respect fits in a day to day to situation would be, a soldier witnessing a misunderstanding with his or her team leader and a higher ranking NCO, the soldier knows that his or her team leader is in the right. The soldier shows loyalty by standing by their team leader and shows respect by approaching both their team leader and the higher ranking NCO with tact to explain the situation from their understanding and what they witnessed.