The platoon sergeant and his lieutenant: who does what?

FA Journal, May-August, 2002 by Rodney L. Beck

A sergeant in the Army, if he's a squad leader or tank commander, is a commander just like an officer no difference whatever. It's just the smallest tactical element.

General William E. DePuy

As Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command "The Officer/NCO Relationship," The NCO Journal, Fall 2001

NCOs, the backbone of the Army, train, lead and take care of soldiers--all soldiers. Rank is irrelevant. NCOs receive their authority from their oath of office, Federal law, rank and Army traditions and regulations.

Battery leaders, literally, are all "officers" as part of the organization called the Army--some are commissioned and some are noncommissioned. Intertwined, the officer and NCO corps share responsibilities for the discipline, morale, welfare, performance and combat readiness of the unit--although at different levels. Because battery NCOs are responsible for soldiers, they have a duty to share their expertise with and help develop their young officers. Likewise, these young officers have obligations to their NCOs and soldiers.

This article outlines expectations for platoon sergeants' training second lieutenants and lieutenants' obligations to their NCOs and soldiers.

What Officers and NCOs Do. The officer commands, establishes policy and manages the Army. He focuses on collective training that leads to accomplishing the mission. Primarily, he is involved with unit-level leadership, management and operations, concentrating on unit effectiveness and readiness. The officer also mentors and coaches his subordinate officers and NCOs.

The officer ensures his subordinate NCOs and soldiers are prepared to function as effective unit members and fight in combat.

The officer focuses on day-to-day operations at a higher level--developing training schedules, acquiring resources for upcoming events, troubleshooting unit challenges, planning and coordinating with the next higher unit and much more.

In contrast, the NCO conducts the daily business of the Army within established policy. He focuses on individual training that leads to mission capability. Primarily, the NCO is involved with individual soldiers and leading the team, concentrating on meeting the standards of performance, training soldiers and providing professional development for his officers and subordinate NCOs. At all times, the NCO coaches and mentors his soldiers, preparing them for combat and developing them for the future responsibilities.

The NCO ensures his soldiers are prepared to function as effective team members and fight in combat.

At the platoon level, the following are some of the daily tasks of the platoon sergeant. He conducts an accountability formation (an in-ranks inspection to ensure soldiers are cleanly shaven and have the proper uniform) at the physical fitness (PT) formation and then another one at the "first work call" formation. He inspects his platoon and marches his soldiers off to conduct police call. He then brings them back into a formation and marches them off to the training site.

During the day, the platoon sergeant may conduct other inspections (i.e., vehicle and equipment); may attend meetings with his lieutenant, other NCOs and (or) the battery commander; and will spend some time counseling soldiers and trying to solve their problems. With the officer's focus on higher level planning and resourcing, who is best qualified to train the second lieutenant in the day-to-day operations and technical aspects of the platoon? The lieutenant's platoon sergeant, of course.

Platoon Sergeant's Training and Developing His Second Lieutenant. I've been wearing the rank of NCO for 24-plus years, and I've trained so many soldiers that I can't count them. And to be honest, some of my easiest times training soldiers were when I trained lieutenants. They are eager to learn, just like a recruit coming into basic combat training (BCT).

The new Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) being developed to replace Officer Basic Courses (will have a Phase II of BOLC at Fort Sill) places more emphasis on young officers' abilities to lead small units in combat as new graduates. More than ever, they will need the expertise and support of their NCOs.

It is in the unit that the lieutenant learns how to lead the Army's most valuable and complex resource--the soldier. But the Army does a poor job of training lieutenants in units. At least part of the reason is the confusion about whose "responsibility" it is to train them.

Too often the platoon sergeant hears the battery commander's infamous statement, "Platoon Sergeant, it is your responsibility to train your platoon leader." Not true. It is the battery commander's responsibility to train the second lieutenant, to develop his skills and knowledge from the officer's perspective.

That does not mean the platoon sergeant does not share in the development of the second lieutenant--in fact he does. It is the platoon sergeant's duty, as a team player in the battery, to train and develop all of his new soldiers (the second lieutenant included) as much as he can.