Leadership

When I was 18 years old, I attended Petroleum Supply Specialist (92F) Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Lee, Virginia.  I was assigned to Victor Company. The senior drill sergeant would select from among the platoon peer leaders to fill the position of platoon leader, assistant platoon leader, and 4 squad leaders. Their primary job was to get accountability, always knowing who was where. Also, they were responsible for ensuring good communication and marching Soldiers to meals or the bus. Our particular senior drill sergeant was notorious for firing platoon leaders if they messed up. Platoon leaders generally lasted a week, two weeks if they were really squared away. In hindsight, I believe he did this for two reasons: to distribute the workload because peer leadership required additional work on top of all the schoolwork that is the primary focus, and also so that more Soldiers had the opportunity to lead. About two weeks into the eleven-week training, the senior drill sergeant fired the platoon leader and assistant platoon leader because when they reported accountability at first formation, their numbers didn't add up (for example, 120 assigned, 110 present, 4 on fireguard, 4 on sick call). As we were marching to the bus, the senior drill sergeant called SPC Manchev and me to fall out and come talk to him. He said that the two of us had the highest test scores on the first test of the course, so he wanted one of us to be the platoon leader and the other to be the assistant platoon leader. Then he paused. We looked at each other, and I said that I would be the platoon leader. SPC Manchev didn't object, so I was picked. The senior drill sergeant was impressed with my initiative, so he said ok, the job is yours. Unrelated to being selected, but relevant to the story, I was getting a cold and had a little bit of a raspy voice. I noticed that platoon leaders generally struggled on their first morning to get the count, especially when you are doing it in front of everyone and have to do the math in your head. So that night, I gathered the squad leaders and asked them to have everyone out a couple of minutes early since it was our first time.  I also said that I needed them to have their counts before I called the formation to fall in so that I could get them, write them down, add up the numbers, and have my report ready.  I noticed that the drill sergeants never checked that the squad leaders' numbers matched the platoon leader's, but they would always check that the platoon leader's numbers added up to the number assigned. So I told them that I wasn't going to listen to what they reported. When I called for their report, I was going to go off the number that they had already given me because doing mental math under pressure was asking for trouble.  Everyone agreed.  The next morning, my cold had gotten worse, and I had completely lost my voice, so I was screeching and cracking my voice just getting the numbers out.  But I overheard the senior drill sergeant tell another drill sergeant that that was the best first day accountability report he had heard, and he was impressed. Since our platoon was the first at formation and our report was pristeen we were released to go get breakfast first. I called the formation to right face, countercolumn march. The platoon started going and were pretty excited that we got to go first. But, as this was all new soldiers, they weren't in step with their marching.  As the platoon leader, it was my job to call a cadence to get everyone in step. But my voice was gone. The senior drill sergeant got mad that everyone was out of step. He yelled at me to call a cadence. I called out "left, left, left, right, left," and the platoon repeated it, but it wasn't working. In Air Force Jr. ROTC in high school, whenever I would march cadets, we didn't call cadences, so I didn't really know any cadences, and I wasn't practiced at calling them (I was good at teaching a group of cadets to march in step without cadence being called, but that wasn't helpful in this case). So the senior drill sergeant comes up to me and is screaming to start calling a cadence, or he is going to fire me. I try "left, left, left, right, left," but it isn't working, and he is getting madder and screaming louder. Finally, he is in my face; the brim of his campaign hat is inches from my face. We are marching in front of 3 other platoons, so about 400 Soldiers and all the drill sergeants and the first sergeant are looking at me. None of the platoons can move until my platoon finishes marching off because we were the first ones released.  I am being screamed at and have no voice to call cadence, and am told I am 3 seconds away from being fired if I can't get all 120 Soldiers in step. So I croak out, "Everywhere I go," and the platoon repeats back, "Everywhere I go." There are some snickers in the platoon because some of them recognize the cadence.  I continue, "There's a drill sergeant there," and they repeat back, "There's a drill sergeant there." The drill sergeant backs away and lets me continue. I say, "Drill Sergeant," they repeat, "Drill Sergeant." As I give the next line, the other three platoons erupt in laughter, "Why don't you leave me alone?" the platoon repeats, "Why don't you leave me alone?" Finally, on the last line, even the drill sergeants and the first sergeant can't hold in their laughter, "Why don't you ever go home?" and the platoon repeats it. That was enough to get the platoon in step, and we were far enough away from everyone that I didn't need to do any more cadence calling for the day. I was not fired from being platoon leader for the next 6 weeks, and was only removed from the position because I won the Soldier of the Quarter board. The three big lessons I took away from that experience are:

1. Seize the Initiative 

When our Senior Drill Sergeant fired the previous student leadership and asked for volunteers based on test scores, I didn't wait. I stepped forward. Leadership is often 90% showing up and 10% having the guts to say, "I'll do it."

2. Predict the Pitfalls 

I noticed most platoon leaders were fired for failing "accountability"—their numbers didn't add up under pressure. I developed a system: I had my squad leaders report to me early, wrote the numbers down, and did the math before the formation. By removing the "mental math under fire" variable, I ensured my reports were always pristine.

3. Lead with a Sense of Humor 

On my second day, I had completely lost my voice to a cold. I couldn't call a standard cadence to save my life (or my job). With the Drill Sergeant screaming in my face and 400 soldiers watching, I croaked out a "jody" that poked fun at the very Drill Sergeants who were intimidating me. It got the platoon in step, broke the tension, and earned the respect of the leadership. I wasn't fired; I was applauded.