As a second lieutenant, one of the things I have a hard time with is letting non-commissioned officers (NCOs) handle things.
The normal process for PT is to let one of the sergeants conduct the stretching exercises. If he makes a mistake, it's best to let one of his peers correct him. This morning, I made a mistake. I assumed the atmosphere was a bit more ... collegial ... than it actually is, and spoke up when I should have kept quiet.
As we spread out for stretching, one of the steps is for the even-numbered ranks to take a step to the left. The NCO in charge today forgot that step, so I asked (louder than I should have), "Even numbers uncover?" It was a small thing for me, but it had a wider impact.
Later, one of the other NCOs pulled me aside and corrected me for having embarrassed the guy in front of the other soldiers.
So the lesson here is: officers need to be careful to preserve NCOs' command authority in front of their subordinates. I'm still learning it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I'm glad you learned from this. You have to have t... I'm glad you learned from this. You have to have trust in your NCO's, remember most of them have more experience than you. It's not to say they are right, for we all make mistakes. Fortunatly it was not a big deal.
As for the NCO who corrected you, I hope he was respectful of your rank.
Take care.
TSgt Dad Retired :-)
Post a Comment