Tag Archives: Career Progression

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Service and Sacrifice

No matter the service branch, specialty, or duty location, one question is common to every servicemember: “When should I leave the military?” This question pops up during deployments, following the release of promotion lists, and on nearly every date night.

Pursuing an answer often devolves into a winding conversational journey of assessing the present, voicing struggles, affirming individual and family priorities, anticipating future career opportunities, and evaluating one’s potential to reach those opportunities. Sometimes a family crisis or significant event crystalizes the road ahead, but often the decision to continuing serving or leave remains an ill-formed collection of feelings, variables, and uncertainties.

Service Sacrifice

A Soldier assigned to the Connecticut National Guard’s 1-102nd Infantry Regiment prepares to hug his son after returning home from a nearly year long deployment at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Windsor Locks, Connecticut Jan. 22, 2022. The 1-102nd was deployed to the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. DoD photo.
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The opportunity before you

The military is full of opportunities, plenty of places you wish you could serve, jobs you wish you had, people you wish you could work with.

Given the military’s sequential, time and experience-based professional development model, most of that opportunity is out of reach or untimely.

One way to overcome this facet is to perform better, to rank higher, to stand out. Why? Because performance begets opportunity. As you progress, the number and quality of opportunities increase. Through performance you reveal potential.

This mentality, however, has a flaw. In doing things that result in the next professional development opportunity, it’s easy to overlook the everyday opportunity that doesn’t count for professional points. The investment in younger leaders, the unexpected but appreciated thank you, the moment of genuine care for a teammate in need. These opportunities don’t show up on the scoreboard. They can’t be communicated in evaluation reports. Bosses won’t discover them.

In pursuit of opportunity, don’t miss the opportunity that makes the most difference.

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“Rank Ordering Your Future” – A Look at CSL Preferences

by Pete Norris

Every few years throughout your Army career, your HRC Assignment Officer will contact you to gather input about your next assignment. “Rank the following duty stations from 1 to 35.” Although you get a vote, sometimes it feels like that vote doesn’t count for much. That’s because the routine assignment process can be very subjective, based on the needs of the branch, timing, and many other factors. (read more about HRC here)

The process for selecting Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels for Centralized Selection List (CSL) command and key billets is not one of those routine times. Prior to the CSL board, each eligible officer has the opportunity to submit billet preferences and those preferences directly affect assignment outcomes more than any other time in your career. As such, it is important for officers to thoughtfully consider their preferences.

CSL

Col. Wayne Tasler passes the 7th PSYOP Group’s guidon to Maj. Gen. David N. Blackledge, symbolizing the relinquishing of command during the change-of-command ceremony at Moffett Field in San Jose, California on June 25, 2011. Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Felix R. Fimbres.
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2 Years of Lessons from Battalion Command

by Scott Shaw - "Cottonbaler 6"

Good leaders are always learning. But legacy only happens when good leaders also take the time to share those lessons with the profession. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Shaw is a great leader, and has selflessly compiled this substantial collection of tips, templates, warnings, and insights to help other leaders succeed in their own leadership opportunities, command or otherwise. He deserves much credit for authoring this incredibly helpful post, but (as he states) the Cottonbaler leaders and Soldiers deserve the real acclaim for creating the experience that led to it.

And…when you’re done with this article, jump over to The Military Leader Podcast and hear Scott give the in-person account of his time in command.

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LTC Scott Shaw and the “Cottonbalers” of 3-7 Infantry at Fort Stewart, Georgia in January 2015, following his assumption of command.
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11 Tips for Succeeding as Aide-de-Camp

by Andy Brokhoff

Congratulations on being selected as an aide-de-camp. This assignment is like no other assignment you have had. You were selected because of the successful career you’ve had thus far, but also for your potential to continue service for years to come. Being an aide is an amazing broadening assignment where you will get a glimpse into senior level military leadership. But it’s also difficult to prepare for.

Before you do anything else, read the Army’s guidance on serving as aide-de-camp:  Officer/Enlisted Aide Handbook. Next, I encourage you to consider the following advice.

aide

U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walks with Vietnamese Chief of Defense Lt. Gen. Do Ba Ty at the Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 14, 2014. Link to photo.
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Providing Clarity with an Evaluations Philosophy

by Chris Budihas

One fact has remained consistent during my three decades in the military – I am not a mind reader, nor are those who worked with me. Therefore, prior to assuming battalion command, I decided to write an evaluations philosophy. The purpose was three-fold:  to reinforce my command philosophy and the performance principles I considered important; to publish how I intended to grade subordinate performance; and to offer my methodology and logic for assigning evaluation block ratings.

Over the years, I have found that such a philosophy is useful for both the senior leader and, more importantly, for the ratee. In this post, I will explain the details of the evaluations philosophy and offer two examples from previous units.

evaluations

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James C. Boozer, left, the deputy commanding general and chief of staff for U.S. Army Europe, discusses training plans with U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Budihas, right, during Saber Junction 2012 on Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Oct. 17, 2012. Link to DoD photo.
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The Bee, the Brain, & the Bully

Leadership is as diverse as the individuals who exercise it. We influence through distinct talents, shaped by experiences, personality traits, core values, and an endless list of other factors. Nonetheless, when we look back at the leaders we’ve encountered, it’s easy to identify behavior trends that point to a set of defining leadership styles. The aggressive risk taker. The deliberate planner. The encouraging coach. The intense micromanager.

Each profession has its own set of styles that generally lead to success. The military is no different. Here are three types of military leaders you’ll find that, for better or worse, produce results.

bully

A Marine points in the direction of the next objective on a security patrol during an Integrated Training Exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., July 19, 2015. Link to photo.
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Rank-Based Mentoring for Commanders

by Dave Kurtz

In Performance-Based Mentoring for Busy Leaders, I revealed how I selectively divided my time to avoid becoming bogged down by Anchors – non-performing members who display no desire to contribute to the command’s mission. But being busy meant I also needed to divide my time based on paygrade. I did it by viewing my subordinates across these categories: Direct Reports, The Junior Officers, The Chief’s Mess, The First Class Mess, and the Base.

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Marines and sailors man the rails aboard the USS Wasp as the ship departs from Port Everglades, Fla., May 10, 2015, at the end of the community’s Fleet Week 2015 celebration. The Marines are assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. Link to photo.