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Primary Leadership Qualification Course (PLQ) Mega thread
- Thread starter Jarnhamar
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I’ve just recently completed PLQ under the new four-mod system and thought I would add some input on what’s needed and what I found helpful:
1. Get a DWAN account and review, review, review. Make sure you have easy access to PAMS, Training Plans, MLPs, CANFORGENs and orders websites, Documentum, and so forth. If you don’t know where to find these, ask.
2. Most review for specific topics you will need to know for the field portion will be covered when you’re teaching your peers in Mod 2 (e.g. map and compass, target indication, machine gun fire, etc), however still review the PAMs and ensure your personal knowledge is current.
3. Stay on your unit to make sure they give you joining instructions and all required paperwork. Don’t show up missing stuff. On that note, don’t show up broken and expect you’ll be carried through the course without being able to carry your ruck sack.
4. Inspections die down after Mod 3, but don’t think the staff won’t check your rooms.
5. Support the guy in the breach. Whether that’s your course senior or your section commander for the day. Don’t argue with that they say or they’ll be docked marks for it.
6. … That being said, don’t take anything personally. Staff want to see everyone have the ability to jack each other up; and if you can do it to your peers you can do it to BMQ troops. If you didn’t like something that was said, buy each other a beer and hash it out away from the staff.
7. Learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses early on, and exploit them. Some guys are amazing at teaching but suck at recce. Some guys suck at map and compass but are amazing in urban ops. Figure this out, and rely on one another.
8. You are being hard assessed as a 2IC and soft assessed as an IC. A lot of us thought this sucked, instructors included. However, the focus for PLQ is now on making you an effective section 2IC; being the IC for an exercise is evaluated on your general leadership traits only – it’s the 2IC who needs to be supported.
9. As the 2IC, be resourceful, creative, and support your IC however possible. Your job is to make the IC’s job as easy as possible, right down to making sure everyone’s changed their underwear and uses the right gloves.
10. Typical classroom day:
0500 Reveille
0510-0610 Fitness (usually candidate-led)
0610-0700 Shower, shave, breakfast
0700-0800 Weapons draw/section admin
0800-1200 Classes
1200-1300 Lunch
1300-1600 Classes
1610 Dismissal
1610-2300 Personal time to review notes, study, prep for inspections, prep kit, etc.
2300 Lights out
11. Typical field day:
0500 Reveille
0510-0700 Ablutions, breakfast
0700-1700 Section-level assessments
1700 Supper
1800-0200 Section-level assessments
0200-0500 Forced rest every 48 hours, or another section assessment
12. The Mod 3 field week is five days of stability operations. The old PLQ exercised sections by having them follow the battle procedure process to set up a meal line or mod tent; the new PLQ has you actually go out and do something: set up a VCP, some sort of humanitarian aid station, or conduct a presence patrol. Assessments are done in five hour blocks: that’s five hours from the time you receive your orders to the time your section is back in the biv site.
13. The Mod 4 field week is nine days of offensive, defensive, and urban operations. You will have two days of urban ops (house clearing, fortifying built up areas, etc) followed by three days of defensive operations (digging to stage 6, clearance patrols, operating in depth, etc) followed by one day of section attacks followed by three days of offensive operations (recce patrols). These are done in seven-hour blocks; again, from the time you receive your orders to the time your section is back in the biv.
I’m sure there’s more, and I’m happy to answer any questions anyone may have.
1. Get a DWAN account and review, review, review. Make sure you have easy access to PAMS, Training Plans, MLPs, CANFORGENs and orders websites, Documentum, and so forth. If you don’t know where to find these, ask.
2. Most review for specific topics you will need to know for the field portion will be covered when you’re teaching your peers in Mod 2 (e.g. map and compass, target indication, machine gun fire, etc), however still review the PAMs and ensure your personal knowledge is current.
3. Stay on your unit to make sure they give you joining instructions and all required paperwork. Don’t show up missing stuff. On that note, don’t show up broken and expect you’ll be carried through the course without being able to carry your ruck sack.
4. Inspections die down after Mod 3, but don’t think the staff won’t check your rooms.
5. Support the guy in the breach. Whether that’s your course senior or your section commander for the day. Don’t argue with that they say or they’ll be docked marks for it.
6. … That being said, don’t take anything personally. Staff want to see everyone have the ability to jack each other up; and if you can do it to your peers you can do it to BMQ troops. If you didn’t like something that was said, buy each other a beer and hash it out away from the staff.
7. Learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses early on, and exploit them. Some guys are amazing at teaching but suck at recce. Some guys suck at map and compass but are amazing in urban ops. Figure this out, and rely on one another.
8. You are being hard assessed as a 2IC and soft assessed as an IC. A lot of us thought this sucked, instructors included. However, the focus for PLQ is now on making you an effective section 2IC; being the IC for an exercise is evaluated on your general leadership traits only – it’s the 2IC who needs to be supported.
9. As the 2IC, be resourceful, creative, and support your IC however possible. Your job is to make the IC’s job as easy as possible, right down to making sure everyone’s changed their underwear and uses the right gloves.
10. Typical classroom day:
0500 Reveille
0510-0610 Fitness (usually candidate-led)
0610-0700 Shower, shave, breakfast
0700-0800 Weapons draw/section admin
0800-1200 Classes
1200-1300 Lunch
1300-1600 Classes
1610 Dismissal
1610-2300 Personal time to review notes, study, prep for inspections, prep kit, etc.
2300 Lights out
11. Typical field day:
0500 Reveille
0510-0700 Ablutions, breakfast
0700-1700 Section-level assessments
1700 Supper
1800-0200 Section-level assessments
0200-0500 Forced rest every 48 hours, or another section assessment
12. The Mod 3 field week is five days of stability operations. The old PLQ exercised sections by having them follow the battle procedure process to set up a meal line or mod tent; the new PLQ has you actually go out and do something: set up a VCP, some sort of humanitarian aid station, or conduct a presence patrol. Assessments are done in five hour blocks: that’s five hours from the time you receive your orders to the time your section is back in the biv site.
13. The Mod 4 field week is nine days of offensive, defensive, and urban operations. You will have two days of urban ops (house clearing, fortifying built up areas, etc) followed by three days of defensive operations (digging to stage 6, clearance patrols, operating in depth, etc) followed by one day of section attacks followed by three days of offensive operations (recce patrols). These are done in seven-hour blocks; again, from the time you receive your orders to the time your section is back in the biv.
I’m sure there’s more, and I’m happy to answer any questions anyone may have.
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Much appreciated
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Quirky said:
What was yours?
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I meant what element
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ARMY_101 said:
Pretty Much Bang on.
The PLQ-A (Army) is slightly different then the Infantry, take out the Urban Ops,
and honestly, Stab Ops was fun, best part of the course. Have fun with it,
Only thing I did not like about the course, and it was brought up in the AAR. No opportunity to make command decisions, ie, timings etc. basically being a parrot for the marching NCO, yes you march em back and forth, however, you have an NCO two steps behind you telling you what they are doing wrong, not giving you the chance to correct it, and if you correct it outside of them telling you, you get blasted. Even when your pointer is bear marching and you are trying to correct it.
Eye In The Sky
Army.ca Legend
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upandatom said:
But was he/she in step with themself?
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Wait, you can't jack up your guys if they mess up?
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upandatom said:
Like any other course, the staff are notoriously bipolar: some staff members would ask the course senior "so, when do you want to form up tomorrow morning?" and whether he said 7:30am or 5:15am the response from that particular MCpl was "okay." Other staff told the course senior to fall in, marched the platoon themselves, and barked "you will be outside at 0655" like a BMQ course. Of course, we knew the hard vs. soft timings (classes started at 0800), so it was up to the staff member on whether he'd let us learn our time appreciation skills and wear it if it failed (pro tip: you cannot march a platoon 1.5kms in 10 minutes).
Eye In The Sky
Army.ca Legend
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ARMY_101 said:
Sounds like no 'course standard' existed, which, IMO, is the responsibility of the Crse WO and Crse O to iron out, and brief the other instr's on, and ensure is being followed.
This is pretty simple stuff, why are 'we' failing at it??
Jarnhamar
Army.ca Myth
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I disagree with only hard assessing troops on the role of a 2IC.
It's very common for even non-plq qualified Corporals to act as section commanders in the reserves and reg force. (A lesser extent for the latter but still happens).
Giving them a "soft access" only seems like a waste of time, resources and not taking into consideration the reality of what corporals are faced with.
It's very common for even non-plq qualified Corporals to act as section commanders in the reserves and reg force. (A lesser extent for the latter but still happens).
Giving them a "soft access" only seems like a waste of time, resources and not taking into consideration the reality of what corporals are faced with.
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I am a supervisor with no PLQ and was a section 2 I/C in A Stan with ammo for the close down.
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Eye In The Sky said:
Agreed. Part of me felt like it was the whole "keep them on their toes." Same as BMQ when you'd get jacked up by your 2IC for not having your CADPAT pockets ironed, then the next day get jacked up by your IC for having your CADPAT pockets ironed.
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ObedientiaZelum said:
This was pretty much unanimous on our course too, even up to the Standards WO and school OC. The only justification they could (attempt to) give was that in the ideal army, Sgts are Section Commanders and MCpls are 2ICs, so why overwhelm a Cpl on his PLQ with a Sgt's job?
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ARMY_101 said:
My response to that would be that if you're trying to build leaders, treat them as leaders. Making your Cpl work as a Sgt gives him a great appreciation of the jobs "2-up" from his own. And of course, we never take Section Commanders as casualties that would cause a 2iC to become that new section commander.... :facepalm:
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