One thing I learned is about doing the right thing vs. doing things right. One can easily do things right (i.e. follow the letter of the law) but sometimes doing the right thing is harder.
One top-line leadership lesson I have learned is leaders must be both demanding and encouraging. Most are naturally inclined one way or the other, and must discipline themselves to be both in equal measure. Some blessed individuals are naturally inclined both ways, but they rare. The Marine Corps culture does promote both, which is a great strength of our Corps. Another Old Marine
I had two instances during my service where doing the RIGHT thing was HARD, yet (I still believe) morally sound.
As a young (boot, barely out of frocking) Captain, I requested mast to the CG in order to formally report a case of morale breaking toxic leadership embraced by my Bn CO. After addressing the issue to the Bn CO, and being thrown out of his office, I requested mast. I was fully aware my career aspirations were in jeopardy. But, I had sipped the TBS Kool-Aid and marched forward. An investigation was initiated and the Bn CO was subsequently relieved. This gave me no pleasure. But, problem solved.
Many years later, and now a LtCol (one of many in a HqMC staff section), toxic leadership presented itself in a more subtle manner. Without fail, departing officers were recipients of "end of tour" awards. The enlisted personnel were not blind to this. After my first enlisted award recommendation was rejected out of hand, it came to pass that the section head was of the opinion that enlisted Marines didn't need decorations to progress in their careers. Maybe, maybe not; but I continued to submit awards and have them rejected. Now, any normal Marine would expect that this section head wouldn't bother to submit an end of tour award for me because I was a real nuisance regarding the issue. Sure enough, six or so weeks after I had departed and re-joined the FMF, my end of tour award showed up. I sent it back to HqMC with an appropriately worded strong letter. I never wore it because I thought if I did I would need an additional shower on Friday and the Marine Corps Birthday. As stated above, I was a LtCol now and my "pension" wasn't in jeopardy, but I couldn't just let it go. What would my enlisted subordinates have thought if they saw me wearing that medal? That was on my mind.
Read MCDP 1 .... “Fleet Marine Force Manual 1 stated, “War is both timeless and ever changing. While the basic nature of war is constant, the means and methods we use evolve continuously.” Like war itself, our approach to warfighting must evolve. If we cease to refine,expand, and improve our professional,we risk becoming outdated,stagnant, and defeated. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 refines and expands our philosophy on warfighting, taking into account new thinking about the nature of war and the understanding gained through participation in extensive operations over the past decade. Read it, study it, take it to heart. Semper Fidelis A.M. GRAY General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Respect is earned with Marines every single day. Rank does not matter, if a Marine leader isn’t working for his Marines every waking hour they will figure it out, and fast. Because it means that leader isn’t working for the Corps or his Marines. There are some terrible officers, some terrible enlisted Marines etc. they wear their rank as a means to enforce their view of command, principally because they are incompetent and generally lazy. The great news is that somehow it usually catches up with them sooner or later.
One great leadership story of my own was Gunnery Sargent Jim Roger’s, at ITS in the fall of 1980 we had an IG coming up. It’s hard to describe how fraught the effort was, whilst still running active training cycles through the School. Suffice to say it was difficult. There was a requirement for close order drill and I got the short straw as platoon commander. Correct we had to field a full rifle platoon for inspection and close order drill, while running training in the weapons and tactics instruction sections. The inspectors would hand the platoon leader a card with the commands and off you went. I could not have been worse at close order drill. So I went to Gunny Roger’s (SNCO In Charge of 0331 training and PI trained DI) “Gunny, I don’t know how to march the Marines around the parade deck, we are gonna fail because of my inability to get this right.” Rogers, looked at me and smiled and said “Wrong Lieutenant we are gonna get you right.” So with that, after training secured for the day, almost every day, sometimes as late as 2100 and beyond, Gunny Roger’s had me in the old open heads at Camp Geiger marching around in about as tight a space as you can imagine, working on the proper commands and when they fell on which foot, etc etc. Later we had a Saturday morning rehearsal, and without much trouble, maybe a few hitches it came together. Gunny Roger’s, had organized cokes and such for the platoon, a small reward for their extra efforts. Thanking the Marines for working hard I left them to sort themselves. When the IG came, and I got the card, it was not hard, and about three commands in, the Lt. Colonel in charge stopped us, and said, “That’s good enough Lt. Let’s see what the rest can do.” The Marines just killed it. You could not be more proud of those Marines. The whole school killed it. All phases of the IG. But, personally the leadership of one Gunnery Sgt, taking the extra time to school up a left footed infantry officer will never be forgotten, and a classic example of leadership flowing both ways. It is what Marine to Marine teaching, learning and working as a close knit unit is all about.
Happy New Year Marines! Let’s hope 2024 moves the effort along in changing course with regard FD2030. Forward maaarch!
I was the CO of Weapons Company 1/8 during the Gulf War.
A few days before we began combat operations in Kuwait, a team from the 8th Marines Regiment came to brief my company on proper handling of Prisoners of War (POW) and to review the aspects of the Laws of Land Warfare that applied to same.
1stSgt Bryant and I stood in the back of the audience. As I listened to the two young Marines – a Sergeant and a Corporal – I realized they were not giving a legit brief and were actually saying things like “You all know what the rules are, but nobody is watching out here in the desert, so do what you think is best” and “We already have too many POWs, so there’s no need to bring us more” and other statements that were essentially encouraging my Marines to do whatever they felt like doing to captured enemy soldiers.
After several minutes passed, I had 1stSgt Bryant interrupt them and tell them the brief was over and they should leave immediately. Frankly, I was pissed that they would say such things to my Marines about such an important topic.
After they left, I stood in front of my Marines and set things right, using some of my previous experiences to convey the proper message.
I made sure they understood that we were about to face Iraqis who would definitely try to kill us and that we’d kill all of them if that’s what it took, but once enemy soldiers surrendered to us and we disarmed them, we would not abuse them in any way.
I left no doubt among the Marines regarding what was expected of them relative to handing captured Iraqis.
A day or two into the ground war, one of our CAAT teams (a group of heavily armed Humvees) had somehow had veered off course in the darkness and was headed straight at us.
I thought it was odd they were moving in the wrong direction and was pretty sure they were members of my company, so I figured they just drive up to us and we’d get them reoriented and on their way.
The smoke from the burning oils wells had turned our uniforms dark and as such they resembled the uniforms worn by Iraqi soldiers. They thought we were Iraqis and shouted at us to drop our weapons.
I realized they didn't know who we were and that they couldn't hear us yelling to them.
They were about 100 yards away from us and while we could hear them talking as if they were standing next to us, they obviously couldn’t hear us due to the direction of the wind.
I heard one of the Marines say, “If they make any threatening move, open fire” and I realized that something very bad could happen if the situation went in the wrong direction.
So, I told everyone near me to drop their weapons and raise their hands.
The gun vehicles slowly approached us and I can tell you that staring down the barrels of 50cals and MK19's was a new experience for us all – suffice it to say that the “pucker factor” was quite high!
As they approached is, I heard one of them say "The big one on the end looks a lot like Captain Ettore” and another one say, “He does and and he looks pissed off, too!" which caused some of the others to laugh.
As the vehicles got closer to us, we remained standing with our arms raised upward, I could hear the Marines talking among themselves, and one said, “Oh shit…that is Captain Ettore!” and the group went silent as they slowly came closer to us.
When they got to us, one of the team leaders said, "Sorry Sir, we thought you were Iraqis."
I told him "No problem...thanks for not lighting us up!"
We reoriented them and sent them on their way and nothing more was said about this incident, which serves as a great example of what’s called “The Fog of War.”
I've often wondered if this story would have turned out differently had I allowed the POW briefers to put the wrong mindset into my Marines regarding handling Iraqis who were surrendering?
I’ve had several memorable experiences as a Marine serving in combat operations, and I must say that staring into the barrels of friendly weapons and being taken prisoner by my own men ranks as one of the most memorable, and frightening!
There are several leadership lessons associated with this anecdote, but perhaps the most important are:
- Leaders must supervise and be aware of what's happening within their units. Had 1stSgt Bryant and I not attended the brief given to our Marines regarding the handling of POW's, we'd likely never known that they'd received defective (and illegal) guidance on this topic, and some might have acted upon it, thinking they were within the established laws and rules.
- Marines must be trained to be aggressive in combat and to "arrive violently" when engaging with an enemy force. That said, this aggressiveness must be tempered with sound judgement, because once rounds and ordnance are sent downrange, they cannot be "recalled." Thus, before Marines unleash the awesome firepower they have at their disposal, they must be 100% positive that they are shooting at enemy forces and legit combatants.
- The Fog of War remains on the modern battlefield, despite advances in technology. Leaders should expect it to happen and remain vigilant, so they and their Marines can avoid having "tunnel vision" regarding the original plans and details made regarding combat operations and ever changing battlefield conditions.
- Leaders should remember that everyone at every level of the chain of command can fall victim to the Fog of War. When such a situation happens, it's best to focus on getting everyone reoriented on the stated Mission of the unit, along with any modifications that are needed due to changing battlefield conditions that will enable the achievement of the Commander's Intent.
- Individual and Unit Discipline is critical to success in combat, and both must be continuously taught, developed and enforced in peacetime. An undisciplined Marine or Marine unit will not suddenly obtain necessary levels of discipline simply by deploying to combat and an attitude of "OK...this is for real...time to get serious about thing." It's easy for some leaders to ease up on various aspects of discipline in peacetime/garrison, but history has shown that without fail, undisciplined Marines and Marine units almost always experience higher casualty rates and mission failure than their well-led counterparts.
Mike- think you for taking the time to write your comment. That's a great example of first, second, and third order effects resulting from what leaders do and don't do.
" "The big one on the end looks a lot like Captain Ettore” and another one say, “He does and and he looks pissed off, too!" which caused some of the others to laugh"" - combat funny, puckering, and thought provoking at the same time.
One leadership lesson I learned is that rank doesn’t give the wearer privilege. Rank and the office of the rank is to be used to remove obstacles and provide opportunities for those I lead. Rank is NOT about me, rather it’s to benefit my Marines who I had the privilege and honor to lead.
The other leadership lesson I learned is to do what is right no matter the consequences. I learned to stand on principles, so long as those principles aligned with regulations and policies. I learned to speak truth to power on issues related to our mission until a decision is reached and follow the decision makers intent.
These lessons, having been retired for the past 24 years, still serve me well in my current profession as a civilian.
Late 60’s early 70’s there was DUNK’s ALMANAC -after reading this piece and looking it over quickly, I can tell you he’d be waaay out of step today. My WWII dad felt the same way about pistols as the author feels about grenades, too many incidences.
One thing I learned is about doing the right thing vs. doing things right. One can easily do things right (i.e. follow the letter of the law) but sometimes doing the right thing is harder.
One top-line leadership lesson I have learned is leaders must be both demanding and encouraging. Most are naturally inclined one way or the other, and must discipline themselves to be both in equal measure. Some blessed individuals are naturally inclined both ways, but they rare. The Marine Corps culture does promote both, which is a great strength of our Corps. Another Old Marine
No matter how HARD, do the RIGHT thing.
I had two instances during my service where doing the RIGHT thing was HARD, yet (I still believe) morally sound.
As a young (boot, barely out of frocking) Captain, I requested mast to the CG in order to formally report a case of morale breaking toxic leadership embraced by my Bn CO. After addressing the issue to the Bn CO, and being thrown out of his office, I requested mast. I was fully aware my career aspirations were in jeopardy. But, I had sipped the TBS Kool-Aid and marched forward. An investigation was initiated and the Bn CO was subsequently relieved. This gave me no pleasure. But, problem solved.
Many years later, and now a LtCol (one of many in a HqMC staff section), toxic leadership presented itself in a more subtle manner. Without fail, departing officers were recipients of "end of tour" awards. The enlisted personnel were not blind to this. After my first enlisted award recommendation was rejected out of hand, it came to pass that the section head was of the opinion that enlisted Marines didn't need decorations to progress in their careers. Maybe, maybe not; but I continued to submit awards and have them rejected. Now, any normal Marine would expect that this section head wouldn't bother to submit an end of tour award for me because I was a real nuisance regarding the issue. Sure enough, six or so weeks after I had departed and re-joined the FMF, my end of tour award showed up. I sent it back to HqMC with an appropriately worded strong letter. I never wore it because I thought if I did I would need an additional shower on Friday and the Marine Corps Birthday. As stated above, I was a LtCol now and my "pension" wasn't in jeopardy, but I couldn't just let it go. What would my enlisted subordinates have thought if they saw me wearing that medal? That was on my mind.
No matter how HARD, do the RIGHT thing.
Happy New Year Chesty, wherever you are!
Read MCDP 1 .... “Fleet Marine Force Manual 1 stated, “War is both timeless and ever changing. While the basic nature of war is constant, the means and methods we use evolve continuously.” Like war itself, our approach to warfighting must evolve. If we cease to refine,expand, and improve our professional,we risk becoming outdated,stagnant, and defeated. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 refines and expands our philosophy on warfighting, taking into account new thinking about the nature of war and the understanding gained through participation in extensive operations over the past decade. Read it, study it, take it to heart. Semper Fidelis A.M. GRAY General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Respect is earned with Marines every single day. Rank does not matter, if a Marine leader isn’t working for his Marines every waking hour they will figure it out, and fast. Because it means that leader isn’t working for the Corps or his Marines. There are some terrible officers, some terrible enlisted Marines etc. they wear their rank as a means to enforce their view of command, principally because they are incompetent and generally lazy. The great news is that somehow it usually catches up with them sooner or later.
One great leadership story of my own was Gunnery Sargent Jim Roger’s, at ITS in the fall of 1980 we had an IG coming up. It’s hard to describe how fraught the effort was, whilst still running active training cycles through the School. Suffice to say it was difficult. There was a requirement for close order drill and I got the short straw as platoon commander. Correct we had to field a full rifle platoon for inspection and close order drill, while running training in the weapons and tactics instruction sections. The inspectors would hand the platoon leader a card with the commands and off you went. I could not have been worse at close order drill. So I went to Gunny Roger’s (SNCO In Charge of 0331 training and PI trained DI) “Gunny, I don’t know how to march the Marines around the parade deck, we are gonna fail because of my inability to get this right.” Rogers, looked at me and smiled and said “Wrong Lieutenant we are gonna get you right.” So with that, after training secured for the day, almost every day, sometimes as late as 2100 and beyond, Gunny Roger’s had me in the old open heads at Camp Geiger marching around in about as tight a space as you can imagine, working on the proper commands and when they fell on which foot, etc etc. Later we had a Saturday morning rehearsal, and without much trouble, maybe a few hitches it came together. Gunny Roger’s, had organized cokes and such for the platoon, a small reward for their extra efforts. Thanking the Marines for working hard I left them to sort themselves. When the IG came, and I got the card, it was not hard, and about three commands in, the Lt. Colonel in charge stopped us, and said, “That’s good enough Lt. Let’s see what the rest can do.” The Marines just killed it. You could not be more proud of those Marines. The whole school killed it. All phases of the IG. But, personally the leadership of one Gunnery Sgt, taking the extra time to school up a left footed infantry officer will never be forgotten, and a classic example of leadership flowing both ways. It is what Marine to Marine teaching, learning and working as a close knit unit is all about.
Happy New Year Marines! Let’s hope 2024 moves the effort along in changing course with regard FD2030. Forward maaarch!
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬!
I was the CO of Weapons Company 1/8 during the Gulf War.
A few days before we began combat operations in Kuwait, a team from the 8th Marines Regiment came to brief my company on proper handling of Prisoners of War (POW) and to review the aspects of the Laws of Land Warfare that applied to same.
1stSgt Bryant and I stood in the back of the audience. As I listened to the two young Marines – a Sergeant and a Corporal – I realized they were not giving a legit brief and were actually saying things like “You all know what the rules are, but nobody is watching out here in the desert, so do what you think is best” and “We already have too many POWs, so there’s no need to bring us more” and other statements that were essentially encouraging my Marines to do whatever they felt like doing to captured enemy soldiers.
After several minutes passed, I had 1stSgt Bryant interrupt them and tell them the brief was over and they should leave immediately. Frankly, I was pissed that they would say such things to my Marines about such an important topic.
After they left, I stood in front of my Marines and set things right, using some of my previous experiences to convey the proper message.
I made sure they understood that we were about to face Iraqis who would definitely try to kill us and that we’d kill all of them if that’s what it took, but once enemy soldiers surrendered to us and we disarmed them, we would not abuse them in any way.
I left no doubt among the Marines regarding what was expected of them relative to handing captured Iraqis.
A day or two into the ground war, one of our CAAT teams (a group of heavily armed Humvees) had somehow had veered off course in the darkness and was headed straight at us.
I thought it was odd they were moving in the wrong direction and was pretty sure they were members of my company, so I figured they just drive up to us and we’d get them reoriented and on their way.
The smoke from the burning oils wells had turned our uniforms dark and as such they resembled the uniforms worn by Iraqi soldiers. They thought we were Iraqis and shouted at us to drop our weapons.
I realized they didn't know who we were and that they couldn't hear us yelling to them.
They were about 100 yards away from us and while we could hear them talking as if they were standing next to us, they obviously couldn’t hear us due to the direction of the wind.
I heard one of the Marines say, “If they make any threatening move, open fire” and I realized that something very bad could happen if the situation went in the wrong direction.
So, I told everyone near me to drop their weapons and raise their hands.
The gun vehicles slowly approached us and I can tell you that staring down the barrels of 50cals and MK19's was a new experience for us all – suffice it to say that the “pucker factor” was quite high!
As they approached is, I heard one of them say "The big one on the end looks a lot like Captain Ettore” and another one say, “He does and and he looks pissed off, too!" which caused some of the others to laugh.
As the vehicles got closer to us, we remained standing with our arms raised upward, I could hear the Marines talking among themselves, and one said, “Oh shit…that is Captain Ettore!” and the group went silent as they slowly came closer to us.
When they got to us, one of the team leaders said, "Sorry Sir, we thought you were Iraqis."
I told him "No problem...thanks for not lighting us up!"
We reoriented them and sent them on their way and nothing more was said about this incident, which serves as a great example of what’s called “The Fog of War.”
I've often wondered if this story would have turned out differently had I allowed the POW briefers to put the wrong mindset into my Marines regarding handling Iraqis who were surrendering?
I’ve had several memorable experiences as a Marine serving in combat operations, and I must say that staring into the barrels of friendly weapons and being taken prisoner by my own men ranks as one of the most memorable, and frightening!
There are several leadership lessons associated with this anecdote, but perhaps the most important are:
- Leaders must supervise and be aware of what's happening within their units. Had 1stSgt Bryant and I not attended the brief given to our Marines regarding the handling of POW's, we'd likely never known that they'd received defective (and illegal) guidance on this topic, and some might have acted upon it, thinking they were within the established laws and rules.
- Marines must be trained to be aggressive in combat and to "arrive violently" when engaging with an enemy force. That said, this aggressiveness must be tempered with sound judgement, because once rounds and ordnance are sent downrange, they cannot be "recalled." Thus, before Marines unleash the awesome firepower they have at their disposal, they must be 100% positive that they are shooting at enemy forces and legit combatants.
- The Fog of War remains on the modern battlefield, despite advances in technology. Leaders should expect it to happen and remain vigilant, so they and their Marines can avoid having "tunnel vision" regarding the original plans and details made regarding combat operations and ever changing battlefield conditions.
- Leaders should remember that everyone at every level of the chain of command can fall victim to the Fog of War. When such a situation happens, it's best to focus on getting everyone reoriented on the stated Mission of the unit, along with any modifications that are needed due to changing battlefield conditions that will enable the achievement of the Commander's Intent.
- Individual and Unit Discipline is critical to success in combat, and both must be continuously taught, developed and enforced in peacetime. An undisciplined Marine or Marine unit will not suddenly obtain necessary levels of discipline simply by deploying to combat and an attitude of "OK...this is for real...time to get serious about thing." It's easy for some leaders to ease up on various aspects of discipline in peacetime/garrison, but history has shown that without fail, undisciplined Marines and Marine units almost always experience higher casualty rates and mission failure than their well-led counterparts.
Semper Fidelis,
Mike Ettore
"𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐫." - 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨
Mike- think you for taking the time to write your comment. That's a great example of first, second, and third order effects resulting from what leaders do and don't do.
" "The big one on the end looks a lot like Captain Ettore” and another one say, “He does and and he looks pissed off, too!" which caused some of the others to laugh"" - combat funny, puckering, and thought provoking at the same time.
Thanks, cfrog!
I always enjoy reading your posts and comments!
One leadership lesson I learned is that rank doesn’t give the wearer privilege. Rank and the office of the rank is to be used to remove obstacles and provide opportunities for those I lead. Rank is NOT about me, rather it’s to benefit my Marines who I had the privilege and honor to lead.
The other leadership lesson I learned is to do what is right no matter the consequences. I learned to stand on principles, so long as those principles aligned with regulations and policies. I learned to speak truth to power on issues related to our mission until a decision is reached and follow the decision makers intent.
These lessons, having been retired for the past 24 years, still serve me well in my current profession as a civilian.
Semper Fidelis, Marines!
Late 60’s early 70’s there was DUNK’s ALMANAC -after reading this piece and looking it over quickly, I can tell you he’d be waaay out of step today. My WWII dad felt the same way about pistols as the author feels about grenades, too many incidences.