NCO School Training Doctrine

[Admin]

[size=14pt]1^st Ranger Battalion
NCO School
Able Company[/size]

"Require nothing unreasonable of your officers and men, but see that whatever is required be punctually complied
with. Reward and punish every man according to his merit, without partiality or prejudice; hear his complaints; if
well founded, redress them; if otherwise, discourage them, in order to prevent frivolous ones. Discourage vice in
every shape, and impress upon the mind of every man, from the first to the lowest, the importance of the cause,
and what is it they are contending for."
- GEN George Washington

[size=12pt]Introduction to Basic Squad Leadership[/size]

The kind of leadership available to an organization is a principal factor in its operation. As far as armies are concerned the quality of leadership determines their success. Indeed it often determines their survival. Leadership can be defined in numerous ways, but probably the simplest definition is that leadership in any unit revolves around the ability of the person in charge to move a group of people, as a team, in the direction of a common goal. All of the terminology and concepts that have been used to describe successful leaders and successful leadership are built into this definition.

In order to be successful by any definition, a leader needs to have the necessary skills to create an environment in which subordinates have confidence in their abilities, mutual respect for each other and for the leader. A team will respond immediately, as a collective whole, as soon as the leader gives the order. Squad Leaders must lead soldiers in execution of the activities of the day. Such leadership is exemplified in understanding the instruction or task at hand before beginning; in giving clear, concise instruction; and in being a demanding, willing teacher and an aggressive role model. Leaders will never be more or less than their soldiers? evaluation of them. This is the true efficiency report. From most of your troops you can expect courage to match your courage, guts to match your guts, endurance to match your endurance, motivation to match your motivation. Leaders communicate by expressing ideas and actively listening to others. For you as a squad leader, leadership in combat is your primary mission and most important challenge.

To meet this challenge, you must develop character and competence while achieving excellence. We must focus on character, competence and excellence. It's about accomplishing the mission and taking care of your subordinates. It's about living up to your ultimate responsibility, leading your soldiers into combat and coming out victorious. Being a squad leader is much more that simply having a title. You have been carefully selected for having traits and abilities that your superiors feel will benefit your squad, your platoon and your company greatly.

With this comes the need to understand, comprehend and adapt to these new dimensions. If you can successfully take these tactics and principals and apply them correctly and effectively during drills and ultimately scrims, you have not only met the expectations of your commanding officers, but exceeded them. The test of a leader lies in the reaction and response of his followers. He should not have to impose authority. Assholes can never be leaders. He must make his influence felt by example and the instilling of confidence in his followers. The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led. This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness.

[size=12pt]Introduction to Theoretical Leadership[/size]
Expectations

"Lead me, Follow me, or get the hell out of my way."
-General George Patton

Leadership starts from the top, with the character of the leader, with your character. In order to lead others, you must first ensure you are squared away and in order. The first line of the Creed of the Non-Commissioned Officer states "No one is more professional than I." However, it takes a truly outstanding individual to go from following a creed to actually meeting the standards and living up to that creed; a true leader is that outstanding individual. As a squad leader, there will be a great deal expected from you and of you. You have been selected for this position with the belief that you can handle the increased responsibility and work load effectively. This may seem like a daunting task at first, but you will soon learn that it can be accomplished. You have been placed into this position of leadership with many resources available to you, but one of the most valuable resources is yourself. Leadership can be simply defined as the art of causing people to do what is required to accomplish a mission. But good leadership is not so easily defined.

Good leaders are concerned with more than simply getting a job done. How the job gets done is also important. What good is a leader who gets a mission accomplished, but loses the respect of their squad in the process? What good is a leader whose methods result in dissension, disorganization, ineffectiveness and poor morale? Squad leadership is characterized by responsibility and authority. As a squad leader, you are responsible for leading your subordinates in a manner that will not only get the mission accomplished, but minimize any negative effects that may be caused due to a difficult objective. Good leaders rely on much more than simply authority to lead people. You must realize subordinates are people as well, not simply tools that can be put back in a box after the mission has been accomplished. Good leaders find ways to cause individuals to carry out and order willingly rather than out of fear of reprisal. Leadership is an art, not an exact science. However, certain principles, if practiced on a consistent basis, will take you a long way towards becoming a great leader.

Reverse Roles
This is essentially the 'Golden Role' that you've undoubtedly seen your entire life. Whenever you are dealing with subordinates, always treat them the way you would like to be treated if your roles were reversed. If you keep this principle in mind at all times, you will quickly earn the respect of your squad.

Take Responsibility
One of the quickest and most surefire ways to lose the respect of not only your squad, but your peers as well, is shirking responsibility. If you make a mistake, admit it. Do not try to hide your mistakes from those in your squad or your Chain of Command. It may be very tempting to try to cover up your mistakes because others may think less of you if they are revealed, and this is magnified in a leadership position. But very rarely does hiding a mistake work, and the damage that may result when it is discovered is always far greater than what it would have been if you had come forward initially.

Set the example
Always conduct yourself in a manner that will bring credit upon yourself and will provide an excellent model of behavior for your subordinates. Never state or imply to your squad that they should "do as you say, not as you do."

Praise in public; correct in private
When you have something good to say about a member of your squad, do it so that everyone within the squad can hear. This will not only give added recognition to the individual being noticed, but also inspire others to do well in hopes of being recognized. When you have to correct a member of your squad, do it is a private, personal manner. Embarrassing an individual adds nothing to the learning experience, and since learning is the intended purpose of correction, this utterly defeats the purpose.

Be consistent, but not inflexible
This is a difficult principle to uphold, because there are no clear guidelines. For the most part, consistency is extremely important and should be a main goal. You should do things in such a manner that your subordinates will come to know and expect so that they do not have to second-guess you. You should be most consistent in your praising and correcting as well as in your rewards and punishments. However, you must also recognize people and conditions change, so you must carefully evaluate each and every situation. Because not everything around you is reliably consistent, you must maintain the ability to be flexible as well.

Know your job
Few things are more uninspiring for subordinates that to recognize that their leader does not know their own job. As a squad leader, you will earn respect and confidence of both your subordinates and superiors if you know as much as possible about your position.

Be a good follower
There are several advantages to being a good follower even after you have been appointed as a squad leader. No leader is only a leader. Every leader is a subordinate. Even the president, who is commander in chief of the armed forces and who appears to be at the top of the chain of command with nobody to answer to, must answer to the American people. Therefore, it is obvious that to remain a leader, you must also be able to be a good follower. The final example goes back to a principle discussed earlier. You must continue to set the example. If you are a poor follower, it will not take very long for your subordinates to catch on to this and begin to disobey you.

Keep your subordinates informed
No one likes to be kept in the dark, and a person is usually better able to do a job if they understand why the job needs to be done or how it "fits into the big picture." For these reasons, you should keep your subordinates informed as much as possible. Sometimes, for security or other reasons, there will be things that you cannot share with your squad. Information such as who's getting promoted in the next Company Drill obviously can't be divulged, but a situation like why you are putting your squad through rigorous training for an upcoming match, can be. But unless these conditions are present, you should make it common practice to give your subordinates as much information as possible about what they are doing and why they are doing it. This will improve moral and often help them do a better job.

It has probably occurred to you by now that much of leadership is common sense. Just by remembering and practicing the "reverse roles" principle, you will make few mistakes as a leader. Whenever you are entrusted with a leadership role, whether you are leading one person or a thousand, you must take it seriously. Remember that with every leadership position comes added responsibility as well as added authority. Always keep responsibility foremost in your mind and authority second, and you will be well on your way to becoming a great leader.

[size=12pt]Communication[/size]

Overview
Effective leaders understand the nature and power of communication and practice effective communication techniques so they can better relate to others and translate goals into actions. Communication is a sure fire way to be a productive and successful squad leader. Being able to efficiently communicate to not only your squad but to those higher than you in your Chain of Command is an invaluable skill that will benefit you greatly and quickly show your superiors that you deserve the position which you have been chosen to fulfill.

(Out-of-Game)
Constantly communicating with your squad on a variety of levels is incredibly beneficial to both their welfare and moral, and your understanding and knowledge of the talents and skills you possess under your command. Weekly squad PM's detailing the current state of the unit, things to work on and expectations to be met is a good standard to follow. Whenever you get a new squad member, it is your responsibility to contact them as soon as possible and let them know a little about you, your polices, your training and what is expected of them as a member of your squad.

There are resources available to you that make it easy to gather initial information on new squad members, but after that it is up to you to keep up to date information on your men. Along with the weekly inter-squad report, you should try speak personally with every member of the squad at least once a week. This does a few things; it tells them that you are a competent leader who cares about what his men have to say and think, and it allows you to keep up with members of your squad. Consistency and action are key elements here. It does you no good to speak with squad members, listen to their issues then do nothing outside of that conversation to try to correct the deficiencies. Make sure your squad has the ability to contact you as well. Being approachable by those in your command is very important. Otherwise, a situation may arise in which they need assistance in a matter but are too afraid to approach and speak with you.

(In-Game)

"...an order that can be misunderstood, will be misunderstood..."
-Von Moltke

Communicating accurate, timely instructions and information is vital to battlefield success. Consider this example from the Crimean War:

"Lord Raglan wishes the Cavalry to advance rapidly to the front-- follow the enemy and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop Horse Artillery may accompany. French Cavalry is on your left. Immediate." Lord Raglan yelled to the aide as he left, "Inform Lord Lucan that the Cavalry is to attack immediately."

Where was the Cavalry to attack? While the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade is history, should we be guilty of such imprecise, obtuse communications today the results would be much the same. As a squad leader, you must be able to articulate your intentions so that everyone knows the ends you seek. You must improve your communication skills. An order that is easy to understand, will be understood and complied with. When and if your soldiers are called upon to risk their lives to accomplish their objective, there must be no mistaking exactly what is being required of them. Leaders must be able to operate independently in an ambiguous and dynamic environment. Leaders at all levels must be able to communicate, coordinate, and negotiate within their Chain of Command properly and effectively.

Introduction to Tactical Movement and Realization

Situational Awareness
This is hands down the most important thing on the battlefield, from the private all the way up to the commanding officer. It is imperative that you know what is going on about you at all times and that you keep your wits about you. A calm and cool leader is much more effective than one who looks dazed, confused and a little bewildered. Knowing your situation at all times allows you to adjust your battle plan accordingly to the ebb and flow of combat, re-adjust yours troops and, if need be, order a tactical withdrawal to a stronger defensive position to repel the onslaught of the opposing side. You will have to formulate and execute a well thought out and effective battlefield plan that enables your men to effectively flank, close and eliminate the enemy with minimal casualties on your behalf. A good leader is not one who goes balls to the wall in every engagement, but rather one who can see when he has been bested, pull back regroup and assault the position again with a renewed understanding of the enemies troop strength and placement.

Keep Moving
A very, very useful tip is to never expose yourself in the exact same manner twice. Drill this into your head. It goes without saying that if an enemy sees you pop up behind rubble, take a few shots, then duck back down, there?s a good chance he?ll be expecting you to pop right back up in the same spot. Moving your head (or entire body for that matter) just a few feet off from the original position causes him to lose his advantage of a pre-aimed shot. He must now move his sights and readjust. It is not only highly recommended but common sense to do this.

The Four F's
Almost everyone has heard of this guideline before, but not everybody understands and knows how to fully implement it. It's sort of obvious, but it's a good way to drill the idea into your head so it becomes instinctive. Find 'Em, Fix 'Em, Flank 'Em, Finish 'Em. Find your enemy. This coincides with understanding your enemy, too. Set up suppression and flank with an assaulting squad where possible. Finish them off. Say it over and over.

On a related subject, you always want to put your enemy in crossfire (and avoid being caught in one yourself). This makes the enemy's cover far less effective (and potentially non-existent) and adds confusion in their ranks. Always look for a crossfire opportunity. The key to this is to synchronize your own forces movement. You both must attack at the same time (unless one needs to suppress and be a decoy while the other flanking team attempts to get into position). Otherwise, your forces will be split in (this case) half fighting a greater opponent while the other gets in position. Do not open fire until both (or more) flanks are ready.

Suppression & Covering Fire
Suppression is pretty obvious: pin the opposing force for a specific reason. While the fire may not be effective, it should be intimidating. The great thing about Day of Defeat, is its ability for suppression to work. When an MG is firing at you, you don't fire back. You prone, hide, run, whatever you can, but you most certainly do not shoot back. While MGs are most certainly the most effective at this provision, it is possible to do it with other weapons; because the sound of bullets whizzing by is still somewhat effective. With suppression, it is better to shoot at a slower, consistent rate, than to fire rapidly (and more than likely more inaccurately) with a delay in between salvos. Say, for instance, when you have two men providing suppressing fire with BARs; either do not fire at the same time and one go full auto while the other reloads, or each take turns firing in bursts or single shots. Make sure the firing never stops. This is most important when providing cover fire. Cover fire is a type of suppression fire. You suppress the enemy for a specific reason most often for one or more individuals to switch to a better position, but it's also dangerous in reaching said position. I don't want to sprint 25 yards in the open only to have my cover fire stop entirely to reload while I'm half way there. Refrain from doing this.

In reality
In all honesty, do what you would do in real life. Try to simulate your gut instinct. You will live longer and thus be more efficient at killing. Fear is what keeps you alive in real life. Fear fuels adrenaline and instinct, which allows for the quickest, best possible decisions and instantaneous reflexes.

Offensive / Defensive Understanding
As a defending team, how does one react to this? Constant observation, communication, and rapid response time. Sun Tzu said, "Know your enemy and what he's capable of, therefore there will be no surprises." The key (this is highly dependent on the terrain/map) is to rapidly reinforce that area, or, take positions where one defensive position can overlook another. Another important point to take note of is: the difference between a good defense and a bad one is how long it takes for the offensive force to breach that defense. Point being: no matter how strong the defenses are?the offensive force will always take it? Eventually, as a soldier on a defensive position, your job is to delay that force from taking your objective for as long as possible.

Patience
Patience is one of the more important virtues to have. Countless times, I have seen others (as well as myself) take the quick, dangerous route over the slightly longer, much safer route to an objective. Unless specifically told to do so, it's pretty clear what you would do in a real life situation. You wouldn't sprint across an open field when you could crawl down the flank of the field in the weeds. Patience and common sense go hand-in-hand. This reverts back to section "In Reality."

Is the Best Defense a Good Offense?
Yes. It puts pressure on the enemy and leaves them with very little offensive manpower. Since a defensive position can always be broken, it's crucial to put pressure on the opponent. With enough pressure, it leaves very little ability for the enemy to counter-attack at the same time. You essentially have nothing to lose (with regards to territory) and everything to gain. Since it's difficult to say otherwise, all said here is taking into consideration that every individual is of equal skill level. That's why there's never a perfect tactic or strategy. They need to be molded around the skill of the enemy and your own units. This is just a foundation to build upon.

Above all else, always remember the tangible fruits of your labor, not just the theoretical ones:

And as always:
[size=14pt]Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance[/size]

Copyright 2011, All rights reserved.
Do not use, alter, change, or quote outside of this thread without explicit written permission.