As a platoon sergeant starts his or her relationship with a new lieutenant, it is imperative that
he provides the best leadership for the platoon. The platoon sergeant must keep in mind that
he or she is training the future leadership of our Army. It is also important that the platoon
sergeant have an attitude that, it his duty to develop the lieutenant into the best commissioned
officer as possible. Any short coming of the lieutenant could cause poor decision making on the
battlefield or in combat. It was a passion as well as a commitment for me as a platoon sergeant
to give every bit of knowledge that I possess into making those individuals the best possible
lieutenants as well as future leaders to our young soldiers.
When arriving to a new unit the lieutenant first must meet with the commander to talk goals
both personal and professionally. The commander lets him or her know what the intent is for
the unit. This is the time for the lieutenant to ask questions pertaining to the direction that the
platoon should concentrate on. Once that has been established it’s all about the platoon’s
development, also the integration of the platoon. The lieutenant meets the soldiers of the
platoon and gives his intent based off the meeting with the commander. I always loved
when this was over so I could get my one on one with the lieutenant. My main purpose was to
make sure that the lieutenant understood that I was their senior advisor and that he or she was
only going to be successful as the platoon makes them. It’s all about team work and taking care
of the soldiers and also leading by example. That he or she should never put or ask the soldier
to do something that they themselves is not willing to do. Most of them paid very close
attention and then there were some who could care less about you being a proven combat
veteran with 15 to 17 years of dedicated service. Those that didn’t usually failed as platoon
leaders. These were usually the...