clarythedrill said:
Tribe2013 said:
clarythedrill said:
crunchyo said:
Things have been bad. My boss doesn't grasp how much logistics controls a headquarters unit.
So you are saying an O5 Battalion commander doesnt know what an HHC is supposed to be doing? Chances are he/she had a line company and an HHC to get a battalion command.
12 months of command is required to get promoted to MAJ. 18 months MAJ KD time is required for promotion to LTC. There is no requirement for a second command for anything.
The point is that if you make Battalion Commander, you are not a dumb person, and with the schooling that goes with gaining that position, he/she knows how to utilize his command better than a company grade.
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He doesn't grasp how slowly a unit like this moves. He doesn't grasp that we need recovery time from the field. He doesn't grasp that we need time to pack for a CTC rotation. To top it off, the CSM is definitely the Alpha in the relationship and constantly has my 1SG chasing his tail with crap that literally doesn't matter. Things like, having vehicles and drivers staged for movements to a field site that no one uses.
Good on your CSM, as that is a forcing function to ensure his battalion has properly licensed drivers and all the equipment is being maintained and dispatched properly. This is very common in a Combat Arms battalion.
This is not common. The Master Driver is the forcing function to ensure drivers licenses. The BMO and Tech are the forcing functinos to ensure maintenance and dispatching. Staging vehicles does not accomplish either of the things you're insinuating; it's actually a disincentive since the commander clearly realizes it's a false deployment, so he doesn't need to actually allocate appropriate resources to the task.
BS. The Master Driver certifies the training, but has no say in forcing any company to have a certain number of drivers or users available for the vehicles in the motor pool. By forcing all vehicles to be dispatched, it forces maintenance to be performed on all vehicles and that they go through a QA/QC process to ensure they are mechanically correct and safe to leave the motor pool. If you think this is a bad thing, well, that just tells me you don't care too much about your OR rating.
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having him facilitate the change out of M16s for M4s for his personal drivers,
Ya, I do not agree with this, unless the MTOE says that is what the command drivers get. If not, simply let him know that by MTOE they do not get one.
Sergeants Major are not MTOE'd drivers below the Corps command group level. Individual weapons are not MTOE'd to individual positions at any level. Stop promulgating this crap. It's baffling to me how people quote DA Pams without ever having opened them.
No kidding, but the CSMs driver comes from somewhere, and the position he came from is authorized a certain weapon by MTOE. The driver gets what ever weapon he would be authorized if he was in his actual position. Clear enough? If you are a rifleman, you are MTOEed an M4. If you are the SAW gunner, then by MTOE you are authorized the M249. Pretty simple.
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or constantly changing the TOC layout,
There are a lot of things the CSM does at the behest of the Commander, that people dont know about. Maybe this is one of those times? We have changed our TOC numerous times until we found out what really worked the best. Sometimes change, simply for the sake of change, is a good thing. And sometimes not. Seeing as how the TOC is controlled by the battalion XO, what does he have to say about these changes?
If the Commander or CSM are concerned about the TOC layout, they are focusing on the wrong issues, which only strengthen's the good captain's unit concerns. Nothing in the TOC is the CSM's lane. Changing things just for the sake of changing things is not a good thing. There is an SOP TOC layout for a reason, so that the S3 monkeys can quickly jump the TOC in a movement without having to stop and wonder where they should put the stupid plasma TV this time.
SOPs change over time, and each Battalion Commander likes to put his spin on the TOC. Are you saying that if the TOC is not functioning to his liking he will not say anything? A poorly functioning TOC will make the Commanders life more difficult as they will not be providing him with the info he needs when he needs it. Its called information management. In the last 18 months my battalion did two NTC with all train up and multiple gunneries, and a nine month deployment to Korea. Our TOC changed/streamlined several times due to lessons learned. I have never seen an SOP that never changed due to it being perfect the first time. I guess you have. Lucky you.
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forcing my 1SG to have to dig through containers or get equipment from other troops, etc.
Again, this could be a forcing function to ensure all equipment is accounted for, serviceable, and people are trained to use it properly. I am digging it.
Pillaging containers is a way to ensure property accountability, serviceability, and training? Odd methods, at best. I bet the PBO is excited for the backup...
Who said anything about pilfering containers? There are lots of types of equipment that does not get utilized because some are too lazy to learn to use it and maintain it. Nothing wrong with being forced to take equipment out and use it.
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The best part: last week we got back from 3 weeks in the field. Everything is muddy as all get out. We were supposed to recover this week, and then loadout our containers for a CTC rotation the next work week (first week back after the holidays). Anyway, I get an email from one of the S3 minions today at 1627 that says something to the affect of, "Appoint a POC for an M203 range and be ready to brief the colonel at 1000 tomorrow." WTF?! No...I will not be ready because I am about to leave for my daughter's recital in the next hour.
You and your 1SG should have ensured you have plenty of NCOs who are Range Safety certified on all weapons in your Arms Rooms. Most posts only require a SSG to be the RSO/OIC of a small arms range. If you do, it is really easy to plug and play an NCO into running a range. I understand you are in an aviation unit and yall are different birds (no pun intended), but plan for and train for worst case scenarios, as they happen more so than you think.
Having range NCOs, etc, has nothing to do with his complaint. He never said he couldn't meet the manning requirements, he said he was frustrated with the flash to bang time from the S3 shop. Plus, if you have any awareness of ammo accounts, you would realize it's probably impossible to get ammo allocated by 10 am anyway.
Reread the OPs post. It said to be ready to BRIEF the commander by 1000 the next morning, not execute a range. If he had trained NCOs, its simple as hell to plug and name into a range briefing (that should already be built for all ranges anyway) and be ready to go. Running a small arms range is one of the easiest jobs to do in the Army. To not be ready to run one on short notice is a lack of having trained NCOs to run them. Companies do not allocate ammo, the battalion Lands and Ammo NCO does. And ranges are scheduled and planned at LEAST 6 weeks or longer in advance, as RUFMIS will not allow things to happen quicker in most cases.
Everything above is my opinion gained from over two decades of service, including a line and HHT 1SG, and several assignments as an OPS SGM and CSM in more than just combat arms units. Are units different in many aspects? Yep. But some things remain true regardless of what type of unit you are in.
Have a good day.
CSM- I am sorry but you are missing what I am saying in nearly every statement. Tribe hit all of my points spot on. I feel that you have been taught over time that lack of training is a failure on leadership, but in reality, you can't be trained proficiently on everything. Putting subordinate leaders into crappy situations is the root of the problem here.
As far as forcing soldiers to use obsolete equipment in containers, just for the sake of using it, is unintelligent. If you have two tires in your garage, one that is brand new and one that is bald, which do you use? Of course you use the new one. The capabilities are far greater. It will last longer, give better traction, dissipate rain water better, etc. Using a bald tire just for the sake of using a bald tire doesn't make your car perform better.
TOC - it's not the LTC changing it. It's the CSM. End of story.
CSM drivers - they are MTOEd whatever the hell I tell the armorer to put on the MAL. If I want to give them a boomerang and some ninja stars to throw at people, then that is what they are taking to combat. I need my M4s for my pilots because they physically cannot put M16s into their aircraft; it won't fit. We don't have riflemen, sawgunners, and crew served gunners in aviation. Sure, some people 'man' those systems part time, but don't forget, we are made up of aircraft mechanics, flight operations, pilots, etc. No one in aviation is kicking in doors or sticking M1 turrets in the enemy's backside.
Staging vehicles - there was no intent for my 1SG to stage vehicles other than to move people. CSM realized his errors of it sucking to take a 45 minute ride in the cold in the back of the LMTV, and they decided to take HMMWVs instead. The vehicles were already dispatched anyway. We just had to move the vehicles to the pickup location, and that is where they sat...while no one used them.
