In today’s post, I would like to share a sample Company Commander Command Philosophy. Feel free to copy and paste this and modify it as needed to meet your standards. If nothing else, it’s a good starting point for your command.
LETTERHEAD
UNIT SYMBOL 15 February 2011
MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD
SUBJECT: CPT Austin’s Command Philosophy
1. My vision for this organization is to be a winning team; a cohesive band of competent, disciplined and motivated logisticians who possess the skill, the will and the teamwork to accomplish our mission.
2. Our mission dictates everything that we do. Our tactical mission is to provide field maintenance and all classes of supply, minus medical, to the 1/155th Infantry Battalion. We also have the responsibility to deploy statewide on short notice, to preserve peace, order and public safety.
3. As an organization, we live by the Army values and we also have our own values. Our values are: (1) we get the mission done right!, (2) we are tactically and technically proficient, (3) we care for our Soldiers and families with passion and (4) we are the best company in the Oregon Army National Guard!
4. In Bravo Company, we have three major priorities. Our priorities are: (1) Training, (2) Leader Development, and (3) Unit Readiness.
a. Training: Everything we do is training: supply, maintenance, formations, etc. We must train as we fight and we must train safely. We can achieve this by utilizing proper Risk Management. We must be well trained in our MOS and basic Soldiering skills. Soldiers are encouraged to attend military schools, pursue a college education and begin a professional development reading program. In addition to individual training, we must also train as sections, platoons and as a company. We must be trained to perform our wartime and peacetime mission.
b. Leader Development: One of our most important jobs is to develop future leaders. Therefore, we must always lead by example and we must utilize effective counseling and professional development programs to help our soldiers learn new skills. All leaders will invest time and resources to cross-train their people, to make sure they are proficient at their MOS and to realize their true potential.
c. Unit Readiness: We must be prepared to deploy at moment’s notice. In order to do so, we must maintain a high level of unit readiness. This include personnel and equipment readiness. All soldiers must be mentally and physically fit and our equipment must be accounted for and maintained at all times.
Remember, you are a Spartan! You are a warrior! You belong to a top notch organization. When it’s your turn to lead, lead! If you need to follow, then follow! Lead, follow or get out of the way! Take pride in everything you do and always be the tip-of-the-spear!
CHARLES C. AUSTIN
CPT, LG, ORARNG
Commanding
*** END ***
I hope this sample Company Commander Command Philosophy helps you draft out your own philosophy. Good luck.
If you have any questions or comments, you can post them below.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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Great Company Commander Philosophy Chuck. I think the key to success is to make one that is unique to you and matches your goals, leadership style and personality.
Definitely. I only provide a sample to help people get thinking about it. The worst thing to do is copy someone else’s philosophy. Make your own and put some thought into it.
This is a good example of a Company Command Philosophy. Short and sweet is the best way to write these and to keep it well open ended leaves room for specifics in your follow on policy letters. It is always best to start with a clear statement of what you expect from your unit and your time in command.
Short and sweet is the way to go. I’ve seen Company Command Philosophies that were 5-10 pages long. That’s just too much information. No one can really sort through it and remember anything from it. Being short and to the point is the way to go when drafting a command philosophy.
Thanks so much for sharing this Company Commander Command Philosophy. It’s a long time before I can think about being a Company Commander myself, but I loved reading this sample. The last paragraph was particularly inspiring. Take pride everything you do and always be the tip-of-the-spear! It’s a good philosophy for anyone.
Nice. Clear expectations guide actions and form the basis for standards. Just be sure that your philosophy is similarly concise. I’ve seen an initial counseling for a platoon sergeant that runs two or three typed pages. By the time you finish reading it, you’ve already forgotten the first two-thirds of it. Don’t try to cover every eventuality and every action. Don’t re-read it and say, “Oh, and I need to add this, and I need to talk about this.” Keep it simple and to the point. If you put a whole bunch of things in there that aren’t done or enforced, you’ve just devalued the entire document.
Very true, Daniel. Brevity is really important when doing counseling (or anything else). Creating the perfect document that is too long doesn’t do much good. You want your subordinate to know what you expect, but you don’t want to write your own regulation in the process. Keep things short and to the point.