Ating Back at Least 200 Years, I Suspect, Volumes Have Been Written About the Benefits of Training Lieutenants at Unit Level

By Maj. Gen. Guy S. Meloy U.S. Army retired

ating back at least 200 years, I suspect, volumes have been written about the benefits of training lieutenants at unit level. And although there is no question that the best lieutenants are trained at unit

level, too often why commanders need to focus on training their lieutenants takes a back seat to explana-

tions of how—which is un- fortunate, because regardless of the level or purpose, both the how and the why are equally important compo- C a r p e n t A r c h

o f nents of all “train the train-

c o u r t e s y ers” programs. P h o t g r a p s

May 2008 I ARMY 55 Capt. Carpenter (left), commanding officer of Company C, 1st Battle Group,187th Airborne Infantry, 11th Airborne Division, in Germany in 1957.

While still in the deep learning stage of my career, I was one of several fortunate lieutenants trained by an excep- tionally wise and experienced company commander, Arch E. Carpenter. Arch taught us so many lessons— some intentionally, some peripherally, others he probably didn’t even realize he was teaching. Before he was 20, Arch was an infantry combat veteran of two combat jumps and five major European cam- paigns, including the Battle of the Bulge. After graduating from the Uni- versity of Washington and earning an ROTC commission at about the same time the Korean War broke out, he earned his second Com- fle jeeps and trailers in the weapons platoon, another jeep bat Infantryman Badge plus a Silver Star and Purple Heart and trailer for the weapons platoon leader, and three jeeps as a platoon leader and company commander in the 1st and trailers in the company headquarters. The company Cavalry Division during some of the heaviest fighting of lacked a motor officer and a motor sergeant, meaning the the Korean War. He earned his third Combat Infantryman “company motor pool” was a do-it-yourself additional Badge as the senior U.S. adviser to a Vietnamese army duty. brigade and another Silver Star as commander of the 1st While commanding a company of that size was a chal- Battalion, 508th Airborne Infantry, during a second Viet- lenge, there was another challenge that company comman- nam tour. Between and after wars, he commanded two ders of that era added to their list of responsibilities. As a other companies, served in several division G3 staff posi- function of the change of command, they were required to tions (including G3 of the 82nd Airborne Division), at- sign a receipt for every item of equipment and supply as- tended the War College, served on the Joint staff, was chief signed to or used by that company. Regardless of its size, of staff of the 8th Mechanized Division in Germany and purpose or cost, if it was damaged or lost through any de- was also a brigade commander. gree of negligence in which individual accountability The rifle companies of the airborne divisions in the could not be established, the company commander paid Army’s “Pentomic” era, from the late 1950s to the early for it out of his own pocket. Given that responsibility, com- 1960s, were large organizations with an authorized manders worked overtime to stay ahead of the power strength of more than 250 soldiers. Each company con- curve by conducting frequent unannounced inventory in- sisted of four 46-man rifle platoons; a weapons platoon of spections. If they were smart, they used their lieutenants in three 81 mm mortars and two 106 mm recoilless rifles; sup- the dual role of helping with inventories as well as concur- ply, communications and mess sections; and a company rently teaching them the location, condition and quantity headquarters. Unlike airborne units before and after, the of every item of equipment in the table of organization and Pentomic airborne companies also had a wealth of equipment. wheeled vehicle transportation. There were two jeeps and Arch Carpenter trained his lieutenants mainly by per- trailers in each of the four rifle platoons, six jeeps and trail- sonal and professional example, but also by assigning ers for the three 81 mm mortars, two 106 mm recoilless ri- company duties on a rotating basis, so in turn we each learned supply room records and operations; how to in- MAJ. GEN. GUY S. MELOY, USA Ret., served in various com- spect a company mess hall for its record keeping, cleanli- mand and staff positions over the course of his Army career. ness and food preparation; and how to inspect and judge He commanded four platoons, three companies, two battal- the serviceability of radio and field telephone equipment ions—one for six months as a major, the second for 12 months as well as weapons of all types in the communications and as a lieutenant colonel, both in Vietnam—and a brigade. He arms rooms. We learned motor pool records, spare parts was an assistant division commander and commander of the inventory, prescribed load lists and how to conduct techni- 82nd Airborne Division. cal inspections of different types of wheeled vehicles.

56 ARMY I May 2008 Capt. Carpenter accepts the award for best company in the 187th Air- borne Battle Group from Col. Norman G. Reynolds (left), the battle group commander, 1957.

Every month, Carpenter assigned each lieutenant different (In hindsight, of course, I have to admit there were many items of equipment to inventory; over the course of several times when we lieutenants were not aware of it.) And months, every lieutenant had inventoried every item of while it may have seemed rather ad hoc to a casual ob- equipment in the company—and had also learned the in- server, there’s no question that Arch Carpenter had a spe- tricacies of property and component parts books. Comple- cific program of instruction in the back of his mind. He menting these tasks, the first sergeant tutored us on or- knew exactly what he was doing and was fully aware at derly room operations and how to prepare morning any given time what his lieutenants ought to be doing as reports and duty rosters. well as what they ought not be doing. In his own “show- One of the more challenging additional duties was that them-once-then-turn-them-loose” way, he taught account- of company training officer. Carpenter tasked this individ- ability as well as responsibility and, ultimately, to appreci- ual with preparing a recommended training schedule two ate that knowing the system and working within it was a weeks in advance and then arranging and coordinating for win-win for the benefit of the troops. ranges and training areas, training aids, lesson plans, live But most of all, he taught us never to shy away from ask- and blank ammunition, transportation, primary and assis- ing questions, to have the courage of our convictions and tant instructors, noon meals, aggressors (now known as be willing to defend those convictions even if we were the opposing forces, I believe) and, as appropriate, aircraft only one in the room who felt that way; he taught us to be drop zones, jump manifests, drop zone safety and medical confident in and comfortable with our common sense and personnel, and parachute turn-in. Typically, Carpenter’s professional judgment and never hesitate to take the initia- idea of definitive guidance was usually along the lines of: tive when circumstances warranted it. To this day, his “We need to sharpen our night fighting techniques, so try lessons have stayed with me, as have two of his most fa- to work in some night attacks and maybe some night with- vorite and oft-repeated bits of advice: “a short pencil is bet- drawals, as well as night defense training in the next week ter than a long memory, so always take notes,” and “there or so—and if you can arrange it, you might want to start is a big difference between gung ho enthusiasm and ha- with a night jump.” rassing the troops—know the difference before, not after, I can count on one hand the number of times he went the fact.” into any great detail on how to accomplish an assigned task. Usually his guidance was based almost exclusively or decades the Army has had some form of main- on what he wanted to accomplish, leaving how up to us. tenance management inspection. As weapons ad- This doesn’t mean he hesitated to have closed-door discus- vanced from muzzle loaders to machine guns and sions on ways and means to do something better, but these bazookas and transportation from the horse to the always took the form of a positive—even, at times, humor- Model T to jeeps and 5-ton trucks, maintenance in- ous—critique. spections became more complex, more challenging Our education was ongoing, a daily affair, and there was and, unfortunately by the 1950s, potentially life never a time when Arch Carpenter wasn’t sensitive to it. threatening.F By the mid-1950s, at least for units in Ger- 58 ARMY I May 2008 many, the results of a command maintenance management didn’t, they were corrected on the spot. By this informal inspection (CMMI) could and often did either enhance ca- system, we knew current status and were confident we reers, damage them or, in some cases, ruin them. could handle any unannounced CMMI. In short, Arch Car- While IG inspections were scheduled events, CMMIs penter knew how to prepare and pass CMMIs the easy were almost always unexpected. If a unit passed a CMMI way. There was one exception, however—a once-in-a-life- with flying colors, it breathed an audible sigh of relief; if a time experience that taught us that even Arch Carpenter unit failed badly, there was a very good chance that a new was not completely exempt from the CMMI jitters or, for commander would be counting company property the fol- that matter, maybe some prayer as well. lowing day. The 11th Airborne Division CMMI team was headed by one of the most senior and oldest majors on the planet. His ome commanders accepted CMMIs fatalisti- name was Ralph Kissee, and he was known to almost cally—if it happens it happens, and there isn’t every man of every rank in the division as “Field Pants” much we can do other than pray. Some comman- Kissee because he always wore the specially designed field ders spent hours trying to identify a “window of pants, which at that time were a separate issue and worn probability” and then worked their troops only in the field. But Kissee wore them in garrison as well around the clock toward that period just in case. as in the field. His division CMMI team consisted of an A few others made preparation for CMMIs their Ordnance Corps captain and eight senior NCOs. mainS priority at the expense of training. Arch Carpenter A unit was first made aware that it had been selected for did none of the above. Instead, he used his lieutenants in a CMMI when Field Pants Kissee and his team walked into the company orderly room at reveille. The team was invariably pleasant and polite and went directly from the orderly room to the company mess hall to share breakfast with the troops (and concurrently inspect every as- pect of mess operations). They then spent the entire day conducting full field layouts and inspecting every Maj. Gen. Hugh P. item of equipment in that unit’s Harris (left), com- TO&E (tables of organization and manding general, equipment) from vehicles to weapons 11th Airborne Divi- sion, presents the to communications gear to web gear plaque for the com- to boot heels to bayonets to dog tags. pany with the high- Every motor pool, supply, mainte- est number of Ex- nance and orderly room record was pert Infantryman scrutinized, and the team showed no Badges in 1957 to mercy if it found even one item of ex- Capt. Carpenter. cess property. The team even in- spected car trunks, attics and desk drawers for unauthorized articles and selected at random one soldier in five for written and verbal testing of MOS knowledge and overall soldier skills. At the end of the day, there would be a no-holds-barred critique in the unit mess hall attended by all company officers and NCOs plus all the other the dual roles of training them to appreciate everything a company commanders and the battle group commander company commander has to juggle simultaneously, includ- and his staff. To say the least, there was considerable pres- ing routinely focusing each day on a few preliminary sure on the unit commander. CMMI-associated tasks. No last-minute crashes, no con- We didn’t know it, of course, but mid-April 1957 was stant worries and, above all, no reduction in training. If Company C of the 1st Battle Group, 187th Airborne In- anything, we trained harder, longer and smarter. fantry’s turn to be tagged for a CMMI. The night before, Each lieutenant was assigned specific functional areas of our CO, Capt. Arch Carpenter, assumed duties as the battle responsibility on a weekly basis and at a time most conve- group duty officer, an all-night affair. After being relieved nient to all concerned. We checked the status of our as- by the battle group adjutant at 0700 the next morning, Car- signed areas to confirm they met CMMI standards. If they penter drove home, had a shower and a leisurely breakfast,

60 ARMY I May 2008 changed into the regular duty uniform of fatigues, and ca- the first time, the end-of-exercise offense was to be a coun- sually drove back to his company. Upon entering the or- terattack in the form of an airmobile assault. While this derly room at about 1030 hours, he was startled to discover was a great way to end the ATT and a fine training vehicle, that his company was several hours into a CMMI. To say there was one problem. At that time, no unit in Germany he was nonplussed is a massive understatement. Nor was had ever conducted an airmobile assault. In fact, few sol- he particularly reassured when 1st Sgt. Pat Kearines told diers and only a few senior officers had ever been inside a him, “We’ve been having a CMMI since 0600, but don’t helicopter, much less ridden in one or employed heli- worry, sir, the lieutenants have been doing a fine job.” copters tactically. And just to make life more interesting for Now, Arch Carpenter had a very soft voice, one he sel- Arch Carpenter, Charlie Company was selected to be the dom ever raised. Moreover, he was a tough man to excite airmobile assault force. I’ll never forget his typical low-key about anything—he seemed to take everything, good or order to the platoon leaders: “If you’ve never ridden in a bad, in stride. If the Soviet army had charged through the helicopter, you’re about to.” door to the orderly room, I suspect he may have shown To set the scene: Imagine the intersection of two roads some emotion, but he would not have panicked. But then, forming a horizontal “T.” The Charlie Company counter- too, the Russians probably did not have CMMIs. As Car- attack objective was a very steep, densely wooded hill lo- penter stood there knowing a make-or-break CMMI had cated about 100 yards northeast of the “T” and defended been under way in his company for more than four hours, by a company-size aggressor force. A mostly grassy area watching his lieutenants coming and going, each knowing 150 yards southeast of the “T” was designated the landing their job and each doing it, Field Pants Kissee sat in a chair zone (LZ). After landing, Charlie Company’s orders were in the corner of the orderly room with a wide smile. Finally to attack the hill from south to north, using the east-to- accepting that the situation was far beyond anything he west road as its line of departure. The plan of attack was could control or influence, but also realizing that with his that after landing and getting our platoons assembled into career at stake he at least ought to make his command tactical formations, Charlie Company would cross the east- presence felt, Arch walked over to an orderly room win- to-west road employing fire and maneuver, three platoons dow that looked out onto most of the company area, threw abreast: my platoon, the base platoon and one platoon fol- it open, leaned out and, in a voice heard for miles, lowing as company reserve. hollered “Shape up!” Which caused Kissee to fall out of his To complicate matters, the night before we were to make chair and the troops and even the CMMI team to collapse our first airmobile counterattack, Col. Reynolds notified in laughter. Arch that Army Chief of Staff (CSA) Gen. Maxwell D. Tay- And shape up we did. Indeed, the company not only lor, who happened to be visiting Europe at this time and passed the CMMI successfully, we were praised by Field had overheard someone mention a first-ever tactical heli- Pants Kissee as the best rifle company he had ever in- copter assault in Germany, said he would like to observe spected. This well-deserved praise should be attributed the full-scale company-size airmobile operation. The com- not only to Carpenter’s pre-CMMI preparations, but also mander in chief of U.S. Army Europe, Gen. Henry I. to his ability to train his lieutenants to have the confidence Hodes, agreed, adding that since he, too, had never seen a to take the initiative even when he wasn’t there. large-scale helicopter assault, he would like to accompany the CSA. Upon learning who would be at Hohenfels to see n late summer 1957, the 187th Airborne convoyed to their first helicopter assault, the commanding general of the Hohenfels training area northeast of Nuremberg Seventh Army, Lt. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke, decided this was a for what was known at that time as the annual Army unique opportunity that he didn’t want to miss. He signed training test (ATT). This was a grueling four-day on. Given the presence of such impressive brass, the com- and night evaluation that covered a variety of tacti- manding general of the U.S. VII Corps, Lt. Gen. John F. Un- cal scenarios, the climax to the year’s training pro- cles, figured he ought to be there, too. This, of course, gram. Like the CMMI, failing the ATT was not an made it an easy decision for the commanding general of option,I especially for units in Germany, where we were ex- the 11th Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. Hugh P. Harris, to pected to be the first to meet any Soviet invasion. Our bat- invite himself to Hohenfels—after all, Company C of the tle group commander, Col. Norman G. Reynolds, was a su- 187th was one of his units. And let’s not forget Brig. Gen. perb officer, the kind none of us wanted to let down. Pride David W. Gray, who was the assistant division commander in the 187th, as well as respect and admiration for Col. of the 11th Airborne and was already at Hohenfels to over- Reynolds, generated a strong sense of unit and individual see the 187th Airborne’s ATT. urgency to complete the ATT with high scores. Regardless The assault was scheduled for 0900. By 0845, six generals of the training mission, the 187th performance during the had assembled in the center of the intersection. The host ATT was highlighted by great energy and attitude, and a for this 17-star entourage was our own Col. Reynolds, high degree of professional skill and confidence. whose only guidance to Carpenter the night before was By unwritten policy, all field exercises in Germany succinct: “Arch, whatever you do, don’t screw this up.” ended with an attack: The spirit of the offense, not the de- A Transportation Corps H-34 helicopter company pro- fense, was paramount. Except that in this instance, and for vided the lift. H-34s were large—16 feet high and 34 feet

62 ARMY I May 2008 long—Sikorsky helicopters that could transport 16 fully to talk to you right now.” Arch immediately ran to his ra- equipped troops at a maximum speed of slightly more dio jeep at about the same time the first helicopter left the than 100 knots. Remember, until that morning none of us ground. Grabbing the handset, he heard Col. Reynolds ask, had ever been within half a mile of an H-34, much less in- “Did you get the word to go yet?” Arch replied, “Affirma- side one. The helicopter pickup zone (PZ) was almost 15 tive, affirmative,” then turned to run back to his helicopter road kilometers and about 10 helicopter kilometers south- only to see the last H-34 lift off. Except for Capt. Carpenter west of the objective area. By the time Charlie Company and his radio jeep and driver, the PZ was suddenly empty arrived at the PZ, 12 H-34s had already landed, one be- and eerily quiet. As the dust settled around him, he visual- hind the other in trail formation, engines running at idle ized years of hard labor at Leavenworth, flipping burgers speed. Each platoon was allocated three helicopters. My or maybe life in a monastery. You don’t have to have been platoon was assigned to the first three; Arch and his radio a company commander or even an ordinary soldier to operators planned to ride in the sixth. After loading the imagine his chagrin and an overwhelming, sinking feeling troops, each platoon leader took a position outside his he- of frustration. licopter and stood by the open door to wait for Arch to Arch leapt into his jeep and at an estimated speed of 70 signal “go.” miles an hour, which was 20 miles an hour faster than Even with engines at idle speed, 12 helicopters make a jeeps were designed to travel, sped towards the “T.” By the great deal of noise, and we had to shout to be heard. Arch time he arrived, Charlie Company had already seized the positioned himself at his command (radio) jeep about 50 objective and was in the process of preparing defensive po- feet from the sixth helicopter, radio handset to his ear, lis- sitions. He reported to Col. Reynolds who, thinking Car- tening for the battle group S3 to give the order to launch. penter had just returned from the objective itself, offered After waiting impatiently for several minutes, he handed profuse congratulations for an impressively coordinated the handset to his jeep driver and gave the platoon leaders airmobile assault and attack. The generals were ecstatic, the signal. I jumped in the lead helicopter, and we immedi- Col. Reynolds was ecstatic and a much relieved Arch Car- ately took off. The pilots landed us precisely where we had penter accepted their collective congratulations with ap- requested, and in one fast and furious minute all of Charlie propriate modesty. Company’s four rifle platoons were on the ground, assembled, and ready and anxious for orders from our company hile interesting, such stories provide many commander to attack. I’d like to believe that the six gener- valuable teaching points between the lines, als watching from the center of the intersection had to be namely how and why our training paid off; impressed. of course the payoff depended on Capt. I lay on the ground holding my short-range radio hand- Carpenter’s knowledge of the how and the set against my ear, waiting for Arch to tell us to go. Not a why of training lieutenants. Over time he sound. Minutes passed, but still no order. I started to fidget: taught us not only confidence and initia- With 17 stars waiting to see us cross the line of departure, Wtive, but perhaps even more importantly established a time was critical. I called the other platoon leaders and healthy and happy climate of command that encouraged asked, “Have you seen the old man?” “Negative” replies his subordinates not to hesitate taking charge if the situa- from everyone. Not knowing where Carpenter was or why tion needed someone to step forward. He also imbued in he wasn’t on the LZ, as the senior platoon leader I decided us the good sense to know when and under what circum- this was the right time and place to exercise some of the ini- stances to exercise that initiative and not be rattled doing tiative he had drilled into us. Waiting wasn’t the answer. it—even if 17 stars happened to be looking over our shoul- I passed the word to start the attack. We crossed the road ders. Thanks to his patient mentoring and wise leadership, in textbook formations, attacked the objective, routed the Arch Carpenter taught by example what later became one aggressors, reorganized and prepared expedient defensive of my all-time favorite leadership principles: “Train your positions—all the while still without any idea of what hap- subordinates to be able to do not only their job well, but pened to our company commander. also your job as well or better than you can.” In his own About 20 minutes after seizing the objective, we were re- special way, whether for CMMIs in garrison or airmobile lieved to finally hear our lost company commander’s voice assaults in the field or just day-to-day activities, Arch Car- on the platoon radios: “The exercise is terminated. Return penter turned lieutenants into soldiers. to the LZ. I’ll tell you where I’ve been later.” As we came I am now the only platoon leader left. One was killed in off the hill and recrossed the east-to-west road, we could Vietnam, another (a brigade commander at the time of his see the generals congratulating a beaming Col. Reynolds death) died of a heart attack and two others died of other and an appreciative Capt. Carpenter. causes. But Arch Carpenter is still going strong. Later that morning, Arch gathered the platoon leaders Arch retired as a colonel. We talk often. Fortunately he off to the side and told us what happened. Right after re- has a grand sense of humor because I remind him every ceiving the word to launch from the battle group S3 and chance I get how his lieutenants pulled off a CMMI and an just as he started to enter his helicopter, his jeep driver airmobile assault while he was AWOL. But also, to this started frantically shouting, “Sir, it’s the colonel, he wants day, I still call him “Sir.” (

64 ARMY I May 2008