To: Spider Battalion Cadre, US Army ROTC
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Memorandum
To: Spider Battalion Cadre, US Army ROTC
From: CDT Glass
Date: February 5, 2016
Subject: Proposal to Create a Guide to MSIII Leadership at the Company Level ______
Problem:
As a past Freshman, Sophomore, and current Junior cadet of Charlie Company, Spider Battalion, I have seen many different problems arise from the constant rotation of leadership. While I under- stand the necessity of the practice in order to expose cadets to a variety of experiences regarding responsibility, this practice rarely passes on knowledge from leader to leader. As one cadet leaves his or her position of responsibility, a new one is installed but not trained. A good cadet will seek out the previous cadet leader and learn from him or her. More often than not however, there is no training provided to the new leader, who must then learn the job description of the occupied posi- tion by “trial by fire”. This learn-from-your-mistakes system as caused communication problems within Charlie Company that have damaged our ability to execute daily operations effectively, as cadet leadership attempts to execute their own leadership duties with little guidance or reference to their jobs.
It is my goal to write and circulate an easy to read manual that contains an outline of Charlie Company’s daily, weekly, and monthly operations, with examples from experience on which Standard Operating Procedures work and which do not. This will be a compilation of knowledge from the current and previous Junior cadet leadership, written as an informative manual to guide future cadet leadership. The goal is to create a guide, inspired by collective experience of past and cur- rent cadets, that provides direction in a constantly changing environment.
Audience:
The audience for this manual will consist of ambitious rising ROTC Junior Cadets, most of whom will have had experience as Freshmen and Sophomores in ROTC’s command structure. These cadets have incentive to perform their duties well; they sign their final contracts to the U.S. Army during their Junior year. Currently, there is no program that trains the Junior Cadets. This complete lack of practical training causes miscommunication and reduces effectiveness. The creation of a leadership manual for cadets by cadets is necessary to easy the process of operations within Charlie Company.
Topics to Investigate: - The duties of official leadership positions within Charlie Company, Spider BN
- Comparison between the “Book” way to perform duties and the “Practical” way
- How Junior leadership functions during daily operations and training events
- The “Extra Mile” affect: what it does for your subordinates and character
- How to Maintain Tact and Respect within a stressful environment
Methods and Procedures
In order to create an effective leadership manual, experience from past and current Junior ROTC will be compiled into one main reference source. First, interviews would be conducted on the past semester Junior leadership positions. It is important to ask each Junior how he/she handled daily operations and training events. The experience will be combined with the official position descrip- tions and a rough draft will be written.
A complete rough draft will be sent back to all interviewed for peer review. The once feedback has been received, a final draft will be written. A limited number of copies will be printed and kept within cadet ranks, and will be passed down to the rising Juniors of the following year.
Qualifications and Resources
As a member of Charlie Company, Spider BN since March 2014, I have made many friendships and held the position of Platoon Sergeant and Squad Leader during my Junior ROTC year. I have seen how operations can run well and how they can be run poorly. The past two years have provided my class of cadets with the experience to guide the next class of rising Junior Cadets. Within my class, there are five Cadets that have served in the army prior to joining ROTC, and seven cadets that are members of the Simultaneous Membership Program with the Virginia National Guard. This has pro- vided them with experiences outside of Charlie Company, which are necessary to implement change.
Resources will be limited to journal entries from this year written by cadets. There are no manuals or job descriptions that exist in Charlie Company that contain truly practical information. We would rely on our collective experiences to create this manual. These cadets however can and will provide excellent references with which to create a Leadership manual because we have dealt with the guide’s contents personally. Work Schedule