The author lined up as an offensive lineman for the Army Black Knights.
For as long as I can remember, I have been absolutely infatuated with playing football. I tended towards the larger end of the weight spectrum as a youth, thus I was one of the chosen few whom the coach put on the offensive line. My life as a “Hog Molly” had begun, and I never looked back. Like most young kids, I dreamt of playing professional sports. Well, I got recruited during high school and chose to play football at Army. As luck would have it, I had a solid career at Army and signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers. My pro career was short-lived. So short-lived in fact, that the previous sentence is longer than my time with the Packers. But, I’m a born and bred Wisconsinite. I played on the same field as Brett Favre and got to snap the ball to Aaron Rodgers. Being a Packer was a literal dream come true. I achieved a lifelong goal, learned a lot about football, and even more about life.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself what any of this has to do with being a Field Grade Officer. Like many new CGSC graduates, I didn’t completely know what to expect going into my new role as a Battalion S-3. Sure, we’ve all heard the same tropes, but it’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what your new role will be. After a while, it dawned on me. We are all becoming the Battalion’s proverbial O-linemen. So, congratulations you newly minted Battalion XO or S-3! You are now your unit’s starting right guard and a proud Hog Molly. You will find yourself overworked, underappreciated, but vitally important. So, indulge me for the time being, and let’s examine how taking on an O-line mentality can help you prepare for life as a Battalion XO or S-3.
QB
If the Battalion is a football team, then clearly the Battalion Commander is the quarterback. They are the face of the unit and the de facto authority figure. What they say goes. They garner laud and praise when successful, but also bear the brunt of responsibility when failure arises, just like the quarterback.
WR
Company Commanders are the wide receivers. They’re out there having fun, looking pretty, running hard, just hoping not to drop the ball the Batallion Commander throws them.
D-Line
Sergeants Major are linebackers and First Sergeants are D-lineman. Enough said.
Kicker/Punter
The Chemo is the kicker. You only care about them when they shank a field goal or screw up the USR.
O-Line “The Hog Mollies” – YOU!
But you, XO and S-3, are an O-lineman. Your job relies on brains as much as brawn. Your job is a constant grind of slowly pushing a 300-pound problem six inches backward. Your job is to make everyone else look good, so don’t expect the spotlight. Your job isn’t pretty, but as goes the O-line, so goes the team.
Contrary to what you might think, being an O-lineman requires much more than being a brute that enjoys smashing into other humans, although that is enjoyable. You need to be smart. There’s a reason that NFL O-lineman are getting doctorates in mathematics. With the exception of the quarterback, most people in football consider the O-lineman to be the smartest players on the team. You need to understand the concept of the play, what the other guys on the O-line are doing for that play, what you perceive the defense is going to do on that play, and then implement adjustments across the O-line to account for what you think the defense will do. Then once you know who to block, you need to choose the best way to block him. Intellect is the hallmark of an O-lineman, and so too it should be for an XO or S3. Your brain needs to be your most reliable weapon. True, physical acumen remains important, but you’re going to be expected to be cerebral. Knowledge, judgment, forethought, and reasoning will make that task of moving a 300-pound problem down the field that much easier.
For 60+ plays a game, you’ll put your hand in the dirt, explode off the ball, and exert maximum possible effort to move the gorilla-sized human in front of you six inches backward. You do that again, and again, and again. As an XO or S3, you are going to have large problems, projects, and operations to plan. They won’t be easy to overcome. You won’t experience very many huge windfalls. Success is going to come through pushing hard every day and slowly paving the way for your Battalion and Company Commanders. An 80-yard pass for a touchdown is great; fans love it. But, the most beautiful thing to an O-lineman is a sustained drive down the field that chews up the clock, ends up with the running back in the end zone, and the defense out of breath and hanging their heads. Learn to embrace the joy that comes with numerous hard-fought little victories that eventually lead to a large success.
My favorite drive ever was a 14-play, 86 yarder against Air Force that ended with a touchdown, and a subsequent Army win. It was the first time that Army beat Air Force at Air Force since 1976. O-lineman have to appreciate the small six-inch triumphs that sooner or later let the team achieve their goal.
Sometimes success won’t even mean pushing the opposition backward. It will just mean making sure the opposition doesn’t hit your 1st round draft pick so hard that he’s out with a concussion for four to six weeks, and you’re forced to play the free agent from Annapolis (i.e Keenan Reynolds). Just as O-lineman must protect their quarterback, so too must the XO and S3 do their best to prevent problems from reaching the Battalion Commander. The Battalion Commander can most effectively lead the unit, make decisions, and guide Company Commanders when not confronted with a plethora of issues arising immediately in front of their face.
You, O-lineman, need to step in front of that blitzing linebacker and make sure they don’t reach your quarterback so that the quarterback can keep the play on track. You need to see them coming and get in position to deal with that problem before the Battalion Commander even diverts their gaze. Will you be able to pancake that dude who’s 240 and looking to give your quarterback internal bleeding? Maybe not. You might just be able to get a hand on that problem and take care of it long enough for the Battalion Commander to make a decision and keep the unit rolling down the field. It might cause you a little pain, but it’s way better than taking a sack. The team continues to succeed.
If the team is doing well, if the Battalion is rolling along, don’t expect to hear many accolades for the XO or S3. You can probably count on one hand the number of times an O-lineman is mentioned over the course of a game. Aside from the occasional downfield block where you make a squirrely cornerback look like a ragdoll, you likely won’t get much praise from anyone other than the other mules upfront. Those viewing the team from the outside will mostly focus on the quarterback and wide receivers, the Battalion, and Company Commanders. That’s good. It’s not your job to score touchdowns. It’s your job to make sure that those guys can score touchdowns. Your lone purpose is to set the stage for them to succeed. You need to be down in the trenches, blood dripping from your knuckles, hitting the opposition so hard that their short ribs are cracking and they’ll likely be peeing blood later in the day. You have to learn to enjoy the slog and revel in the masochism of getting dirty so that everyone else can look pretty. Remember that if those Commanders are getting praise and scoring touchdowns, you did your job.
I know what you’re thinking. Who in the hell wants to be an O-lineman? Toiling at a thankless job sounds absolutely miserable. No wonder O-lineman are so big, they must drown their sorrows in chili cheese dogs and Miller High Life. But here’s the thing, we’re not drowning our sorrows in hotdogs and beer, we’re celebrating our contributions. Anyone that truly understands football knows that a strong O-line is the nucleus of an accomplished offense. So too is a formidable XO and S3 the building block for a successful unit. There’s a reason that the Battalion and Brigade Commander’s pursue the stalwart “Iron Major.” Commanders know that without that solid foundation, everything else is for naught. You might not receive the most accolades, get to participate in the most captivating missions, or even leave your desk, but you arguably influence the success of the unit more than any other factor. A good quarterback recognizes this fact and without fail always thanks his O-line with nothing more than an “atta boy.” A good Battalion commander will do the same. And that’s all an O-lineman needs. We don’t want attention or praise. We derive our enjoyment from knowing that you were able to exert your will and overcome that man, that problem in front of you. Strive to be content with nothing more than a pat on the back, the enjoyment of dominating the struggle, and the satisfaction that you helped the unit.
So there you go Hog Molly. You’re about to step into a tough, thankless position that is going to leave you beaten up, with bad knees, and slightly overweight. But, it’s a job that matters. It matters so much in fact, that it sets the stage for the success of the rest of the team. If I had to do it all over again, and that coach in second grade asked me where I wanted to play, I’d answer O-line. Embrace the mentality of knowing the things that you do help the group as a whole, and that’s what really counts. Now, put your hand in the dirt and get to work. That 300-pound problem isn’t going to move on its own.
Pete is a 2007 graduate of USMA and commissioned into the Air Defense Artillery. He currently serves as the Battalion Operations Officer for 3-2 ADA out of Fort Sill, OK. He’s married with 2 kids. .