Army Captain Christopher J. Courtney recently offered new lieutenants ten rules for success in his recent piece “The Successful Lieutenant.” This is the second part in my ten part series on his rules (here is the first).
Put The Troops First. This rule is perhaps best summarized in a quotation from Field Marshal Sir William Slim. He was the commander of the British 14th Army in the Burma Campaign of World War II.
I tell you as officers, that you will not eat, sleep, smoke, sit down, or lie down until your soldiers have had a chance to do these things. If you hold to this, they will follow you to the ends of the earth, if you do not, will break you in front of your regiments Quite simply, you put the needs of your troops ahead of your own with every chance you get. As a platoon leader, I had a simple rule in the field, no squad leader could eat until all of his soldiers had eaten, the platoon sergeant could not eat until all of the squad leaders had eaten, and I could not eat until the platoon sergeant had eaten. On the surface it appears a minor gesture but to the soldiers it cements the bond between the leader and those led. Spare no effort to praise and reward soldiers for outstanding performance it costs nothing and gains everything. Help them solve their problems and you will earn their loyalty. Remember, soldiers are smart and can smell a phony a mile away. Get to know the soldiers in your platoon. After three months, you should know their names, names of family members, home towns, and any unique problems with which you can help. Showcase your good soldiers to the company and battalion commanders. This way, when it comes time to approve their awards, they will remember the soldiers and approve them. If you take good care of your soldiers they will take care of you.
Field Marshal Slim’s quote is very good. And it represents common leadership saying in Marine Corps: officers eat last. While this does, literally, mean that officers eat last at a given mealtime, the aphorism is much deeper than just that. It offers guidance to the young lieutenant to be a robot when it comes to unselfishness. Be the guy everyone can count on. Not enough warming layers to go around on a cold night? Give them yours. Too much weight on their backs? Take a heavier load. Dangerous patrol? Go on it. Patrol thirsty and low on water? Give yours to the struggling young Marine. Why? Because you are tough enough to persevere, and these are the right things to do. Remember: this whole military leadership thing is not about you. It’s about accomplishing a mission and taking care of the scared, tired 19 year olds your country has given you to command.
Caution. Sometimes I think Marine leaders take the eating last part a bit too literally. Some officers would make it painfully obvious that they were waiting to start eating. That’s not what this means. Eating last means putting your men’s needs and interests above your own in a silent, calm manner. Who literally puts their fork into their mouth first matters little—especially when in garrison or when food is plentiful. “Officers eat last” smacks of superiority when misapplied. It can be paternalistic and may make you look like you are trying to “score points.” So sure, ingest your calories last, but also remember that your comfort comes last. All the time.
As a lieutenant, senior enlisted personnel will instruct junior Marines to do your tasks for you. This cuts both ways, and the lieutenant leader should tread lightly. Yes, when you are busy, the guys will set your tent up for you. Planning a patrol? The guys will probably dig a pit for you to sleep in. Sending reports to higher? The Marines will save you a plate of food. But the second you find yourself standing around watching, hiding, or chatting while the Marines work, you should know you are wrong. Help out. Pitch in. At the range? Participate in the range call. Cleaning rifles? You damn well better clean your own rifle, but when you’re done with your own rifle, go help clean the machine guns.
On my first deployment to Afghanistan, another lieutenant in my company often stood around watching while other Marines worked. He and his platoon sergeant thought they were above the work and that they needed to keep a certain air about them by not partaking in such work. I did not subscribe to this and, whenever not preoccupied with another, more pressing task, I chipped in. And you know what? My guys were the best. When I was busy, they took care of me every single time. The saved me food. They set up tents for me. They did everything they could to make my life easier. Mutual respect wins the day for the low level leader—especially in combat. On my second deployment, the guys worked for days at the end of the deployment to get everything lined up so we could turnover the battlespace at midnight with the oncoming unit and I could fly out right away to be able to take the LSAT while in Afghanistan (the LSAT was being offered at an Air Force base in a safe part of the country). They didn’t have to do that for me. They did it because they wanted to.
These ideas are simple; executing them day in and day out is what differentiates the good leaders from the mediocre or bad.
The best part of the Field Marshal Slim’s quote is here: “Get to know the soldiers in your platoon. After three months, you should know their names, names of family members, home towns, and any unique problems with which you can help.” This mentality was responsible for any successes I had as a Marine officer; I genuinely cared for the Marines. On mounted patrols, I took my turn overnight on the machine gun. While inside the safety of an outpost, I would pair up with a Marine and stand overnight post with him. All the while I’d pepper the Marines with questions about home. What does the girlfriend do for a living? What sports sis the Marine play in high school? What hobbies? Goals? Dreams? Etc. I’d also often ask them questions about the war. If you were in charge, how would you try to find and kill more Taliban? What more could we could do to prevent IEDs? How would you attack us if you were the Taliban? And so on and so on.
Go meet your Marines where they are, spend time with them, and get to know them on an intimate level. You cannot fake this.
And after you ask them the questions, remember their answers. This is not manipulation; this is being a good person. You don’t go write down their answers and memorize every little fact you can. One of my biggest mistakes in my time as a Marine Corps leader was when I first arrived at my platoon and we were leaving for Afghanistan (regular readers here know that I was pulled from the Marine Corps’ Infantry Officers Course and sent straight to Afghanistan with my new battalion). Meeting and getting to know my reinforced platoon seemed like an insurmountable task on such short notice. How am I supposed to get to know 51 guys in the week before were go on patrols in Afghanistan? I asked myself. I had my platoon sergeant circulate a questionnaire I formulated and then gathered each Marine’s responses.
Name. Rank. Birthplace. Hometown. Interests. Etc. I took the 51 responses, glanced through them once, and then folded them up and never looked at them again until I found them a couple years after I left the Marine Corps. This was a waste of whatever goodwill the Marines extended me as their new lieutenant mere hours before the deployment they had trained up for an entire year. And yet despite this, within a few weeks, I had wonderful working relationships with a large number of the 51 guys. How? It sure wasn’t because I had spent hour after hour pouring over their responses and memorizing the guys’ birthplaces. No, it was because I spent countless hours with the Marines as they executed their duties asking questions out of genuine curiosity. I spent a ton of time with my squad leaders going over their suggestions for patrol routes, objectives, and other tactical decisions. Where possible, I took their ideas into account before issuing orders. And they, in turn, vouched for me to the more junior guys. That’s the model that worked for me.
So, yes, as the officer you should eat last. But you should also always remember what that quote means.
To finish this post, there’s one small issue with Captain Courtney’s second key to being a successful lieutenant. Courtney titled this tip “Put The Troops First.” It’s important to remember that as a lieutenant, or aspiring lieutenant, military leaders (especially lieutenants) must always put the mission first and the troops second. There will be times when you have to order—yes order—your Marines to do very dangerous things. While you have to have the stomach to make that decision, you must also know that you, as a person, deserve for them to follow your order. If you know, deep down inside, that you aren’t good enough, do not be a combat arms leader. You must always put the mission first. And for your men to follow your orders, you must be worthy of being followed.
