The A-team
The A-team is a Flight of highly skilled Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and Tactical Air Command And Control Specialists that support the US Army 101st Airborne Division 1st BCT, Ft Campbell, KY. They are professionals that understand that a unit is smarter, faster, and better when individual subject matter experts share their knowledge and teach the other members the skills. The A-team was called to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. Despite the loss of their Team Chief they took the skills and lessons learned and apply them to the combat zone. Suffering Zero casualties while operating in hostile regions of Iraq the A-team was crucial in bringing peace to the region and allowing Iraq to protect itself from its own terrorist, by leveling the playing field. All these individuals will go on to create even more dynamic work environments through the leadership phylosophies instilled in them by their Team Chief:
A few things regarding leadership, followership, discipline, training, and combat from a broke ass ROMAD. Some of this is TACP specific, but a lot of it is universal.
Leadership:-Your troops respect experience. Without it they will not know how to measure themselves or know if that is where they want to be when they are in your shoes.-Your troops are more apt to give respect if you show them the same.-You have to be a player/coach. If your troops don't ever see you get your hands dirty how will they ever know you know what you are talking about. You can't lead by example from your office chair. I am not saying that supervisors don't need extra time to do EPRs and other office type stuff, but not during training, any major tasker from higher up, or when you are clearly the most qualified to make decisions. A lot of the time you can just help them get started then once they see that you don't think your to good to do what they are doing then you can get back to your office work, they aren't dumb they know that paperwork is a big part of the job when your in charge and they will understand.-Your troops want to feel they are part of something bigger. Build team unity and espirit de corp, remember every good team has something they can be identified by. Who wants to part of something great if no one knows they are part of it?-Remember what you liked best about your military experience and make sure your troops get to experience it as well.-There are many different types of troops each one a little different. Find out each ones strengths, exploit them, and give them recognition for their strength even if it is just bragging about them and what they can do in front of their peers.-Ask your troops what they think. Your troops will do a better, faster job if they feel they had a stake in how it was done. A lot of the time they know a better way and or know what is broke about the way it is done already.-Every person deserves a place that they can get away from the hum drum and constant nit pick of work. We senior guys all have our homes to go to, so if your going to force your guys to live in the dorms let that be their place. You can only ride a guy so long before you break his will and once he doesn't care you have lost your status as a leader to him. Sure we have to keep are yards clean and presentable so the neighbors don't complain, but noone can just invade our personnal space inside. I say they aren't animals and like us unless someone complains about a neighbor their is no reason to invade their personal space, but like our yards they need to make what is seen to the public neat and orderly.-Things will surely suck and be hard during deployments. The time to condition the guys for that is during training events and exercises. Garrison should be a more relaxed environment.
Followership:-To be a good leader you must first be a good follower. If you can't take orders what makes you think anyone wants to take yours?-Find out what is important to the people in charge of you and excel at it. It will do two things. First you will please your boss and he will feel you are on the same page. Second he will more than likely overlook a lot of other stuff you are or aren't doing and should or shouldn't be.-You need to do things your boss' way or you will never know if it works or doesn't and when your the boss you will be able to make what you feel is the best decision. Only after you have tried it his way should you suggest a different approach without being asked. Saying that, I find you usually learn more from bad supervisors than good ones.
Discipline:-Remember what your goal is. I have found that with hardskill AFSCs i.e. TACPs due to the nature of their business are right now type people. These guys are gonna go into hostile environments and if something happens you won't have time to type something up and sit them down to explain to them what they are doing wrong and how to correct it while being fired on by a dishka hunkered down behind a crumbling wall, someone will probably be killed. So why would you correct them in garrison that way? These type of guys need an immediate response to incorrect behavior or action and a physical consequence and often simultaneously being reminded that what they did or didn't do could cost them their or worse someone else's lives.-When they do something severe enough to warrant a major punishment i.e. article 15 there will be plenty of paperwork to do and a stack of LOCs on a bunch of other minor things really won't matter much. I have seen plenty of squared away guys with no blemishes on their records get the book thrown at them for doing one dumb thing.-Sometimes you have to do paperwork on your guy to keep him from getting abused by the system.-Remember what is really important and think about the situation before you make a corrective statement or action. You will do nothing, but create a rebel and loose respect if you make a take corrective action about something you don't have all the facts and or don't weigh the circumstances. Like for instance if a guy just got back from a tdy in which he was in the field the whole time busting his ass don't be that guy that goes to him and reminds him he needs a haircut.
Training:-Most people are hands on learners. Make the training an event and try to replicate a possible scenario that they may be in and need that skill you are trying to teach. Make it something they physically do. I have never ever learned anything well that was taught to me on a power point or some other brief. So what would make me think anyone else does.-You learn best when you teach it. That is why I like to pair up an experienced guy with an experienced guy and manipulate it so that the inexperienced one does most of the work. He gets his hands on and the other guy become more proficient by teaching or explaining. -If you wait for someone else to teach you everything about anything you will surely be short changed. Read the TO or manual and just play with the peice of equipment or study the material that is the only way you will know that you know everything.-The more motivated a guy is to train the more he will get out of it. So make the training an event that is challenging and rewarding. Friendly competition I find is enough motivation most of the time. Letting the superior performer go home early works when the later doesn't (it isn't a secret that the military in general waste time during the duty day most salary jobs workers do so I say let him waste time at home, besides I am sure uncle sugar will get his time back during a deployment, tdy, or someday when the leadership has piss poor planning and we are all at work well after the duty day should be over.)-If you plan your training, execute, then document you will save a lot of heart ache come inspection time. You can plan and execute training and have all the confidence in the world the guy will go to war and do bad things to bad people, but if his training isn't documented no one else will know. Besides it looks like ass when you go back and try to remember when you did the training and everything somehow ends up being one of three different dates.-Don't waite to update something in your training records at the last minute before you go non-current in that item. If you did training and used a gps last week or month and you just finished another training event and utilized a gps in the same manor, update it again.-Physical training doesn't have to always be structured and unpleasent. Competitive sports a couple times a week does two things. It makes the troops utilize muscles other than the major muscle groups exercised during regimented PT and their competitive nature usually pushes them to exert more during PT without even realizing it and actually get a better work out. The guys that don't give it all they got during competitive sports PT are not at regimented PT either.
Combat:-Ops check all your gear the way you will use it before you pack it. This will usually eliminate forgetting a cable or something and make sure it works properly.-Once you get where your going ops check it again. Shit breaks in shipment.-Load the frequencies and callsigns of everything and everyone you could possible talk to even if you don't think you will. I didn't expect to call a an apache in flight with a different mission to come eleminate a couple mortar observers, but I had the info in my radio and tried it and they helped me out. The same goes for the predator when we moved through the mountains they weren't tasked to me but I got on their freq and called and asked and the obliged. We were able to move faster and safer when the ground commander had peace of mind that they were watching over us.-You are usually the coolest show in town. You will be surprised how much everyone will want to work with you no matter how menial the task or mission so request air support even if you don't think you will need or get it. -Read the spins and ACO pull out the information that applies to you and remember it.-Never be the first guy in the door, out the truck, or off the bird. If anyone gets smoked it is him.-Don't be point man or the last guy during movements.-Pack out and gear up with what your comfortable and used to. Don't let the army throw an SOP at you or your guys that will force you to be uncomfortable and unfamiliar with your gear. That doesn't mean don't wear a helmet or body armor, be smart about it.-Don't forget your toothbrush, even if they tell you it will be a 2 day op. It doesn't weigh much and trust me a week and a half is too long to go without brushing your teeth.-Be envolved in the planning of every mission your envolved in. You will have better situational awareness and expedite things when you know what everyone else is doing and where they are or going.-Don't be over zealous to be a hero and volunteer to do something that is more dangerous than it needs to be. When the time comes you'll know it and all you have to do is your job and do it well and I promise, you will be a hero.
"BAD ANDY" ROMAD FOR LIFE!
