Editor’s note: As the world watches the best of professional golf in The Master’s this weekend, it is not ironic that we have the opportunity to run this piece.  For the Army, the Master Gunner is the foremost professional on how to make our organizations lethal.  Their expertise, knowledge, and drive are the same as the individual who will wear the “Green Jacket” on Sunday.  If you want to win when you arrive on the next battlefield, find the NCO wearing the “Master Gunner Identification Badge” on your staff, it is imperative to make them a centerpiece of your staff and all training to ensure we do.

Of all the NCOs in the Operations Cell (S3), none is more valuable than a Master Gunner (MG). On any particular morning, you’re most likely to encounter the “Mike Golf” whittling away at one of several projects that seem to require attention.  During the humdrum of the morning routine, the MG has to answer emails, re-route correspondence, and oversee both the land manager and the ammunition manager.  On a typical day, this takes the first hour to complete before they are free to travel, moving down to the Company’s to catch up on maintenance and crew training.  Moving rapidly from place to place, the MG can be difficult to pinpoint unless they are tethered to a computer somewhere, working diligently to generate a product that is as close to complete for the next big brief. 

In the last few years, I have heard numerous discussions on what an Operations Sergeant Major (OPS SGM) actually does at the battalion level.  Doctrine provides some guidance but truthfully, it is minimal, which could be good or bad depending on the organization, the leaders in the organization, and the OPS SGM. The purpose of writing this article is to offer my thoughts and lessons learned throughout my ten months in the position for two different organizations. It is my hope that it could help a future Sergeants Major along with his or her field grade counterpart and the Battalion Commander in the garrison environment. 

“In the beginning, there were majors.” 

The first standardized brigade in the continental Army had one major.  As the staff expanded, the Army increased the number of officers in a brigade and battalion. For a company-grade officer who has never been on a battalion staff, the majors may seem unapproachable, but they have always been essential to a unit’s operation.  Their experience, relationships, and leadership help the unit function.  Whether you are a Company Commander or a member of the staff, it is important to know who the majors are, what their jobs entail, what roles they play, and how you can build a relationship with them.