My Best Advice for Future Army Officers: 12 Big Lessons

#4: Understand the Officer/NCO Relationship

One of the most important relationships you’ll have as an Army officer is the one you build with your Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs). If you learn how to work effectively with your NCOs, you’ll accomplish far more than you ever could on your own. If you ignore them, compete with them, or fail to use their experience, you’re making your job much harder than it needs to be.

The Army’s officer and NCO corps are designed to complement one another. Each has a different role, but both are essential to mission success.

Generally speaking, officers focus on the “what” and the “why,” while NCOs focus on the “how.”

As an officer, you’re responsible for understanding the commander’s intent, developing a plan, allocating resources, managing risk, and looking beyond today’s mission. You’re expected to think several steps ahead and ensure your unit is prepared for tomorrow’s challenges, not just today’s tasks.

Your NCOs then take that plan and make it happen. They supervise the training, coach individual Soldiers, enforce standards, maintain discipline, and ensure the details are executed correctly. They turn your vision into reality.

For example, imagine your company has a live-fire exercise coming up next month.

As the officer, you’re thinking about questions like:

• What are the training objectives?
• How does this support the battalion’s mission?
• What resources do we need?
• What are the risks?
• What transportation is required?
• Do we have enough ammunition?
• Are our Soldiers medically ready?
• How will we evaluate success?

Meanwhile, your Platoon Sergeant is thinking about things like:

• Have the Soldiers completed their PMCS?
• Are the weapons clean and serviceable?
• Does everyone have the correct equipment?
• Have range safety procedures been rehearsed?
• Who still needs additional coaching before qualification?

Neither role is more important than the other. They’re simply different.

One mistake I see some young officers make is trying to do their NCOs’ jobs. They spend all day supervising every detail, micromanaging every task, or solving problems their squad leaders and Platoon Sergeants are perfectly capable of handling.

Don’t fall into that trap. Your job isn’t to do everything yourself.

Your job is to determine what needs to be accomplished, establish priorities, communicate your expectations clearly, and then trust your NCOs to execute the plan. Stay involved, ask questions, monitor progress, and provide guidance—but resist the urge to micromanage every decision.

That doesn’t mean you simply hand out orders and disappear. Good officers stay engaged. They circulate through training, observe what’s happening, remove obstacles, secure resources, and make decisions when needed. They verify that standards are being met without constantly looking over everyone’s shoulder.

One of the smartest things you can do as a new lieutenant is seek advice from your experienced NCOs. Your Platoon Sergeant has probably seen problems similar to the ones you’re facing. Your First Sergeant has likely trained hundreds of Soldiers. Your Master Sergeant or Sergeant First Class has years of practical experience that no school can teach.

Ask questions. Listen carefully. Consider their recommendations before making decisions.

You don’t have to follow every recommendation, because ultimately the responsibility belongs to you. But you’d be foolish not to take advantage of the knowledge sitting right beside you.

As you grow as an officer, begin training yourself to think strategically instead of tactically. Every decision you make should cause you to ask questions like:

• How does this affect next month’s training?
• What problems could this create later?
• What resources will we need?
• Who else will this impact?
• What is the commander’s intent?
• How can I make my unit stronger six months from now, not just today?

For example, if several Soldiers are leaving for schools next month, don’t wait until the week before to adjust your training schedule. Start planning now. If you know Annual Training is six months away, begin identifying maintenance issues, readiness concerns, and supply shortages today rather than waiting until the last minute. Strategic thinking means looking ahead, anticipating problems, and solving them before they become crises.

Another example is leader development. A tactical thinker asks, “Who can lead this mission today?” A strategic thinker asks, “Who should I develop today so they’ll be ready to lead six months from now?” That’s how great officers build strong organizations.

Finally, remember one of the most important leadership lessons you’ll ever learn:

You get paid to accomplish the mission through other people.

Your success isn’t measured by how much work you personally complete. It’s measured by how well your platoon, company, or staff performs. Great officers build capable teams, develop confident leaders, delegate responsibility, and create an environment where Soldiers and NCOs can succeed.

The best officers I’ve worked with understood that leadership isn’t about doing everything themselves. It was about building a team of outstanding NCOs and Soldiers, providing clear direction, removing obstacles, and giving them the tools they needed to accomplish the mission.

Learn to trust your NCOs. Respect their experience. Think strategically. Empower your leaders.

If you do those things consistently, you’ll become a far more effective officer—and your unit will be stronger because of it.

#5: Your Reputation Is Everything

As an Army officer, your reputation is one of the most valuable assets you’ll ever have. It takes years to build, but it can be damaged in a matter of minutes. Long before people know you personally, they’ll often hear about you from someone else. That’s why it’s so important to build a reputation that reflects your character, competence, and professionalism.

Your word should mean something. If you tell your commander you’ll complete a task by Friday, get it done by Friday—or communicate early if circumstances change. If you promise your Soldiers you’ll look into a pay issue, an award recommendation, or a school request, follow through. People don’t expect perfection, but they do expect honesty and reliability. One of the quickest ways to lose credibility is by making promises you don’t keep.

Be a person of integrity in everything you do. Do the right thing even when no one is watching. Sometimes you’ll face decisions where taking the easy path is tempting. Maybe it’s overlooking a deficiency to avoid conflict, cutting corners to save time, or taking credit for someone else’s work. Those small decisions shape your reputation just as much as the big ones. Integrity isn’t something you turn on during inspections or evaluations—it’s something you practice every day.

I’ve always believed in a simple principle: say what you do and do what you say. If you commit to something, follow through. If you make a mistake, admit it. If you don’t know the answer, be honest and then go find it. People respect leaders who are genuine far more than leaders who try to appear perfect.

Strive to be dependable and reliable. Be the officer your commander trusts with difficult assignments because they know you’ll get the job done. Be the leader your Platoon Sergeant can count on to make sound decisions. Be the officer your Soldiers know will support them, enforce standards fairly, and never leave them wondering where they stand.

Another important part of your reputation is how you treat people. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room or constantly remind everyone you’re in charge. Treat everyone with dignity and respect, whether they’re a brand-new private or a general officer. People remember how you make them feel, and those interactions contribute to the reputation you build throughout your career.

You should also strive to become the kind of leader others naturally look up to. Not because of your rank, but because of your character. Be competent. Be confident without being arrogant. Be trustworthy. Be calm under pressure. Be someone who solves problems instead of creating them. Those qualities inspire confidence, and they make people want to follow your lead.

Finally, understand that your reputation follows you everywhere in the Army. The military is a surprisingly small organization, and people talk. A strong reputation for integrity, competence, and professionalism can open doors throughout your career. On the other hand, a reputation for being dishonest, lazy, or unreliable can close opportunities before you even know they existed.

Protect your reputation every single day. It’s one of the few things no one can take away from you—but it’s also one of the easiest things to lose. Build it carefully, guard it fiercely, and never sacrifice it for short-term convenience or personal gain. At the end of your career, people may forget your awards or assignments, but they’ll always remember your reputation.

#8: Be a Lifelong Student

The best officers I served with all had one thing in common: they never stopped learning. They understood that commissioning as a Second Lieutenant wasn’t the end of their education—it was just the beginning. The Army is constantly evolving, and the leaders who continue to grow are the ones who remain effective throughout their careers.

Make learning a daily habit. Read military history to understand how great leaders handled difficult situations and why certain battles were won or lost. Study Army doctrine so you understand not just what the Army does, but why it does it. Attend every professional development session, school, and training opportunity you can. Whether it’s Air Assault School, Ranger School, a maintenance course, or a local leader development session, every experience adds another tool to your leadership toolbox.

Don’t limit your learning to military topics, either. Some of the best leadership lessons I’ve learned came from books on business, communication, psychology, decision-making, and personal development. Authors like John Maxwell, Stephen Covey, and Jim Collins have influenced countless military leaders because the principles of good leadership are universal. The more perspectives you expose yourself to, the better prepared you’ll be to lead Soldiers from different backgrounds.

One habit that helped me throughout my career was asking questions. If I didn’t understand something, I’d ask someone who did. I learned a tremendous amount from experienced Platoon Sergeants, First Sergeants, Warrant Officers, Company Commanders, and Battalion Commanders simply because I wasn’t afraid to seek their advice. Most senior leaders genuinely enjoy mentoring young officers who show initiative and a desire to improve.

Just as importantly, learn from your own experiences. Every field exercise, deployment, inspection, counseling session, and training event teaches valuable lessons. When something goes well, ask yourself why it worked. When something goes poorly, conduct an honest after-action review and identify what you could do differently next time. Some of your greatest lessons will come from your mistakes—provided you’re willing to learn from them instead of repeating them.

Finally, remember that leadership is a journey, not a destination. There is no point in your career where you’ve “figured it all out.” The officers I respected most were often the most experienced, yet they were still reading, asking questions, seeking feedback, and looking for ways to become better leaders. Adopt that same mindset early in your career, and you’ll continue growing long after many of your peers have become complacent.

Never stop learning. Never stop improving. The investment you make in yourself today will pay dividends throughout your entire Army career—and your Soldiers will be better because of it.

#9: Get as Much “Troop Time” as You Can

If I could give one piece of career advice to every new Army officer, it would be this: get as much troop time as you possibly can. The Army needs good staff officers, but it needs great troop leaders even more. Your years leading Soldiers at the company and battalion level will shape the rest of your career.

When I say, “troop time,” I’m talking about serving in leadership positions where you’re directly responsible for Soldiers and accomplishing the mission. These are jobs like Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, and other assignments in deployable, MTOE (Modified Table of Organization and Equipment) units. This is where real leadership is learned.

Stay in operational units as long as you reasonably can. Volunteer for assignments where you’ll be training Soldiers, conducting field exercises, preparing for deployments, and solving real-world problems. Those experiences simply can’t be duplicated behind a desk.

Some young officers are in a hurry to move to brigade, division, or higher headquarters because they think it will help their careers. My advice is exactly the opposite. Don’t rush into staff positions. There will be plenty of time later in your career to work on PowerPoint presentations, planning documents, and staff coordination. Right now, your focus should be learning how to lead Soldiers.

Your time as a Platoon Leader is especially valuable. In my opinion, it’s one of the best jobs in the Army. You’ll have the opportunity to lead between 20 and 40 Soldiers, work side-by-side with an experienced Platoon Sergeant, make decisions, solve problems, and develop your own leadership style. You’ll make mistakes, and that’s okay. Those lessons will make you a much better officer later on.

The Company Executive Officer (XO) position is just as important. Many young officers underestimate how much they’ll learn as an XO. You’ll become an expert in maintenance, logistics, property accountability, training management, budgeting, and administration. Those aren’t always glamorous topics, but they’re critical to keeping a company combat-ready. The experience you gain as an XO will pay dividends for the rest of your career, especially if you later become a company commander.

The reason troop time is so valuable is because it teaches lessons you simply can’t learn from a book. You’ll learn how to motivate people when they’re tired, frustrated, or discouraged. You’ll learn how to make decisions with limited information. You’ll learn how to balance mission accomplishment with taking care of your Soldiers. You’ll learn how to work with NCOs, communicate with commanders, and lead under pressure.

You’ll also build credibility. Officers who have spent significant time leading Soldiers earn the respect of both their peers and their subordinates because they’ve been there. They’ve spent time in the motor pool, the field, at the range, on deployments, and in training exercises. They understand what life is like at the company level because they’ve lived it.

That’s not to say staff assignments aren’t important—they absolutely are. Every officer will eventually serve on a battalion, brigade, or higher-level staff, and those assignments provide valuable planning and organizational experience. But in my opinion, the best staff officers are usually the ones who first spent years leading Soldiers. They understand how their decisions affect units on the ground because they’ve been in those units themselves.

As long as you’re still learning and growing in troop-leading positions, don’t be in a hurry to leave them. Stay in companies and battalions. Seek opportunities to lead. Volunteer for challenging assignments. Deploy if the opportunity arises. Learn from your NCOs, your fellow officers, and your commanders.

Years from now, when you’re serving as a field-grade officer or senior leader, you’ll draw upon those early experiences countless times. The leadership lessons you learn while leading Soldiers at the platoon and company level will become the foundation for everything you do later in your career.

In short, the more quality troop time you get early in your career, the better officer you’ll become. It’s one of the best investments you can make in your future as an Army leader.

#10: Remember Why You Chose to Serve

There will be days when being an Army officer isn’t much fun.

You’ll work long hours preparing for inspections, training exercises, inventories, and missions. You’ll spend evenings answering emails, updating slides, writing counseling statements, and solving problems that seem to appear out of nowhere. You’ll miss birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and family events because the mission comes first.

Plans will change at the last minute. Equipment will break when you need it most. Weather will ruin carefully planned training. Soldiers will make mistakes. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, things simply won’t go as planned.

There may even be moments when you wonder whether you’re making a difference.

When those moments come—and they will—take a step back and remember why you raised your right hand in the first place.

Every officer has a different reason for serving. Maybe you wanted to lead Soldiers. Maybe you wanted to challenge yourself. Maybe military service runs in your family. Maybe you felt called to serve your country after a national tragedy. Whatever your reason was, don’t lose sight of it when the job becomes difficult.

Being an Army officer is much more than a paycheck or a steppingstone to another career. It’s a privilege that very few Americans will ever experience. Out of a nation of hundreds of millions of people, only a small percentage choose to serve in the military, and an even smaller percentage earn the opportunity to lead Soldiers as commissioned officers.

Never take that responsibility for granted.

Every day, young men and women will look to you for guidance, direction, and leadership. Your decisions will affect their training, their careers, their families, and sometimes even their safety. That’s an incredible responsibility, and it’s one that deserves your very best effort.

There will also be moments that remind you exactly why you chose this profession. You’ll watch a young Soldier earn a promotion they worked hard for. You’ll see a struggling Soldier develop into a confident leader.

You’ll complete a difficult mission that everyone thought was impossible. Years later, you might receive a phone call, email, or message from a former Soldier thanking you for believing in them or helping shape their career. Those moments make all the long days worthwhile.

Remember that your commission isn’t simply a title or a rank. It’s a commitment to serve something much bigger than yourself. It’s a commitment to the Constitution, to the Army Values, to your fellow officers and NCOs, and most importantly, to the Soldiers entrusted to your care.

Throughout your career, you’ll have opportunities to choose the easy path or the right path. Choose the right path. Lead with integrity. Put the mission first but never forget to take care of your people. Leave every unit better than you found it and strive to make a positive impact wherever you serve.

One day, your Army career will come to an end. When that day comes, your Soldiers probably won’t remember every training meeting you attended or every briefing you gave. They won’t remember every maintenance report or every PowerPoint presentation.

But they will remember how you led them. They’ll remember whether you were honest. They’ll remember whether you treated people fairly. They’ll remember whether you cared about them. They’ll remember whether you were the kind of officer they were proud to serve under.

So never forget why you chose to serve. Keep that purpose at the center of everything you do, especially on the difficult days. If you do that, you’ll build a career you can be proud of and leave behind a legacy that extends far beyond your time in uniform.

Your commission will open many doors throughout your Army career, but it won’t automatically make you a great leader. Leadership is something you earn every day through your actions, your character, and the example you set for others.

The officers who make the biggest impact aren’t necessarily the ones with the most badges, the fastest promotions, or the longest list of awards. They’re the ones who genuinely care about their Soldiers, continuously improve themselves, make sound decisions under pressure, and consistently do the right thing—even when no one is watching.

As you begin your career, remember that every assignment is an opportunity to learn. Every mistake is an opportunity to grow. Every Soldier you lead is someone who has placed their trust in you. Never take that responsibility for granted.

Stay humble. Keep learning. Trust your NCOs. Develop your expertise. Build your reputation one decision at a time. Think strategically. Lead with integrity. Most importantly, remember that your job is to develop people while accomplishing the mission. If you can do those two things well, you’ll have a successful Army career regardless of what rank you eventually retire as.

Years from now, your Soldiers probably won’t remember every briefing you gave or every training meeting you attended. They won’t remember every maintenance report or every operations order you wrote. What they will remember is how you made them feel, how you treated them, and whether you were the kind of officer they could trust when it mattered most.

Make it your goal to be the officer people still talk about years after they’ve left your unit—not because you demanded respect, but because you earned it. If you lead with humility, competence, integrity, and genuine concern for your Soldiers, you’ll leave every unit stronger than you found it. In my opinion, that’s the true measure of a successful Army officer.

Good luck on your journey. Our Army needs outstanding officers now more than ever, and I hope you’ll choose to become one of them.