Adagio for Strings, 9/26/04

[kato13]

Webstral 09-26-2004, 11:11 PM It's been some time since I posted, and a lot has been happening. We're on our way to the field for two weeks, so lots more will happen in the immediate future.


There's so much worth talking about that it's hard to know quite what to prioritize. The people here are real characters, and I'd like very much for my readers to get to know my brothers in arms. The situation here also deserves some attention, as does the training we're conducting. And of course, there are my own reflections on things. Where to go?


I apologize in advance if I repeat myself. Everyone is getting the first draft. Once I get back and start cleaning up, a lot of the material will drop out.


First of all, we've been training hard. This is to be expected. However, we've been training a bit too hard. This is a National Guard unit, after all, and people need a little bit more time to acclimatize. Unfortunately, we're not really in charge of our own training schedule. More on that later.


I continue to experience life here as a roller coaster. Some days I fail to do my job as a team leader, while on others I do pretty well. Some days my morale is pretty good, while on others my morale and mood are pretty terrible.


I'm noticing that I've been losing my sense of humor. This isn't a good thing, but it's been happening. I want things to go right, and overall this is a good thing. However, I have a tendency to take screw-ups too hard or poor leadership (by others) too seriously, and it has been affecting my demeanor. However, my challenge is to move beyond just reciognizing the problem and solving it.


The platoon sergeant is starting to get on my nerves. SFC Hernandez is basically an okay guy, but he has some issues. The first is that despite having seventeen years in the Army, he's not a very seasoned infantryman. The First Platoon and Third Platoon platoon sergeants are both much more seasoned infantry, and I know this gnaws at SFC Hernandez. His response is fairly typical of the Army, I'm afraid. He deals with his anxiety and self-image issues by being aggressive with his people. In trying to prove his leadership, he ends up alienating his people.


To make matters worse, SFC Hernandez undergoes major mood swings. I mean MAJOR mood swings. It's like living with an alcoholic. I never know what's going to turn him from Dr Jeckyl into Mr Hyde. Some things that should be a big deal aren't, while some things that aren't a big deal become a big deal. I'll try to illustrate what I'm talking about.


About a week ago we ran a rifle range. One soldier lost his CCO, or his Close Combat Optics. This is a scope that mounts (like most scopes) on the top of the rifle. A little red dot appears in the scope and indicates the impact point of the round. The CCO in question fell off the soldier's rifle right at the end of the night. The soldier's team leader already had conducted a sensitive items check, which is when the leadership checks everyone under him for high-value items like weapons, optics, gas masks, and so forth. However, that soldier got called to a detail right before we got on the bus. The team leader didn't check before we got on the bus to return to our big tent, nor did he check when we got off the bus. I'm not dogging my fellow team leader--I didn't check my guys, either. I probably should have, but I got lucky and didn't have anyone lose anything.


So we discovered the fact that a CCO was missing the next morning. This was huge, and SFC Hernandez took a lot of heat for it, I'm certain. The CCO was recovered by a party that went back out to the range, but the damage was done. Later that day, SFC Hernandez brought all the team leaders out of the training area and told us we were a big pack of f*** ups and that he was after our rank from now on. One slip-up, and he'd have any one of us demoted to E-4. This was an over-reaction, to say the least.


Later in the day, we returned to our big tent. One of my guys went straight to the latrine. We're trying to practice accountability, so we're supposed to tell someone on our team when we go anywhere--including the latrine that's part of the big tent. Yeah, Paul, it's pretty ridiculous, although I must admit there is at least a rationale behind it. Anyway, SFC Hernandez decides he has to talk to my man Foward and calls for him. Foward's name sounds a couple of times. No Foward. SFC Hernandez' head of steam builds right back up, and he shouts "Who the **** is Foward's team leader?"


That would be me. To make a long story short, five minutes later Foward and I are standing next to the platoon sergeant's bunk. He asks Foward where he was. Foward replies that he went to the latrine, admittedly without telling me where he was going. This is unlike Foward, so I wasn't really upset about it. Neither was SFC Hernandez--at least not at Foward. SFC Hernandez says, "Okay, man. Carry on."


Foward leaves. SFC Hernandez turns to me, and his demeanor changes completely. He tears into me as being a major disappointment and not taking my job seriously, etc. I'm not managing Foward--he's managing me, etc. Now there's something to be said for being responsible for the guys underneath me. But when I've established the rules--or at least my intent to enforce the rules--and my soldier fails to obey them, the responsibility lies at least partly with Joe. Team leaders can establish a climate, but when the platoon sergeant fails to hold Joe accountable for his actions, there's a problem.


This is one incident among many. SFC Hernandez doesn't do a good job of explaining what he wants. He makes a lot of assumptions about how things should be done based on his stated mission, then gets worked up when things didn't turn out the way he wanted. We're supposed to take the initiative, except when we don't do exactly what he had in mind.


SFC Hernandez is also upset that his NCOs don't come to him for advice more often. Now that I've seen the Dr. Jeckyl and Mr Hyde routine a few times, I have no intention of letting my guard down around him. I don't want his advice because I don't want to have any more to do with him than absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, I'm going to be in his vehicle in the platoon convoy, so I'm going to have to figure out some way of either dealing with him or getting him some mood stabilizers.


It's not just me who sees this problem. By this point, SFC Hernandez has managed to get most of the people in the platoon pretty turned off to his leadership style. But no one really knows what to do about it, other than hope that he develops a Prozac habit soon.


By the way, Foward is a new name. Last week, I was moved from B Team to A Team, which gives me three new soldiers. Well, they aren't new. Two of them have been in A Team, 3rd Squad all along, so it's a bit of a misnomer to call them new. Foward and Patz are the full-timers, while Doc Murillo (the platoon medic) has been assigned to me for administrative purposes. Anyway, all three of my guys are good soldiers, Foward's slip-up notwithstanding. Foward had been with B/1-184 IN for almost six years, while Patz was a Hum Vee mechanic on active duty. Both are in their mid-twenties and are the kind of mature Joes team leaders dream of. We'll work well together.


I'm at the limit of my time on the computer, so I'll have to catch up after coming back from the field.


One last note: my wife is coming to Ft Bliss for two days. After much wrangling, the leadership got us a little time off. At last! A lot of men are bringing their wives down from the Bay Area. We can't go off-post, but Char has a room at on-post billeting. That will do fine.


Webstral

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TiggerCCW UK 09-27-2004, 05:56 AM Sounds to me like Hernandez is very scared and is attempting to deal with his fear by projecting it onto others. I'm not a shrink, but thats what it sounds like. Is there any way that you can quietly raise your concerns about his abilities with a more neutral figure like the Padre? He could then perhaps have a quiet word where it might do some good. One other point, is there any risk that he might see some of what you've put on your posts? Keep your head down around him - his kind can make things very awkward for you.


On the plus side I'm glad you're getting on well with your new troops. Keep us informed and stay safe!

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Jason Weiser 09-28-2004, 12:13 AM Sheesh Web,

Wonder if SFC Hernandez is wound a bit too tight normally? This could be bad in combat, guy might pull a Captain Queeg. You have the right idea, just make sure your PL is a solid guy and knows what the hell is going on with this guy.


Something about this makes me think we'll be hearing a lot more about Happy Hernandez (my title).



Keep your head down, we are praying for you.

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evilmike 10-06-2004, 02:58 AM *sighs*


Out here you can tell almost right away if the NG/Reservist was prior service (spent time in the active component) or has been a 'Weekend Warrior' the whole time.


Hernandez sounds like a fuckup. Watch your ass, and keep an eye on him when you hit the field out here, because my prog is that he'll crack big time and start looking for goats.


And dude, jack up your troops. That troop needed to be reminded that you DO NOT GO ANYWHERE ALONE WITHOUT TELLING SOMEBODY. His ass woulda got 'volunteered' for whatever shit detail I needed filled that day/week.


Train how you fight. Sweat saves blood.

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