Post by MarioPost by a425couplePost by MarioPost by a425coupleIn WWII, or prior to 1965, the amount of ammunition
carried was much less.
However a soldier doesn't carry maps and binoculars and other
stuff.
Anyway I suppose that in every war a soldier had to carry
more weight than an officer...
Well, I've seen indications of it go, the way you imply.
But,,, I know,, I carried a more than full share of 7.62
links, and/or 60mm mortar rounds,
I am not an expert in management but I think that an upper rank
(any leader, in fact) is supposed to do more mental work rather
than muscular work.
Well, true, the more important product of a military Lieutenant
or Captain's work is more directly due to their mental abilities,
rather than pure muscle.
However, if the Privates through Sergeants have observed
enough to decide their Lieutentant is a wimp ("A weak and cowardly
or ineffectual person") or slacker,,, tough times are ahead.
He is probably not going to make it to management training.
(Subthought 1)
I do see the "subject" of your thread is "Platoon Leader"
and that is not accidential. I am not aware of any military
that calls that position "Platoon Manager", "Platoon Thinker",
"Platoon Nobility" or "Platoon Planner".
But,,, I do not know all, what is the title in Italian?
(Subthought 2)
Following the possible line of logic indicated above, it is concievable
that a smart, managerial type Lt. might decide, the best
thing for my platoon is for me to be rested and able to
make 'ideal' decisions, therefore I will not spend/waste
energy in packing my share of the unit's shared ammo
(i.e. a machine gun team often has four warriors, a team leader,
the machine gunner and two riflemen who protect and carry
extra ammo for the machine gun ((in the above instance those
were 7.62 linked rounds)) Those four can not carry enough,
so many others in the platoon carry for that's weapon's shared
defense of everyone. Same with the mortar, everyone helps carry.)
And,,, from there, I suppose the next step for this 'smarty'
is to decide to have some big muscular private carry the
lieutenant's food rations. etc. etc.
Then this smarty/managerial Lt. could decide that he is
too important to have his precious decision making
ability put at risk, so he will stay in camp so he can plan better,
and sent those 'muscles' out on patrol.
Well, some think that 'school of thought' did grow among
one other service in the SEAsia war I was in,
and maybe had something to due with development
of the word and concept of "fragging".
Marines, and pretty much any troops, will put up with
pretty awful conditions if they are well led, and see that
their officers are enduring it just like they are.
(Subthought 3)
It's interesting that some figure that since "mental" is a more
important factor for an officer, that fitness or "muscle work",
would be less in OCS or TBS, than in enlisted boot camp.
That is not true at all in reality. We started with 10%
in our class who were among the best enlisted, they
indeed also had problems and had to further develop
in fitness (or fail). A good capable mind should be in a
capable fit body.
The Marine Platoon Leader must be:
"Mentally Strong and Physically Tough
Imbued with a warrior spirit and able to thrive in a complex and chaotic
environment and persevere despite the obstacles to mission accomplishment.
Possesses the self-discipline to push past preconceived limits."
Post by MarioPost by a425coupleAnd positively, I know at night in defensive positions,
because of checking our perimeter, I got less sleep than
anyone.
I am not an expert in management but I think that every good
leader always has a good deputy (just in case of...).
Anyway, the Parkinson's Law always works fine...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_law
... and Peter's Principle too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle
"For example, an engineer with great technical skill might
get promoted to project manager, only to discover he lacks the
interpersonal skills required to lead a team."
Yep!