lessonslearned Standing Fast A
When a soldier goes AWOL, a battalion commander presents an executive offi cer with a surprising choice — and a decision to make that could aff ect his fi tness report.
As a first lieutenant in the early 1960s, I served as executive offi cer for an armored cavalry troop that was part of the XVIII Airborne Corps rapid-response force. As such, one squadron was es- sentially confi ned to the post for three months at a time. Predictably, some of the men found it oppressive enough to go AWOL. In due course, the battalion com- mander assigned me to do an investiga- tion for a Report of Survey fi led for the loss of property of an AWOL soldier from a sister troop.
On a visit to the other troop, I spoke with the troop commander and several troopers and the platoon sergeant in the AWOL soldier’s platoon area. As a re- sult of my investigation, I concluded the troop commander did not take the prop- er steps to secure the equipment, cloth- ing, and personal eff ects of the soldier when it was discovered he was AWOL. I fi led my re- port with the battalion commander, fi nding the troop commander failed in his duty to se- cure the AWOL soldier’s property. A week or so later, the battalion com- mander summoned me to a meeting. To my surprise, the colonel asked me whether it would be possible for me to conduct another inspection and this time fi nd that the AWOL soldier’s property had ended up in the small space under the barracks building.
104 MILITARY OFFICER MARCH 2016 I reacted immediately: “No, sir, I inter-
viewed many members of the troop and looked everywhere in the troop area, fi nd- ing no trace of the property.”
I told the battalion commander that if
he wanted a diff erent report, he should assign someone else to conduct another investigation. The colonel thanked me and then dismissed me. When I returned to my troop area and thought about what I had said, I com- forted myself for being true to my beliefs, regardless of how my next fi tness report would look. But to my surprise and pleasure, the battalion commander’s endorsement to my fi tness report was very strong. The colonel actually called me in to review my fi tness report, and he told me how fa- vorably impressed he was that I had had
integrity
the courage of my convictions, standing up to a lieutenant colonel. Needless to say, this kind of encour- agement to a young offi cer cemented my opinion that being honest with superiors and subordinates makes for better offi - cers and organizations.
MO
— Gerald T. Richards is a former major in the U.S. Army. He lives in Hercules, Calif. For sub- mission information, see page 6.
Tell Your Story Submit your lessons learned by email to
profseries@moaa.org or by mail to MOAA Professional Series, 201 N. Washington St., Al- exandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124