A topic for discussion

[Mud Crawler]

I read something on this site that said:An officer as duty to be his men‘s champion. I agree with that , if a NCO can‘t thrust his officer who leads him into combat, he might as well desert army or i don‘t know.My father also said to me: Be good to your men because you command them, but in the end they are the ones who save your life.

 

[jimiscanadian99]

gentelmen: In my opinion, an officer will get a lot more respect from his troops if he puts their welfare ahead of his own. This may mean that he gets a cold meal, because he made sure the troops ate before he did, or he may still be out in the rain making sure that all positions are well sighted, and the men are properly informed for the night‘s operations, and patrols. It may also mean that he goes to bat for a soldier who has gotten himself in trouble outside of duty hours, and needs to be "advised" to get his act together, but does not need to be put on a charge. The best officers have learned that they may command, and promulgate orders, but the real power lies with the NCO‘s, and co-operation is much better than confrontation, anyday. The final point I will make is that the "Good" officers in my past are still memorable, but the rest are dim memories. JIM

 

[the patriot]

Here is an anecdote that all officers should live by:

The safety, honour & welfare of your country comes first, always & every time.

The honour, welfare & comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort & safety come last, always & every time.

-the patriot-

 

[Mud Crawler]

Thx
I know I‘d never ask any of my men to do something i wouldn‘t do, cuz its too dangerous or anything.I think id rather do it myself

 

[RCA]

Be careful with that last one. You are a leader and by definition you MUST be able to motivate your people to do things they might not be necessarly do in normal circumstances. (This is also an NCOs job, but he is also backing you up.) All your men need is that they know that you are not asking them to do something that you wouln‘t do. You must be able to know when to get your hands dirty and when to stand back and observe. In battle your job is to lead and not get caught so your to close to infuece other to those beside you. Can‘t see the forest but for the trees.

Ubique

 

[JRMACDONALD]

Apoligize for my absence,just spent a wonderful wknd, in the bush, doing Infantry stuff, with a great bunch of Res F troops! Their low level of knowledge/ experience, was greatly offset by their willing to learn, personal drive and motivation. It was tiring but enjoyable ( I was re motivated by their example!)

RCA- re: your comment to Mud crawler on NCOs. ON TARGET! FIRE FOR EFFECT! re- your last post, on leadership- ditto!

the patriot- remember the old" mission/troops/self?"

Mud Crawler- good effort,always strive to improve your command and use of the language( How can you get people to do the job , if they don‘t understand you!?) ( leave the "bar talk/ language" ie "swearing" for mess debates, or when you really need it!) "never order the troops to do , what you won‘t do" -- like RCA says that is a hard one, sometimes you have to. It seems you are developing a good understanding of Leadership by Example. GOOD LAD!

 

[Andyboy]

Having just returned from a weekend ex myself I have a couple of points for anyone who wants to listen.

First there seems to be a trend towards ignoring the advice/experience of NCOs on training.

There seems to be a trend on the part of Junior officers in ignoring their own jobs while trying to do that of their senior NCOs.

Any comments?

On another somewhat unrelated topic how are we going to improve the knowledge base of the CPL/Pte and junior NCOs under the current budget/doctrinal restraints?

 

[Shabadoo]

Well if it isn‘t Andyboy.

 

[pat]

Well it is a combanation of short comings that will bring down the moltia. The large magority of the regular force JR NCM‘s were from the res world. One part is lack of funding. The res world has to compete with the cadet world. The reserves should not be grouped with the cadets, and vice a versa. As for the are res there is no function or clear roll. Thus traing is non - exsitanant, or is geered to what is fun and will keep pepole in the unit. The navy res is mandated to provided harbour security and man the coastal defence ships. The air res actualy have SQN‘s with aircraft. Thier courese are the same as the reg force and thier training aand equpment os the same as their counter parts. In the army res restructureing they are looking to cut down on the amount of time to teach a course to pump out the numbers. The teaching is left to the area commander to make sure that the national standards are meet. (let‘s be serious). The army reserves are just starting to be issued the same kit as the reg force. Why were they ever denied that in the first place. Why were they denied the same modern equipment as the reg force. Ex. Every reg solider in a field unit is issued a gas mask as part as thier webbing. Most res units only have a hand full to go around. Lastly what is the role of the army res. Agent the reg force. That is a perty brode role. Agument them as a hole brigade? A sub unit? or just a pool of pepole when need. If it‘s just a pool to draw on, why are they takeing contractors over on the next rotto? to give the reg force a brake. Isn‘t that what the army res is for???

 

[Mud Crawler]

I think I found someone who writes worse than I do!
just kidding pal
Alright, I think I get the point on "I wouldn‘t order my...bla bla bla".The thing is, in my opinion, an officer always has to put the lives of his men in the balance and weigh what they are worth, as to wether filling that or that mission abjective was really worth loosing 2 men and injuring 3.Of course, the ultimate objective is to NOT loose a life, but, sadly, I learned from personnal experience that nothing ever goes acording to plans.Yep, i screwed sometimes in life and i saw poeple screw!

About that thing on not listening to NCOs who got more experience than I, i think that would be dumb.It would be like not listening to your instructors in basic training except you command him.

Thank you all for your answers,I‘ll preciously keep them in mind!

 

[bossi]

To answer the "original" question ("how effective is the Militia"):

During the Ice Storm 40 per cent of forces deployed in Ontario were reservists (2,000 out of 5,000) - not too shabby.

Turning now to "effectiveness", it‘s the old story - it‘s a poor craftsman who blames his tools (in other words, I‘m sick and tired of hearing complaints from one component slagging off the other. I‘d much rather hear and see good examples being set for each other, if cooperation is too much to ask ...)

Dileas Gu Brath
M.A. Bossi, Esquire