Some guys like to come in like a tornado and stir everything up and get an instant rep as a butt-kicker. The problem with that system is that a lot of good stuff gets trashed in the wake. I always felt it was better to observe the normal operation before making too many changes. Like the Chief used to say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". In the case of this particular platoon, the normal operation included multi-million dollar fuel, lube, and ammunition accounts that were crucial to the mission of a tank battalion. So there were some things that I had to get involved with on the very first day I was there. In some cases the soldiers who had been carrying the load were relieved to have that pressure off their backs, in some cases they resented a new guy telling them how to handle their jobs (even if the new guy had a couple of stripes on them).

It had been more than fifteen years since I had run a support platoon but fortunately things hadn't changed all that much. My first order of business after I got a look at things was to have a heart to heart with my First Sergeant. I told him that in order to get the platoon trained up and operating in a first class manor, he had to get off our backs. He had Mortar and Scout platoons full of soldiers who had nothing to do but wax floors and clean weapons all day but he still hit a working platoon for four or five "detail" soldiers a day. After some spirited exchange of ideas on the rank structure he agreed to let up. It was also lucky for me that there were some very good young NCOs in the platoon that helped me get up to speed quickly. I spent a lot of time shadowing some of our soldiers as they went on their missions, fuel or ammo support for the tank companies and such. I got to know them all pretty well in short order. But there is a huge difference between garrison operations and what we do in the woods...or as we call it, "In the Field".

Morale was picking up, vehicle maintenance was on the rise, work spaces were neater and cleaner, soldiers' appearance was improving and I was beginning to find my way home earlier in the evening...all good things. I was pleased with the progress so far but the test of how they would do in the field was yet to come. A support platoon, especially in an armor unit, is practically a 24/7 operation when maneuvering. The tanks move all day, lager at night. The fuel and bullet trucks follow them at a distance all day then move forward to supply the fuel and ammo and food and whatever else they need when they stop. Then the trucks move to the rear to reload. Then move back to the operations area, often arriving just in time to join the tanks as they move out for the days' operations. After a couple days of this, drivers get worn pretty thin. That is the time when you find out who the real troopers are, the ones who learn to catnap when they can and move when they must. I have had soldiers spend an hour they could be sleeping to chase me down to complain that they weren't getting any sleep. It is nice to know who those folks are BEFORE the poopoo get in the propellor...so if you were wondering, that's why we do it. And that is why it is so important to build a relationship with your soldiers. You don't have to be their buddy, but they do have to respect you and believe that you genuinely care about what happens to them. And they have to trust that you know what you are doing. If they believe that you have their best interests at heart at all times, they will be more willing to do what ever you need them to do. In some cases, it helps if they are a little afraid of you, too.

The first few days at our first rotation at Graf together, things were moving along better than I expected. I was eating lunch with a few of my drivers and a couple of the sergeants. I opened my MRE and found I had a Cherry-Nut Cake for dessert. I mentioned that my wife, MamaCharlie, was crazy about the Cherry-Nut Cakes. I tucked the cake into my bag and jokingly said if I took this home to her I might get lucky. That evening when I returned to the barracks, I found a pile of about eight or nine Cherry-Nut cakes on my bunk.

I was touched and felt that I had achieved the bonding I felt was necessary to be a successful leader. But one of my sergeants said that it could be interpreted to mean that the troops wanted me to be a little less severe. In any case, it turned out to be a good platoon