By Maj. John Lowe
J37 Joint
Training Officer, Joint Forces Headquarters
December 20, 2011
What I found was that both components were just as bad as the National Guard when it came to making OPD part of the training schedule and then actually executing well thought-out, meaningful OPD. I also found that these young officers were truly hungry for mentoring and OPD that would help them in their current assignment and beyond. But more importantly I found them all groping for some way to become better men and women.
I scheduled an hour during the duty day every week at the
same time on the same day so it was part of their routine schedule. The
sessions were interactive with every lieutenant participating ; most sessions involved
advance preparation - or as some would call it, homework. Making OPD
participatory both during the actual session and in between meetings allows you
to see who is committed to expanding their knowledge and who may need
additional mentoring and direction. It also leads to some robust professional
discussions.
An excellent book to get your program started is the Challenge of Command by Roger H. Nye. I
used this book in Iraq with extremely positive feedback from the officers. The
book has eight chapters and an epilogue and each can be used for an OPD
session. Those chapters are: Visions of our military selves; The challenges of
Command; The Company Commander; The commander as tactician; The
commander as warrior; The commander as moral arbiter; The Commander’s concept
of duty; The Commander as strategist;
and the epilogue, the Commander as
mentor. The key feature of this book is
that during the course of each chapter it references books that will assist in
the development of every officer. At the end of every chapter the author lists
books that relate back to that particular chapter and would be useful for individual
study and development as well as for use in future OPD sessions.
As you read through the Challenge of Command you can very
easily pick out questions and topics for further discussion. I provided a PDF
copy to every lieutenant of the chapter to be discussed a week ahead of our
scheduled OPD session and they knew the expectation was that they come prepared
to discuss the chapter. For my part I went through the chapter and formulated
questions for discussion, which as mentioned is easy with this book.
After completing the Challenge of Command I conducted a
session on developing leadership/command philosophy. I was shocked to find out
that not one company commander under our command had a written command philosophy.
I discussed four key questions with the company executive officers: why have a
written leadership/command philosophy; what should it include; how long it
should be; and how it should be developed. At the conclusion of our sessions
each officer had to write his own philosophy for the final session. Each
philosophy was passed around until everyone had a chance to read each other’s.
Then they were critiqued in an open professional discussion.
Another topic that was discussed was toxic leadership, which
turned out to be an extremely relevant topic. I had all the executive officers
read the article “Toxic Leadership” by Colonel George E. Reed. I based our
discussions on this article along with my own personal experiences. In the
course of our discussions on toxic leadership it was revealed that the majority
of these young officers had experienced a toxic leader. We discussed how they
coped with it, what effect it had on the unit, what they would have done
differently, and how they will deal with it in the future should they encounter
a toxic leader again.
Another option for professional development is for
commanders to develop a professional reading list that is relevant to your
unit. For instance, if your unit is going to deploy to Afghanistan you could
develop a reading list based on your deployment and tailor it by position. Joint
Forces Command actually publishes an Afghanistan reading list which you could
use to develop your own. (I have listed the link below). An infantry company
commander may want all his lieutenants to read the Small Unit Leaders Guide to Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan 101, The Other
Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet- Afghan War, and
selected CALL (Center for Army Lessons Learned) products. The commander would
be wise to assign additional reading by position that is specific for that
position. For the company XO, select readings on logistics & maintenance
from FMs, CALL products and CTC (Combat Training Center) bulletins. The
commander may want to assign platoon leaders readings on tactics, the use of
dismounted infantry in the offense, as well as selected articles relevant to
Afghanistan from CALL and CTC center publications.
The idea here is to take the time to develop a reading list
for all your officers based on the unit you command and focus the reading by
position and relevancy to upcoming training and or deployments. There is a wealth of books, periodicals, CALL
& CTC publications that will fit every unit and every position. Once you have your list in place hold regular
sessions with your officers to discuss how their reading is going, what they
are learning and how it applies to your unit. You now have your OPD program that
will not only help develop your officers but also keep them focused on war
fighting and the upcoming deployment or training rotation.
Commanders can use this not only for deployment to Iraq and
Afghanistan but Kosovo, the National Training Center and other Combat Training
Centers.
Some naysayers will say there isn’t enough time on drill
weekends and we already try and pack too much into the weekend. I would say to
those naysayers that we cannot afford not to develop our young officers as they
are the future of the organization. Often there is a lot of time wasted on
drill weekends so I don’t buy the excuse that there isn’t time. Meeting an hour
either before the unit assembles or for an hour after everyone is released,
during lunch or during the evening meal are a few options.
As leaders we owe it to our subordinates to mentor and
develop not only the young officers, but all officers under our charge for they
are the future. Implementing a robust
Officer Professional Development Program is a great place to start. If you take
the time to build a quality OPD program and make it part of your routine
training and not relegate it to second class status or a time filler, I think
you will find it will pay big dividends.
Links you may find useful to do your research in order to
develop your OPD Program:
- Army War college book review
- Center for army lessons learned
- Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries, Donovan Research Library, USArmor Research Library
- USMC Doctrine
- USMC Commandant reading list
- JFCOM Afghanistan Reading List
- JLLIS
- Link to CTC Bulletins on the CALL Website
- Company Command Forum
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