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
This concise paper addresses a lifetime of learning on part of the author and the gracious graduated squadron commander interviewee who leant his time and wisdom. In the next few paragraphs the three key elements that will be addressed include: the author’s leadership philosophy, elicited in the hot seat from
Gunnery Sergeant’s Importance As the Company Gunnery Sergeant for VMF 214, my main responsibility is, to ensure that the strategies developed to improved command climate aboard VMF 214 are planned and executed properly to ensure maximum success. Communication among the SNCOs
Naval Aviation Throughout the history of Naval Aviation, one can see a growing force. As new technology and innovations arose and advanced, Naval Aviation improved as well. In times of war and peace, through training and dedication, naval aviators improved their abilities and tactics to produce the fighting force it is today. If by chance, the “revolt of the admirals” had failed, the United States Military would not be what it is today and the Navy could not have the liberty of enjoying the Mahanian concept of commanding the sea.
The Marine Corps ability to execute in such an environment hinges on the MAGTF’s center of gravity, the Aviation Combat Element (ACE), and specifically its ‘game-changer’, the MV-22 Osprey. The unique capabilities of this aircraft, especially when coupled with the refueling capability of the C-130, truly provide a unique and efficient method to flow forces over distances inconceivable merely a generation ago. In this instance, the aircraft is the innovation: determining to apply a unique capability in regions of instability is simply logical. However, the semantics of what qualifies innovation is inconsequential. Marines, deployed as a self-contained package, with all of their associated things, can rapidly respond to crisis, bridge gaps between
The significance for our military to be reactive and versatile has proved to be critical over the past 15 years as a nation at war. Expeditionary Force 21, is a blueprint that presents expectations of the Marine Corps to develop its forces in order to perform in a multifunctional facet in any Global Combatant Command (GCC). This document delivers the framework that will allow the Marine Corps to prosper in an operating environment that is ambiguous in nature, by providing them the guidance in organizational strategy, 13 areas of significant focus, and a concept for deployment and employment.
During the course of my career, I have had the pleasure of working for many talented leaders. In many cases, it wasn’t until years later that I realized how they guided and shaped my development as an officer. However, these revelations didn’t come to me as I reflected on their actions, rather they came to me as I reflected on the actions of those officers who demonstrated the poorest example of what a leader should be. One field grade officer in particular stands out as someone who conflicted with the mission command philosophy of command at every turn and serves as an enduring example of what a leader should not be.
Once he took command, his innovative side took over and he immediately started to make changes. He understood his weaknesses, and allowed his men to train him in order to make him a better pilot. He routinely flew in the number 2 position of the formation, until his skills were honed to perfection. During this time, pilots were assigned as flight leads based off rank. Olds’ displayed intellectual humility, as a part of his critical thinking skills, to change the current thinking of using the highest ranking individual as flight lead, versus putting the pilot with the most experience in that position…it should be based off skill, not rank. Even being the Wing Commander, Olds’ often wore a flight suit without rank, and let his lower ranking, more qualified officers lead the mission (badass, 2012). A true sign of being a visionary and transformational leader, Olds used the all of the 4 “I’s” (Individualized Consideration, Intellectual Stimulation, Inspirational Motivation, and Idealized Influence) while making these decisions, and his men loved him for it (CF02SG, 2012, pg 22-23). He fostered inclusive environments by putting the whole wing under the same 24-hour clock as the combat crews, and visited the support organizations to find out the true problems and help fix them (Boyne, 2008). Now that BG Olds’ visionary leadership traits have been discussed, let’s explore his
Synthesis Essay - General Billy Mitchell MSgt Robert C. Poore Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy Class 15-C 7 April 2015 Instructor: SMSgt Stephen Kramer General Billy Mitchell “Guilty of Insubordination!” This was the verdict in the court martial of General William “Billy” Mitchell. General Mitchell spent his adult life pursuing his ideal of a separate Air Service recognized as a dominant force in military capabilities, but his actions in pursuit of his beliefs undermined military leadership at the time. General Billy Mitchell was a Visionary Leader but his decisions also made him an Unethical Leader. To solidify this claim, we will examine how General Mitchell’s forward thinking and refusal to accept the status quo led to the creation of the modern Air Force, how his tactics to realize his vision were not ethical, and how his visionary, but unethical leadership traits and behaviors are relevant to examples of my own leadership behaviors.
The Makings of MacArthur Throughout history, the United States military has given birth to many highly successful leaders and generals. General Douglas MacArthur has long been considered as one of these leaders. Although historians have scrutinized his failures , he has maintained a prominent reputation as an
Several functions are required within the organization that ensures a high level of combat readiness, technical directives being one of them. The unit commanders’ mission is the continuous training of Marines in basic ground combat fighting, piloting, and aircraft maintenance. Chang and Wang (2010) state that if senior civil aviation leadership focus on factors related to aircraft maintenance, they can drastically reduce human errors and cost (Chang & Wang, 2010, pp. 56-62). Helicopter Marine Light Attack squadron 469 maintenance department is comprised of 293 personnel on average with different skill sets responsible for the day to day operations and requires intimate involvement by senior leadership to succeed.
SUMMARY: With over 28 years of education and experience in the Marine Corps’ Ammunition/Explosives Occupational Field, an active Secret clearance, and thorough knowledge of military policies, government contracts and leadership hierarchy, I am a retired USMC officer ready for the next challenge. My experiences have allowed me to grow in many different management areas: program management, Defense Acquisition, logistics, configuration management, creating budget exhibits that included briefing senior leadership, quality assurance, production audits, establishing plans of action and milestones, personnel supervision and, foreign military sales.
1. Kodiak Alaska based U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) flight crews work in a 4,000,000-square-mile area of responsibility (AOR) operating in some of the most challenging weather condition to protect lives. It is easy to see that these crews must have the best training and must maintain peak proficiency in order to safely execute required missions. Yet Kodiak flight crews are arguably the least proficient in the USCG. Most units in the lower 48 states have several operational Small Boat Stations within their AOR to conduct practice hoist evolutions. Air Station Kodiak has no nearby stations and only 1 training boat available 7 or 8 months a year. Ref. (a) requires that all Flight Mechanics (FM) complete 1 boat hoist within the previous 90 days to
As the years past the Army began a new era of movements and adjustments that affected many units and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade was one of the first units to be effected by the Army’s Aviation restructuring. The Army’s Aviation Restructuring Initiative (ARI) was proposed in October 2013, by “the Army Chief of Staff” (Tan, 2015 Para. 1). Ultimately, the ARI was projected to remove more than 10,000 positions “by eliminating active-component and reserve-component units from the Army’s force structure” (Tan 2015 Para. 1). Before the restructuration of the 12th CAB, there was “a mix of three assault and support battalions in Katterbach, and two smaller units in Stuttgart” (Gould, 2015 Para 1). The ARI also meant that many units would “be
Naval Aviation Enterprise which includes Marine Corps Aviation was facing hardship and inordinate challenges in 2011. The number of missions for flying was increased by 10% , the operating budget was deducted by $1.5 billion and for personnel, it was deducted in 70000. The aircraft was obsolete and filled with enormous uncertainty. The operating conditions were too unharmonious. Therefore, a panic-stricken atmosphere was created among the young Navy due to unavailability of the needed aircrafts. These circumstances forced the Navy to make some outstanding shift of improvements to fulfill the upcoming requirements. And, the response came out in the form of new resuscitated and reengineered system by using an Enterprise AIR program to deliver speed with direction, called as VELOCITY. They knew that making everything better, cheaper and faster is not their goal. Instead, focussing on continuous process improvement should be their focus to get a new direction and it will work as an optical lens. And then, they had planned to integrate all the efforts to pull off the bottom line effects. The leaders had set up a new direction called Enterprise Air which encompasses of the Theory of constraint, Lean, Six Sigma. In the paper, AGI- Goldratt tells about the combination of Theory of constraint, Lean and Six Sigma, and he concludes that the velocity concept would be a powerful impetus to impel the Enterprise AIR to achieve focused system improvement. Although, Enterprise AIR primary