Lieutenant Rowan's Message In 'A Message To Garcia'

As leaders, we must maintain a clear separation between ourselves and those we lead, both, on and off duty. I’m not saying that you and I are better than anyone else; however, as leaders we are charged with tremendous responsibilities and are held to higher standards. To put in bluntly, “we cannot lead soldiers and act like the soldiers”. Do not be a soldier’s buddy! We cannot get away with the indiscretions that out soldiers may because we must lead by example.

For an example, Lieutenant McDonough had to learn how to deal with enlisted men for the first time. His soldiers were used to a distant, unpresent platoon leader who left all the leadership to the non-commissioned officer, so when he arrived, they treated him like a the clueless officer that they had before him. McDonough had to earn trust with his men and show them that he was willing to go out on patrols with them and reprimand them if they were being insubordinate. He struggled with this balance of trust and authority especially with the new soldiers he was sent after losing some of his originals in battle. He knew he had to utilize his NCO platoon sergeant, Hernandez, but Hernandez felt usurped because, when the previous platoon leader was in charge, he had most of the command of the soldiers in battle, and Lieutenant McDonough seemed to have taken some of that from him. McDonough, although having done his job, had to make repairs to that relationship with his

It is harder to actually step down and listen to what another Marine may have to offer, especially as a “Leader”. Plenty of times you will have to step up and say, “No, this is not up to interpretation”.

It is widely known that in the military you are assigned a great amount of responsibility at a young age and early point in your career. This amount of responsibility is far greater than a civilian would be assigned at the same age. When put in these leadership positions you rapidly acquire skills to care for, make decisions, and earn trust. On my first deployment, our Helicopter Assault Force consisted of two 47 crews decentralized from our higher command. Our senior ranking officer and Air Mission Commander was often just a Captain. Our Flight Lead was typically a W3 or W4 and was the primary decision maker when it came to mission analysis and courses of action development. It was our Captains job to ensure the risk levels were acceptable and sell our mission to higher command. With well-trained commissioned officers and extremely knowledgeable flight leads, we were able to operate with extreme efficiency from a decentralized location from higher command. Additionally the well-defined Commanders Intent and Key Tasks enabled us to meet both the ground force Commander’s goals and our higher command’s

Junior leaders found themselves fighting a counterinsurgency campaign for which they lacked the necessary expertise and equipment. Thanks to innovative and heroic leaders, the Army was able to adapt its doctrine, materiel, and operations to change the course of the Iraq war over a period of two to three years (The Profession of Arms page 9)”. As we try to adapt, NCOs as professionals and leaders must get through to the Soldiers and tell them that what we do is not just a nine to five job but a calling. We also need to look deep in ourselves and see if our alignments have changed as well. Are we here just to finish out and get our retirement?

A young male, First Lieutenant, in the Army will unknowingly become a man as men server under him. Becoming a man with such unspeakable responsibilities at such a young age can emotionally test even the strongest man. An example, of this transformation is in the short story by Tim O’Brien called, The Things They Carried, it shows a young, First Lieutenant, in the Vietnam War named Jimmy Cross, and his journey to become a successful leader, but only after the death of one of his men. This young, First Lieutenant, will have to come to the grips that other men’s lives are his responsibility. This task of keeping his troops alive will tremendously test Lt. Cross’s heart and soul, by choosing to lose a component of his own humanity along the way. There must be order at all times when you’re in charge of men’s lives, and Lt. Cross must become capable of setting aside his own personal mind-set and align his thoughts with that of the essential standard operating procedures (SOP). Lt Cross eventually decides to follow the SOP, and he finally understands the importance of having an SOP; sadly it comes at the expense of one of his own men. The SOP has allowed Army personal to their job with no reluctance, no matter the situation, quickly being able to adapting to change, always acting in the approved manner by which they shall treat others with dignity and respect, and always having honor in their county, unit, and fellow soldiers. It doesn’t matter if someone is enlisted or

When analyzing the mishaps of 1st platoon, one cannot help but to point out the many errors that resulted from poor leadership qualities. The Army publication ADP 6-22 characterizes leadership as “a complex mix of organizational, situational, and mission demands on a leader who applies personal qualities, abilities, and experiences to exert influence on the organization, its people, the situation, and the unfolding mission. Difficult and complex situations are the proving ground for leaders expected to make consistent timely, effective and just decisions. (Army Leader Defined, 2012)” A lack of effective leadership was the main cause, among many others, which led to the downfall of 1st platoon and can be said to be major contributors to the gruesome incident that occurred. One example of ineffective leadership can be directed towards 3rd squad leader SGT Tony Yribe; despite all the respect and consideration of being so hooah and godlike in the eyes of younger soldiers, Yribe still has something that every human on this planet has…imperfections. To illustrate, Yribe was known

He helped make seatbelts in cars to keep people from hitting the seat in front of them or the windshield. A lot of people didn’t use them, but some did and were kept safe. Lesson 7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong. Mr. McNamara talks about how people often see what they want to see, not what is really there. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was also talked about and whether or not an attack actually did happen.

I believe the lesson to be taken from A Message to Garcia is to do your assigned tasks without asking questions. If you are told to do something, you were specifically told because you were picked of all the other people in your vicinity. No matter the task, you are held responsible. Any task you have is Garcia and you must complete that task and carry the message to Garcia. The length of the assignment depends entirely on your individual choice. If you waste time by asking questions, you needlessly prolong the journey and the task inevitably gets difficult because of the procrastination. Garcia doesn’t want to wait for you, he’ll move around, making it harder for you if you waste time. If you get straight to work, the length will be shorter and will be easier. You should be able to

Gunter Annex, AL: Author. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. (2016e). EL05, Critical Thinking.

The current situation faced by the 56th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is a classic example of the effects of war on people and organizations, where the “before the war” state of both is dramatically changed on “the other side.” The current “other side” of the 56th ABCT is an organization that has been beleaguered by the ambiguous command structure of war; an unexpected, prolonged deployment; the loss of key leaders; operational and personal friction during war; the inability to adapt to demands of doing more with less and not being properly equipped and trained to conduct stability operations. The 56th ABCT’s “face of battle” is one that has been negatively affected by “the eye of command.” The only thing certain about war, as

The significant experience from my life was serving in the 82nd Airborne Division and earning the parachutist badge has challenged and shaped me as a leader. As a junior officer, the 82nd Airborne Division affords Soldiers the opportunity to serve among this prestigious unit, as a result of the thousands of unnamed paratroopers in jump boots, baggy pants and maroon berets, who have always been ready and willing to jump into danger and then drive on until the mission was accomplished (US Army, 82nd Division Homepage). The 82nd Airborne leadership demands that every Soldier are held to highest standards, as a result of one battalion within the 82nd Airborne Division remains permanently on 18 hours standby, ready to be deployed anywhere in the

The Human Resources Sergeant has to continue to strive to balance their role as a leader of the Army, and this is no easy feat. The continuous challenge for the strategic leaders of the Army since the latter decades of the 19th century when the U.S. Army was professionalized has been to keep the Army “balanced.” (p. 8). Balancing the mission, Soldier care and family along with the administrative functions of the Human Resources Sergeant is crucial. In order to keep this nation secure and our soldier’s safe the Human Resource Sergeant must ensure that the proper documents are complete, as necessary. They must also be able to sustain continuity in the mission, which in turn will free the soldier of worry while deployed. This will build the trust factor between the personnel section and the service member as well as their leadership, and allow them to focus on their sworn

In conclusion, Major Robert Rogers was a very influential leader in his time and has remained one for generations of leaders since. He has served as an influential leader for me by showing me how to be successful in my career by constantly adapting to the situation and giving my Soldiers clear guidance to adhere to. Likewise, he also has served as an example to me that not all people are perfect and that if we cannot balance our lives, it is likely that one side will destroy the other. I have learned from his example that it is important to recognize a need for that balance, as well as to identify in ourselves and our Soldiers when that misbalance can lead to destructive behavior that undermines our successes and

Leadership, accountability, efficiency, morale, and a sense of order all depend upon your chain of command. Why it is important to follow proper instruction procedures in the military is for many reasons. As military personnel, it is our responsibility to not only follow instruction/orders, but to execute the command. Not following orders can result into consequences not only for the personnel whom committed not following instructions, but also it can put others at risk too. Like your NCO in charge of you, to your Team Leader, to your Platoon Sergeant, to your 1st Sergeant, to your Company Commander, to your Brigade Commander, and so on. Not only can your NCO in charge of you, your Team Leader, your Platoon Sergeant, your 1st Sergeant, your Company Commander, and your Brigade Commander could all get into trouble for your actions of not following direct instructions/orders. But some may lose rank in the process including the personnel whom didn’t follow the specific instructions/orders giving by a personnel higher rank than those individual personnel. Also when you are down range deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and other combat places we have our units fighting the war at, not only can a personnel lose rank but in fact not following directions/orders you could get a personnel fighting alongside of you in the war killed in combat but you as well. Try to explain to a spouse, or a