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Young platoon leaders receive a lot of advice on what to do. Time-tested lessons such as to listen to their NCOs, be fit, be motivated, learn from their mistakes and take charge are valuable, but not the entire story. In the spirit of the television series What Not to Wear, we asked members of the Army's Platoon Leader Forum (http://PL.army.mil) what they have learned not to do as platoon leaders, based on their own experiences and observations.
1LT Scott Kuhn
Past PL, 2/C/2-7 CAV
Current CDR, D/2-7 CAV
Do not compromise your duty in an attempt to be popular. I was a platoon leader tasked with training and patrolling with my Iraqi army and Kurdish security forces counterparts in northern Iraq. I replaced a platoon leader early in the tour. My mission was to do trilateral patrols on a daily basis with our counterparts. My biggest struggle was reconciling the intense desire to have my guys "like" me with accomplishing my mission. On more than one occasion, I heard complaints that we patrol too much and for too long. The old platoon leader "never did it like that." It would have been so easy to compromise standards, integrity and our mission to gain "brownie points" with the Soldiers, but doing so would have violated my values and undermined my Soldiers' respect for me, which ultimately derives from sticking to those values.
1LT Brock Young
Current PL, 3/670 MP CO, CAARNG
The worst thing I've seen my peers do is accept the answer, "We've got this, sir. It's NCO business." I've seen several good officers burned down because they didn't "trust but verify." I had a little easier time figuring when my NCOs were trying to fool me since I was once an NCO (MP PSG); however, that never stopped them from trying. Some things may be "NCO business," but new PLs who forget that they are responsible for everything their unit does or fails to do can end up on the wrong side of an FLIPL, commander's inquiry or Article 32 hearing. Platoon leaders should be kept apprised of everything that is going on within their platoon. Granted, they can let the NCOs handle the smaller discipline issues, but the PL still needs to know...