Week 13 - Leader Forge, Part 1

The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight, but it is not without its challenges.  Our company lucked out this week, because MLK weekend was in the middle of it.  Normally, Leader Forge is ten days long, but even in the mere 4 days we had this week, limits were pushed.  96 hours, with about 15 hours sleep total, Over 35 kilometers of movement with rucksacks, missions until 0400 in the morning, frozen water, 16 degree weather, freezing rain, long distance litter carries, no time to eat, and cadre breathing down your back as you're trying to lead a tired and miserable platoon.  Just a little taste of Ranger School, as it were.

IF you haven't had a graded leadership position yet, you will have at least one this week.  The course requirements have two positions listed, but there is far too much to do and too little time to get everyone, so chances if you do well the first time, you won't get a second one.  If you didn't do so well on your first one, you have the chance to redeem yourself.  When you're in a leadership position, as I said, the cadre will be jumping all over you in a constant effort to stress you out and question yourself.  The key to all of this is to remember - it's all a game, it's all BS, and you are more likely than not doing much better than you think you are.  Most of the people who went can tell you that they felt like they did a horrendous job, only to be told during their debriefing that they did quite well.  Keep this in mind - you won't be able to completely suppress that stress and doubt, but it will help tremendously.

Your greatest enemy will not be the miserable weather, or lack of sleep and food, or even the stress.  It will be your own peers.  They will be unmotivated, lucid, slow to react, which means that the PL, PSG, and SLs have to be on their game.  If you are stuck with weak or incompetent squad leaders, it will kill you.  Get your big boy pants on and start getting in peoples faces, and get those SLs to do their jobs.  If they won't do their job, FIRE THEM.  Get a guy in there who will support you.  I watched one of my peers, who was not that strong himself, fail miserable because his squad leaders were terrible.  If he had good squad leaders, they would have carried him through.  Remember, though, that you have to communicate with them clearly and constantly, and include them in your planning.

Speaking of planning, it is absolutely key - the meat and potatoes of what you do as a PL.  If you have a simple and clear plan that you brief concisely, you are 70 percent of the way there.  The other 30 percent is getting on your subordinates leaders and ensuring they're doing their job, and being decisive.  I can't stress that enough.  You will have to react to the unexpected, and will be expected to react quickly and sensibly.  A mediocre decision made now is better than a perfect solution made 90 seconds later, while your platoon is in an open field under mortar and direct fire.  Going back to your subordinate leaders and under performing peers - don't get on individuals, get on their leaders.  If a squad is messing up, don't fix it yourself, tell the SL to fix it.  You have bigger thigns to worry about, and you're doing their job instead of letting them do it.  Be an ass if you have to - tempers may flare and egos may be bruised, but they will understand why you're doing it.  Finally, once you're done with leadership - remember how difficult some of your fellow LTs were to deal with?  Do them a favor and don't be difficult to work with yourself.  Yes, it sucks out there, but you have to help your buddies out.  It's a team effort, and if you're always on the ball and helping your guys out, they will remember it.  Screw them over, and they'll return the favor.

Lessons Learned:

• Buy gloves and glove liners, buy good winter boots and socks, and keep them handy - you can be bundled up completely, but if your hands and feet are cold and numb, you will be miserable and focusing on anything will be an effort.
• Do not rely solely on your electronics!  Radios and DAGRs break, batteries wear out, lines of sight are blocked.  Always have a backup commo plan, and always manually keep your pace and azimuth.  Make sure you're strong on terrain association, so you can find yourself on a map.  It is an absolute disaster when your lead element, can't tell you how far you've gone or in which direction because they decided to just use the DAGR instead of doing the right thing and having a paceman and compassman.
• Actually look at your man and the route you're talking, instead of just blindly plotting straight lines or road marches.  If its far easier to use the roads to get to your destination than traipsing through the woods, ask higher about enemy activity and route security.  Make sure you're not about to walk through 600 meters of swamp, or across an open plain.
• Always keep the situation at hand in mind, and react accordingly.  Like with route planning, don't just go through the motions - pay attention to your terrain, what the enemy is doing, the status of your element, how much time you have, etc. - in other words, METT-TC.
• Polypropylene is your friend, except when you're marching 6 klicks.  Consider buying layers that can easily be removed without removing all your other layers or boots, so you and strip down before movements, and bundle up again at long stops.  I know that the military supply stores around the area have rip-off long underwear that suits this purpose quite well.