lessonslearned The Tree Stump T

A new battalion commander unwittingly signals an implied task to his can-do command sergeant major — resulting in unintended consequences for his troops.

The day I officially would assume command of a squared-away battalion in Fort Bragg, N.C., began with a magnifi cent change-of-command ceremony. I knew the troops had been rehearsing for at least the past week, on top of their normal work requirements. After they marched off the fi eld, I beelined over to thank them for their hard work. They looked exhausted. Traditionally, the command sergeant major (CSM) escorts the new commander through the unit areas (e.g., the fl ight line, the motor pool, etcetera). Having worked all day to get their areas ready, the troops stood by as the CSM and I came through. The sun was starting to set when we fi nal- ly got to the motor pool. The troops knew this was the last event of a very long day. As we walked through, I stumbled slightly on a barely protruding tree stump that had not been sawed down com- pletely fl ush with the ground. The large stump had a diameter of about 4 feet. In passing, I said, “Wow, Sergeant Major, someone could trip on this stump, or a ve- hicle could pop a tire.” We continued on, and the end of this magnifi cent day came to a close … at least for me. At 0-dark-thirty, my phone rang. My bat- talion had been selected for an alert. At a place like Fort Bragg, units take alerts seri- ously. While they occasionally are used to

76 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2015

“welcome” a new commander, often they are for real, and wheels will be up in 18 hours. I quickly got in uniform, grabbed my gear, and headed for my headquarters area. The sun was just coming up, and my

CSM already was there, ready to show me the ropes of an alert. He took me to the motor pool fi rst, where the troops already were going through their N-hour sequence procedures. As we walked through, I hap- pened to glance down and see a large, circular, freshly sodded area in the ground where the tree stump had been. Speechless, I looked at my CSM with

bewildered eyes. He had worked the troops all night digging out the stump. “Sir,” he said, “you said you wanted it gone!” These words felt like a punch in the gut

as I realized what he had done — or, more accurately, what I had done!

think twice As a commander, be careful what

you say. Even an unspoken, implied task might be perceived as a mission by your can-do troops. They will go to incredible lengths to get it done — even when that is not your intent.

MO

— Hector E. Topete Sr. retired from the Army as a colonel. He lives in Pacifi c Grove, Calif. For submission information, see page 6.

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