Throwin’ Track

An orange ball crests the mud huts and lights up the hazy backdrop – a scene that only the select few who have been deployed can paint. An older man sits down outside to join his son for tea before the temperature becomes too much to endure. The convoy passes a child slapping his donkey with a stick, urging it to make the trek to his house. You are somehow reminded of home as a small whirlwind carrying a few loose sheets of paper dances across the blacktop. Iraq does not remind you of home, but instead it makes you rather thankful of where you live. Today’s mission is a key-leader engagement with the town mayor at a school on the outskirt of the city, and your platoon will attempt to set up a community-oriented policing program. You still aren’t exactly sure what COP is or what it looks like on paper. The town mayor is stubborn, and your boss is driving you hard to see results. The first two meetings have been far from stellar, and yet you still come back trying to build these relationships. You realize relationships are the key, but how can you make this work? As a scout platoon leader, you’re well aware of the hazards that face your platoon – improvised-explosive-device blasts off the main supply route, sniper fire from the third-story window, or even the vehicle rolling over on the bridge. As the first tire comes to a slow roll in front of the meetinghouse, you perceive your platoon’s motivation has begun to wane. This thought resides in your cerebral attic as your team approaches the mayor’s office, and you still refute the slightest idea of you, the PL, being the culprit of this mass emotional homicide. You’ve stated your key tasks in the operations order and hit every troop-leading procedure in textbook fashion. You’ve fulfilled your transactional-leader contract by reviewing notes from the Army Recon Course as well as some leadership slides you accidentally saved from the Armor Officer Basic Course. The meeting concluded and your platoon safely returned to base, meeting your commander’s end state. Tuesday night, lukewarm lasagna and a steamy cup of coffee offer you sanctuary as you and your television sitcom sort through this madness. “What are my noncommissioned officers not doing right?” is where all likely indicators point, you think. by 1LT Josh Scoggin

As junior officers, we’re charged with leading men on the battlefield, but even that sounds cliché. The hypothetical lead scenario describes how we sometimes feel. We read about leadership until we are blue in the face, but that alone won’t make us great leaders. 2 types of leaders There are several leadership styles to draw from, but fundamentally there are only two types of leaders: the transactional leader or the transformational leader. Transactional leadership is easy – especially in the Army since the conditions are already set. The chain of command is well developed, punishments and rewards are clearly defined, and the prime purpose of the subordinate is to do what his supervisor tells him to do – cut and dried. Transformational leadership is the level we strive to achieve. The difficulty in transformational leadership is that it makes people feel they are part of something larger than themselves, rather than just being in the Army. I’m talking about a craving for the mission and having fortitude to do the right thing regardless of the outcome. The transformational leader inspires subordinates through words and actions, not by punishments and rewards. I’m not declaring mastery of this skill – far from it, actually, nor is it my desire to take invective aims at our organization. The purpose of this article is to opine on general observations made in the JO ranks and to offer considerations that may act as navigational beacons should our ships ever drift from the transformational course. 5 guidelines One. Give until it feels good; avoid politics and obsequious gestures. President Harry Truman once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” The transformational leader embodies this idea of selfless service. There are times when you can make an immediate impact on someone and, when presented the 10-meter target, quickly squeeze the trigger and begin scanning for the 300-meter one. I’ve seen too often where we focus on “What will my superiors think?” or “How will this look on my evaluation report?” Truthfully, who cares? The thought of chasing evaluation bullets and being caught in a political entanglement degrades our sights. I recall a brother PL conducting his KLE with a mayor in his area of operation. He asked the mayor what we always ask: “What do you need from us?” He received a tangible request this time – school supplies for the kids. Roger, got it, let’s action on it as soon as we return to base – and he did. He acquired the supplies in a matter of hours. He chose to give the supplies to the children rather than wait for the creation of a storyboard because it felt like the right thing to do. Storyboards are a valuable tool, especially in winning the war in Iraq. First, they allow our organization (including our Iraqi counterparts) to capitalize on wins, thus denying the enemy the opportunity to easily inject exploited propaganda (our successes) into an already volatile system. Second, storyboards are historic art. These boards act as an accountant’s book for successful transactions, showing the world what positive effects occur when choosing certain courses of actions. Missions should develop storyboards, not the other way around. I recall an occasion where we were maneuvering in a small town and saw a little girl hanging around our vehicles. We could have continued with our perfect scanning techniques and ignored her, but the innocent white smile, red hair bows and brown stuffed teddy bear served as a magnet despite our polar tendencies to remain vigilant. Our driver gave the girl some candy he brought for the mission. This gesture wasn’t staged or embellished, only a simple gift that rendered a high return on investment after the fact. The girl received the candy, returned to her parents – who were watching her from their house – and the entire street exploded with warm welcomes. Our mission in Iraq is to build a stronger bond with our Iraqi family and ensure that Iraq is stable and self-reliant in the coming years. What better way to do that than show the children (the same people who will be eligible to vote and make political decisions in the next 10 years) how much we actually care for them. The point I’d like to drive home is do the right thing because it feels right, not because we need to be published in every news article or video opportunity that passes by. Two. Speak the universal language. The transformational leader strives to reach a commonality among all walks of life. My platoon is very diverse. There are people from African, European, Marshall Island and Mexican descent. One of my Soldiers from Mexico is seeking his citizenship. Although there is a variegated bundle of color and culture emanating throughout the ranks, one common theme we all have is love. We all love something: a new Harley Davidson, our wives and children, a cold beer after a long day, whatever. I find speaking with my Iraqi brothers and sisters easy, although we can’t understand a word each other says without our interpreter. We show compassion to each other as human beings. We conducted a counter-IED mission off the MSR in our area of operation. We dismounted as usual, and the platoon maneuvered alongside the road while the mounted element provided overwatch. We approached a small house about 100 meters from the road, noticing several people standing around looking at us. I assumed they were inquiring why we were walking along the road, wearing 40 extra pounds of robot gear and kicking trash. We met them, talked about life in general and drank chai while sitting down. (One thing I’ve noticed is Iraqi people do not like to talk business right away.) We asked some security questions about the area. Then they informed us the elder’s son was bedridden, with screws and pins in both legs, after a severe vehicle accident. Our platoon came to a quick consensus: let’s have Doc take a look at him. We called Doc up from the formation, and he checked the guy out. Doc gave him some over-the-counter pain medications and told him we’d be back in a few days to check on him. Five days passed and we made it back to see our friend, but this time the whole village swarmed us with smiles and hugs. The word was out: these cavalrymen cared for the elder’s son. No one attacked us in that sector. I attribute that to my men and their ability to show compassion for mankind. Three. Be visionary, be focused. Leaders should receive their guidance through vi-Our treatment of the locals, like this little girl, makes a difference in our engagements with key leaders. (photo by 1LT Josh Scoggin) July-August 2011 7 sioning. This art involves the ability to develop that mental image of where your organization will be at a future time. Without a vision, there can be no strategy. We’ve all experienced going full speed, slamming on our brakes, doing a 180-degree turn and going again. We’re all tasked heavily while deployed. But it’s our job as JOs to ensure we focus this energy. Otherwise, our soldiers will become exhausted dogs fed up with chasing too many tires. My platoon came up with a vision and a few standing orders. Sure, it was simple, and some thought it was cheesy, but we didn’t care. Our vision statement was published – we wanted to be the best platoon by being physically fit, mentally tough and having a team-oriented atmosphere. The standing orders, nested with the Army Values, hung along the alleyway where our platoon entered the living area. A few weeks passed, and members of the platoon bought into it. It’s paramount the leader points his platoon in the right direction. Four. Strive to be “top-down,” willingly accept “bottom-up.” As a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, I’ve studied these two terms in depth. Although this doesn’t make me an expert in the field, it does mean I have an interest in published theories. The Army, by fighting nature, must be a top-down organization, but this must be altered to make the platoon work. Organizations may change from the bottom up. Upper echelons should accept a platoon which sets standards and pushes the culture; this transformation requires desire and acceptance from the PL to change from below. The first step in creating a successful organization, whether it’s a 30-man scout platoon or a billion-dollar corporation like Microsoft, is for your subordinates to buy in. Buy-in is built by fully embracing and actively leading the platoon. This is easier to talk than apply. Buy-in starts with the PL setting the stage and producing the energy for the platoon. It’s more than speaking confidently during an OPORD brief or having a few sensing sessions with your subordinates to check a box. For instance, if you want to make physical-training scores higher, you must be in shape yourself. An overweight officer sitting on the sideline preaching to his subordinates the importance of PT is unacceptable. Also, we must understand our soldiers, veering away from fabricated counseling statements and leaning toward the venerable term “oak-tree counseling.” Our soldiers are very intelligent and have the innate ability to sense when our actions are impure. Instead of counseling, we should deem it “active listening” time with our subordinates, remembering the driving force is about the soldier and not about our promotion. Last, we must never forget that our Soldiers’ motivation is the same as their leaders. It’s acceptable, and highly encouraged, to make our Soldiers smile – a periodic receipt letting us know we’re doing something right. Subordinates will take on the personalities of their leadership, both NCOs and officers. We must believe in the cause before our soldiers can believe. Five. Have “bone-deep” not “skin-deep” qualities. Growing up in Mississippi guarantees one thing: hearing your share of pearls of wisdom. “Beauty is skin deep, and ugly is to the bone” is one I recall from my childhood. Leaders shouldn’t compete for the cover of GQ, but we as JOs should decipher what is and is not important. A “skin-deep” example would be the ability to quote doctrine. We can better ourselves by reading field manuals and field applications, but is this truly important for lieutenants and junior captains? No. My old commander, CPT Dave Dixon, sat me down the first day I reported into Iron-hawk Troop and said, “Josh, the most important trait you can have as a lieutenant is interpersonal skills.” At the time I was thinking to myself, “Really?” Aside from studying a few speeches and attending some character seminars at the academy, I had never sunk my teeth into interpersonal leadership. Enclosed in my comfort bubble were all the high-intensity-conflict tactics and associated FMs – definitely not interpersonal leadership. I had my fair share of lethal training. I was confident setting a screen line with six Bradleys and 30 dudes, but I was shaky on the nonlethal side; there’s really nothing that can prepare you for a KLE with a town mayor or city police chief other than some practice runs. Learning interpersonal skills allowed me to engage in a two-way conversation with these key leaders, winning their hearts – more so than learning to set up a listening post/observation point overwatching a target building. What can’t be learned from an FM are humility and interpersonal skills – the two most important traits a JO can have. We have ample time to memorize our Scout-platoon FM and spout off doctrinal acronyms to impress our bosses later. True traits, or “bone traits,” are, first, the ability to admit fault, and second, talking to and inspiring Soldiers. NCOs mentor and develop JOs. For example, a humble lieutenant or captain who can relate to people is easier and better developed than the know-it-all officer who is the social outcast. Bone traits are much harder to learn, but they are the foundation of leadership. Bottom line: without these two qualities, those esoteric acronyms and savvy radio conjectures over the net barely pierce the epidermis layer. PFC Sam Ho, our medic, treats the village elder’s son. (photo by 1LT Josh Scoggin) 8 July-August 2011

In Armor we take pride in our ability to conduct mounted warfare. From a macro view, no one can argue that we are the best; however, at a micro level, we may see that a few “track pads” are beginning to wear. We’ve all shot our gunnery tables and maneuvered our Bradleys and tanks through terrain our commanders advised against. We’ve spent countless hours in the blazing heat or bitter cold after a Bradley threw a track – not fun putting it back together. Leadership is a fluid dynamic. Some days laminar flow is expected, and other days, turbulence. Similar to our pacing items are our leadership styles; these too are combat enablers. There is never a time when a leader should take a cookie-cutter approach, but these five guidelines may help prevent us from “throwin’ track” and being stranded on the battlefield. Strike hard! Thunder! and Ai-ee-yah! 1LT Joshua Scoggin is assigned to Lightning Troop, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Armored COP – community-oriented policing FM – field manual IED – improvised explosive device Acronym Quick-Scan SGT Steve Brinza conducts a joint patrol with Iraqi security forces. (photo by 1LT Josh Scoggin) July-August 2011 9 Cavalry Regiment. He served as a U.S. Air Force joint terminal attack controller from 1999-2003. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2008 with a bachelor’s of science degree in environmental engineering and is currently enrolled in the master’s of business administration program at Texas A&M. In addition to his Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt from Villanova University, he also holds a master certificate in executive leadership and management from Notre Dame and a certificate as an emergency first-responder instructor. JO – junior officer KLE – key-leader engagement MSR – main supply route NCO – noncommissioned officer OPORD – operations order PL – platoon leader PT – physical training