How Do You Conduct Officer Professional Development?

Officer Professional Development (OPD) is a commander’s responsibility. The scope of an OPD program depends on the type of unit, the program topics deemed critical by the commander, and the time dedicated for officer professional development. The goal of an OPD program is the development of military leaders, and, while many articles stress the importance of leader development, few describe away to do it. This article will outline an OPD program that I instituted in 1-33 Armor during 1986-88. It will describe the scope of the program, how it was implemented, and the perceived results that the program achieved.

An OPD program must have a base. A comprehensive document outlining a commander’s philosophy should be that base. This document should outline not only a command philosophy but also the commander’s priorities and standards. I wrote the document used in 1-33 Armor before I assumed command. It included five sections. The first contained general guidance for all officers, both commissioned and noncommissioned. Subsequent sections contained more specific guidance for company commanders, the battalion staff, lieutenants, and NCOs. I wrote this document for three reasons. First, it cut down on the time required to give out new commander’s guidance.

Second, and most important, it provided for continuity during the command tour. Most battalion commanders seem to start fast and put out a lot of guidance. Then, a year or so later, they slow down, and forget about all the new officers who have arrived in the past year. These new people often don’t receive the commander’s guidance and philosophy. This can lead to frustrated battalion commanders and equally frustrated subordinates. Last, a written commander’s philosophy provides the base for an OPD program.

I distributed the command philosophy document to all the officers right after the change of command. The battalion’s officers had a week to digest the document’s contents. Then, we met to discuss the command philosophy. At the end of the seminar, all the commissioned officers had 30 days to schedule an appointment with the battalion commander and submit a copy of their ORB and a completed OER support form. I considered this meeting to be an initial counseling session. During this session, I asked the officer to describe his background, experience, and interests. I then asked about his goals and if he had any questions about the command philosophy or the standards expected of him. Last, we discussed the OER support form. After ensuring that the support form’s performance goals were in concert with the battalion commander’s, the OER support form, ORB, and notes from the session went into a folder in the battalion commander’s desk.

This process also occurred each time anew officer was assigned to the battalion. It ensured that all the officers knew what the battalion commander expected, and the commander knew what each of his officers expected of him. Thus, the OPD program began.

The command philosophy document contained the overall guidance for the professional development of all commissioned officers within the battalion.

The document stated, “The OPD program is designed to enhance the tactical and technical competency and promote the professional growth of officers. The OPD is a commander’s program from the top down, using chain training (seniors teach subordinates). OPD provides formal and informal opportunities for education and discussion of military subjects. Officer professional development begins with certification upon arrival, and continues with tactical, technical, logisti- - -

-ARMOR - September-October 7990 tal, and other profession of arms training that ends upon PCS." It is important to certify new officers arriving in the battalion. Upon completion of inprocessing, an officer began the certification process. The battalion executive officer was responsible for certifying incoming captains who, in most cases, were initially assigned to the battalion staff. This certification process was rather simple. The XO insured that the new captain understood the battalionys SOPs and war plans. He received a tour of the unit, and was introduced to the company commanders and fellow staff officers at the battalion and brigade. The new lieutenant underwent a more rigorous certification process. He received a checklist that he, with the help of his company commander, must complete within 90 days. To complete the checklist, the lieutenant must prove to his commander that he knew the unit SOPs, battle drills, war plans, alert procedures, range regulations, etc. He was also required to either qualify on Tank Table VI11 or as a UCOFT instructor/operator. In addition, he had to conduct office calls with the battalion staff and the CSM, complete the front portion of the OER support form, and have his initial counseling session with the battalion commander. When the completed checklist was returned to the S3, the lieutenant was required to take and pass a written comprehensive test. After passing the test, the lieutenant underwent one final trial, an appearance before an orals board. The board consisted of the battalion commander, battalion XO, S3, and two company commanders. The lieutenant reported to the president of the board, and responded to a question from each of the board members. When the questioning was completed, the lieutenant left the board room, while the members tallied the results. The lieutenant then returned, and his answers were critiqued by each of the board members. He was then informed if he passed the board. This was a significant emotional event for the lieutenant. Most did well under the pressure, and passed on their first attempt. A few passed on their second try, and one individual underwent the ordeal three times. Upon successful completion of the board, the lieutenant was declared certified and allowed to wear the battalion's unit crest on his class A uniform. A small reward, at best, but more important, this process became a rite of passage, rapidly integrated the new officer into the battalion, and ensured he met a minimal standard of professional knowledge.

The officer training program, after certification, included two distinct phases: mission-oriented leadership (technical, tactical, logistical, administrative, and managerial training), and a more broadening professional development program. The mission-oriented training complemented the unit training calendar. For example, during pre-gunnery periods, officer training consisted of gunnery-related subjects. The officer training periods also served to correct identified unit weakness. For instance, a low operational ready rate may have shown a need to focus on maintenance management.

Officer training was scheduled every Friday that the battalion was at Ft. Lewis. The battalion's NCOs, under the leadership of the CSM, planned and conducted the training for the rest of the battalion on Fridays. The CSM had every Monday afternoon to conduct NCO professional development. The battalion commander conducted the classes every other Friday. OPD on alternate Fridays was the responsibility of the battalion XO and the company commanders. The only officers not required to attend were the physician's assistant and the battalion maintenance technician. A typical schedule looked like this: 0600-0700 Officers' physical training. Responsibility for this training rotated between companies, with emphasis on innovative and interesting PT that could be used at company PT formations.

0700-0830 - Clean upbreakfast 0830-0900 - "Defense of Duffer's Drift" (an oral briefing given by one of the officers.)

0900-1000 - Introduction to battle drills, conducted by the battalion commander.

1000-1015 - Move to the motor pool.

1015-1100 - MILES troubleshoot-ingheroing class.

1100-1300 - Mount MILES on tanks and before-operations PMCS. Tanks were crewed entirely by officers.

1300-1400 - Conduct tactical road march to the training area. 1400-1700 Conduct force-on-force battle drills.

1800-1930 - Introduction to night operations, conducted by the bat talion commander.

2000-Until completion - Night operationsfiattle drills.

0700-0800 - Conduct tactical road march to the wash rack. 0800-1200 - Wash tanks; dismount MILES; after-operations PMCS.

This and other battalion level OPD classes served many purposes. It allowed the battalion commander to focus attention on a specific training subject and demonstrate the standards expected of that training. It gave officers the opportunity to make mistakes in front of their peers, rather than their subordinates. These classes improved ofARMOR - Sepfernber-October 7990 ficer tactical and technical competence.

They also developed tremendous bonding within the battalion’s officer corps. When the medical platoon leader, chaplain, signal officer, and S2 get out in the field, driving and maneuvering tanks and sharing a tactical experience with the other officers in the battalion, they become closer to their peers. They also better understand the importance of their support to the line units.

On alternate Fridays, the company commanders and the battalion executive officer were responsible for conducting the OPD training. Company commanders were responsible for training their lieutenants on their warfighting skills. The training subjects were approved by the battalion commander during the weekly battalion training meeting. Subjects included nighVday land navigation, Dunn Kempf, computer-assisted war games, company logistical operations, gunnery skills, UCOFT management, call for fire, and many others. The battalion executive officer was responsible for training the staff. The subjects he taught and trained included TOC/trains operations, staff estimate, preparation of orders, IPB, communications troubleshooting, etc.

Two months before the battalion’s external evaluation to ARTEP standards, a more intense professional development event occurred. Using all the HMMWVs in the battalion, the officers left Fort Lewis early on a Monday morning and road marched to the Yakima Firing Center. Upon arrival at YFC, a five-day tactical exercise without troops (TEWT) began. The officers conducted reconnaissance, night tactical road marches, a deliberate defense, attack, and movement to contact. The battalion staff wrote and produced orders for all these missions while on the TEWT. Orders briefings were conducted as well as rehearsals, brief backs and intelligence updates. The officers stayed in the field.

The overhead required to support the exercise was quite small. It required only HMMWV drivers and a fuel and part truck with a driver and a driver/mechanic. The officers carried their own food and slept out under the stars. Friday afternoon they returned to Fort Lewis and met with their NCOs. The NCOs received a copy of the orders developed during the week. (While on the TEWT, written orders were required at battalion, company, and platoon level.) The NCOs were briefed on the orders, and the following Monday, the command sergeant major led the battalion’s senior NCOs to Yakima for an NCO TEWT using the orders developed by their officers. The two professional development exercises proved invaluable during the external evaluation. SOPS were confirmed. Tactical and logistical operations were coordinated. Officers and NCOs knew their commander’s intent, and not just the intent written in the order. Because of the closeness and comradeship developed through a rigorous OPD/NCOPD program, subordinates knew what their superiors would want them to do in situations that are not mentioned in the commander’s intent portion of the operations order. After the external evaluation, the OPD program focused on the lessons learned from the evaluation and the development of a battalion battle book to insure that these lessons were not lost. The OPD program also attempted to broaden the professional view of each officer. The officers toured NORAD Headquarters and an F-15 fighter squadron at McChord Air Force Base, as well as the Navy‘s USS Niiizitz and the Bangor Trident Submarine Base.

During the Christmas half-day schedule, OPD consisted of a ski trip to a nearby resort. OPD also included a reading program. Duty officers were required, during their tour of duty, to read one of about 100 articles selected by the battalion commander. Because the officer could pick any one out of a hundred articles, his choice said much about his interests and personality. He was then required to write a review of the article and turn it in to the battalion executive officer at the end of the duty period. The executive officer graded the paper in three areas: comprehension of the article, content of the review, and grammar. The paper then went to the battalion commander, who reviewed it and sent it to the officer’s supervisor. If an officer had a reading or writing deficiency, this exercise quickly surfaced the problem. It resulted in more than one officer going to the education center for a reading or writing class. All officers also received a copy of the post OPD reading list that contained titles of the recommended military books at the post library. All officers were strongly encouraged to read books from that list, as well as current military journals. Military history was stressed through historical briefings given by selected officers at the start of the battalion OPD training day. Lastly, officers repeatedly heard that as members of a profession, they must keep current in that profession, much like doctors and lawyers. Good doctors and lawyers must read medical and legal journals, attend professional conventions, and write for publication. Good militarv leaders should ( jo the same.

Another imnortant nnrt -______ - - of an OPD program is the officer assignment rotation policy within the bat-. _._

- _.. -. __._ ARMOR - September-October 7990 talion. Second lieutenants were assigned as tank platoon leaders as soon after they arrived as possible. The tank platoon leader who had been in that position longest was reassigned to the battalion staff, company executive officer, or separate platoon leader to make room for the new officer. These officers remained in those positions for at least one year, and many as long as 18-20 months. I preferred to let a young officer stay in a job for 18 months. It takes most officers a year - one training cycle - before they can fully anticipate problems, discover innovative solutions to those problems, and develop complete self confidence in their job. They need to receive the chance to be the senior officer in their particular position. They need to be recognized, for example, as the best platoon leader, staff officer, or company commander in the battalion. If the officer assignment rotation policy is working properly, all officers will get that opportunity. In 1-33 Armor, an assignment spreadsheet, maintained by the Sly tracked officer assignments. It listed all the officer positions in the battalion, the nanies of the individuals, and when they began the assignment. Another column listed the projected officer replacement and anticipated rotation date. This form was updated monthly and distributed to every officer in the battalion. The process ensured that the battalion commander’s thinking on future officer assignments was not a secret. It also gave company commanders, staff, and lieutenants a chance to comment on their future assignment. If a lieutenant projected to be the next scout platoon leader on the July spreadsheet fell out of that projected assignment on the August list, he always went to his company and battalion commander to find out why. This led to constructive counseling, which in turn led to better uerformance. An imuortant Dart of a professional development program is to provide feedback on the progress of an individual’s development. Raters were required to give rated officers a formal counseling 90 days after the officer was assigned to his unit. Subsequent counseling sessions were at the discretion of the rater. The battalion commander senior-rated all the officers in the battalion except for the battalion XO/S3 and company commanders. The senior rater gave his evaluation to the rated officer face-to-face during a formal counseling session. The officer’s completed OER support form, performance, potential, and future assignments were discussed at that time. Senior raters owe it to their subordinates to personally counsel them on their evaluation.

The officer professional development program in 1-33 Armor took a great deal of time and energy. So, what was the payoff? One of the payoffs was the unit’s overall performance. The unit was well trained, maintained, and disciplined. How much of that is due to the OPD program? To quantify that is difficult, but intuitively we believe that the OPD program was responsible, in a large part, for the overall success of the unit. The battalion was able to do many things well concurrently, which requires centralized planning and decentralized execution.

Professional development caused this to happen. The unit was able to execute tactical missions even when the first- and second-level leadership was unavailable or “killed by MILES. The commander’s intent statement is very valuable if all are trained to respond to it - key lessons in OPD. The ultimate payoff is the growth of junior officers. Nothing is more satisfying to a battalion commander than to watch lieutenants, captains, and majors grow in competence and confidence.

ARMOR - An evaluation of the effectiveness of an OPD program in the near term is not easy. The true effectiveness of this process can only be measured over a period of years, as officers are given more challenging assignments. If a lieutenant becomes an excellent company commander due in part to his training in his first battalion, then the OPD program is a success. The same could be said if the captains become effective battalion S3dexecu-tive officers, or the majors become superb battalion commanders. Our TRADOC schools do an excellent job of training our officers, but they cannot duplicate the training that company commanders should give platoon leaders, nor the professional development provided by battalion commanders. All commanders have a finite amount of energy. The amount of energy a commander directs toward each of his many command requirements ultimately determines the commander’s priorities and the things that the unit does well. In 1-33 Armor, a great deal of the commander’s energy went toward officer professional development. Any professional development program will work as long as the commander leads and resources it.

LTC Richard P. Geier was commissioned from Pittsburg State University in 1970 and received a masters in military arts from the CGSOC in 1981. He commanded infantry and armor companies in the 9th ID and served with units in the 1st AD. He commanded 1-33 Armor and has served as chief of the Command and Tactics Division of the Command and Staff Department, US. Army Armor School. He is currently a student at the Naval War College.