PSG from Fort Benning (by Michael)

HERE IAM ON THE RIGHT AS PSG WITH MY BUDDY LT SNOKE. WE ARE LAMENTING ABOUT HOW LITTLE 5.56MM ROUNDS WE GOT TO SHOOT. THIS AFTER WE SHOT ALL THE BIG GUNS.

Ok well it's been about a week since I logged in and updated so here we go...

We are hitting the middle of week 3, so in a sense you can call this 3.5 weeks down or 1/2 of BOLC II training complete. I can't wait for it to be done. Not that it's entirely bad. It just seems to drag along with alot of waiting around for getting on to the ranges and waiting for cadre and classes...etc, not to mention the heat and humidity. Which, btw have toned down a bit. This past weekend I walked outside and it almost felt like a Utah summer morning, downright cool compared to what this place has usually given in the mornings.

Towards the end of last week my name was tossed to our senior mentor/Cadre (Cpt Madden) when he asked who would be a good platoon sergeant (PSG). (I think it was our former Platoon Leader who was finishing up here week as our Platoon Leader who recommended me). You see here at this school and many other officer schools the classes are run almost entirely by us Lts. Depending upon your lack of luck or luck as the case may or may not be, you are put into various positions and rated on your leadership skills. The leadership positions you don't want to get are company First Sergeant and Platoon Sergeant. So here I am acting as a senior NCO for this entire week. Nevermind I've never really been an sergeant before. There IS a difference between a senior sergeant and a entry level officer. That's why they call the PSG-"Platoon Daddy". You are basically the baby sitter of your entire platoon. We have 41 know-it-all Lts in our platoon. I'm now responsible for making sure they get to formation, are accounted for, are fed, get to the ranges, get to the classes, have all of their equipment....and everything that goes along. It's a big job given that most of these guys feel that they shouldn't have to take orders from anyone, including a fellow Lt.

Back home as an LT with my Guard unit I thank my lucky stars that I don't have to be my platoons PSG. He has his hands full with alot more than I have! PSGs do alot of work. Of course unlike most of these new Lts who come straight from ROTC or West Point, I have actually been an acting platoon leader for almost 1.5 years and know what that and the PSG's jobs entail.

So I have 3 days left and I'm just trying to make it day by day, from one formation or activity to the next. Then I can slink back into the shadows of 4th squad, follow orders of the new PSG and platoon leader, absorbing what works and what doesn't in regards to leadership and apply that when I get back home. I think I learn more from watching these young guys make mistakes than by being up there leading as the PSG. The perspectives are entirely different. As the PSG I'm stressing over 41 guys and everything that goes along. Meanwhile, back in the ranks each Lt is forming their own opinion about what should have gone which way and what we should or shouldn't be doing. Of course on the flipside I have 4 different cadre giving me 4 different directions on what we should or should not be doing. So it's like trying to lead a platoon with both arms tied behind your back, constantly changing direction. I'm maintaining my cool, learning and trying to make life as easy and painless for the guys as I can while still maintaining order. Such is the life of a PSG. Man, I can't wait until I get to be a platoon leader again.