I recently had a discussion with a CPT/P who was leaving Fort Irwin, California to attend the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. We had a great discussion, but one topic he brought up really dominated the conversation. He stated that Majors were the most underdeveloped population in the Army and that no one seems to invest in developing them, specifically brigade commanders. My counter-argument was two-fold: first, Majors absolutely get developed and the brigade commander invests heavily in them; second, the CPT/P was looking at Majors’ performance through the wrong lens. He needed to link what he observed back to how that officer sought development as a Captain; specifically, as a Commander, during post-Command broadening, and through self-development. 

(This article was expanded from a twitter thread at the request of the #miltwitter community)

1.) You learn to fight as a company grade officer. The first piece we discussed was learning to fight. To be a successful Battalion or Brigade S3/XO, you need to learn to fight as a company grade officer. At the Captain level, there should be mastery in the employment of your company, troop, or battery. Understand echelon of fires during the offense, know how to prepare a defense using engagement area development, master troop leading procedures, train and certify squad and platoon leaders on surface danger zones. Use your time to become an expert in the tactical tasks of your profession. We are all busy and there is a tendency to get consumed in the garrison grind. It doesn’t matter, you learn to fight as a company grade. What you learn is up to you, but there is no playing catch up once you are a major. 

2.) Your broadening assignment matters. The conversation transitioned to post command broadening assignments and impact to S3/XO performance. I shared what I believe to be the best advice I received: spend time as an instructor at the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course or as an OC/T at a CTC after troop command. I did not know then what I have come to fully realize now – those two jobs, better than most, prepare you to be an S3 or XO. I do not think the officer I was talking to fully realized that many of his peers do not spend twenty rotations as an OC/T for Cavalry Troops and S3/ battle staff. An initial lightbulb went on at this point, he started to realize he may have experience other Captains do not. He also realized he may have experience that some of the Majors he worked with or observed previously lacked prior to beginning their Key Developmental time and their was a foundational skill set he possessed leaving at CTC, a skill set he developed as an OC/T at a CTC. What we came to agree on is If you are a Captain getting ready to leave command for a broadening assignment you should ask yourself, and do it honestly, is this job preparing me to be an XO or S3? If the answer is no, you may consider asking for a broadening assignment that will.

3.) Self-Development and seeking mentorship are crucial. The last foundational piece we discussed was self-development. This part in many ways can complement the first two as appropriate to close knowledge gaps. If you do not have a follow-on assignment that you believe will help make you successful as an S3/XO, this is where you can fix it. You need to be self-aware, identify your knowledge gaps, and be open to asking peers and mentors what those gaps are. Build a plan that will allow you to develop the competence you are lacking. It certainly will not get any easier as an S3/XO, and there is no time to close the gap once you are in the seat. The pace of operations will not slow down for you to build competence. My battalion commander described his expectation of me as a new Battalion S3 as ‘performance on demand;’ he expected his field grade officers to demonstrate proficiency, expertise, and leadership from day one. 

4.) Your Brigade Commander will develop you. This paragraph transitions to the first point of my counterargument. This officer made the comment that he did not feel brigade commanders developed Majors. Again, he was viewing a Majors’ performance being largely influenced by the lack of attention from his current brigade commander (and battalion commander) and not as the sum of previous preparation as a company grade officer. At this point another light bulb went on and we transitioned to discussing how building a foundation to perform as an S3/XO allows you to focus on development as a field grade. I believe you are less likely to benefit from the investment of the brigade commander if you are still determining how to do your job. In my personal situation, my brigade commander held two Leader Professional Development (LPD) sessions for Majors every month, routinely sent out reading, routinely conducted physical fitness training with S3s and XOs, and issued a book reading list aimed to broaden and develop future senior leaders for the Army. For those struggling to keep up day to day, it is unlikely they were able to generate the time to truly invest in the field grade LPD program within their brigade and lost critical opportunities to develop and be developed as a result. To sum it up simply, time is the critical resource. Time is spent either learning to do the job you are currently doing (S3/XO) or developing and broadening yourself to be ready to perform those duties effectively and efficiently once you are in position and continuing to broaden and develop. 

5.) October Baseball. The final piece we discussed was ‘October Baseball,’ the idea that S3/XO time is playoff baseball. If you can learn to fight as a company grade, invest in self-development, and invest in your broadening experience you will likely have the foundation to perform as an S3/XO from day one and continue to develop and grow. Remember, it’s not a Tuesday night game with an empty stadium; it is not batter’s practice during spring training. In some cases, it might as well be bottom of the ninth with two outs and you must get a hit. This is where you either get on base or end up with a senior Captain trying to figure out why you do not know how to swing the bat. What happens in that moment will be written by the investment made as a company grade in learning to fight, in your broadening assignment, and through self-development years prior to stepping up to the plate. 

MAJ Jim Plutt is an armor officer and holds a Master’s in Military and Defense Studies from The Australian National University. He previously served as the S3 for 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment (Legion) and the S3 for 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division (Lancer). He currently serves as an S3 OC/T for Operations Group at The National Training Center. Follow his tweets @WeGettinItDone