Hello,
I had to jump in on this post.
There have been many excellent points made, but there are some with which I do not agree.
The advice of "listen to your NCOs all the time, they have experience, you don't" is true, but only true to a point.
We have all seen the American Vietnam movies where the competent sergeant saves the platoon time and time again from the "L.T." who is always cast as a completely incompetent buffoon.
Crap. Self-serving crap.
In an infantry platoon, if you have a strong platoon commander (2Lt or Lt usually) and a strong 2ic (WO usually) the rest of your issues will generally fall into line. If one of those two positions is lacking, the platoon has an uphill climb.
A 2Lt is inexperienced yes, and the smart ones acknowledge that. They will seek advice from their NCOs, and from other officers, both peers and superiors (a point rarely made here). They will learn fast.
But here's the bottom line - if you are a raw officer cadet put in charge of a platoon, you are just that - IN CHARGE OF THE PLATOON.
Even if your 2ic has 40 years in the army, if one of your troops dies on the range, guess who is ultimately responsible?
You've heard the phrase "Command is lonely"? Wait till things go wrong.
Suddenly you transform from that "new cherry Two-L-T" to "Mr. Jenkins, the Platoon Commander." Right this way, Mr. Investigator from the AJAG.
That is the essence of being an officer - even the most junior officer - the buck stops with you. There is nobody to blame. Unless you are General Boyle.
I digress.
If you know an order is crap, you fight it, you argue it behind closed doors, but at the end of the day you come out and pass it on without showing your feelings one way or the other. You get it done, or you are a weasel.
Never NEVER say "Gee, guys, I don't like this, but Major Bloggins wants us to ..."
It's weakness.
Listen to advice, honour the experience of your subordinates, but you are in charge. They are not.
And guess what - troops are like girlfriends - do what they ask all the time, and pretty soon they will figure out you have no spine and hate you for it, even as you give them another afternoon off (or mink coat).
Now as to that amusing NCO who made the office+sir joke - very funny.
And guess what? He's a lousy NCO.
If you need to gain popularity/respect with your soldiers by cracking off on other leadership, you are on an ego trip, but you are not helping discipline.
If the troops see the WO cracking on the officer "Well, SIR, maybe you better let me see the map ..." the WOs popularity goes up a point, the officer's goes down 10, but most importantly, the cohesion of the platoon suffers.
It's garbage, and I've seen it from both sides of the fence.
A good NCO will always endeavour to make his officer look competent. If the officer is screwing up, a good NCO will point it out subtly and out of sight of the juniors.
It goes both ways, an officer who tries to embarrass or show disdain for NCOs isn't doing any good either.
That's why the statement 'officers command' 'ncos lead' disturbs me.
Officers had better lead, or they aren't officers.
A platoon commander and 2ic know each other's jobs. If one becomes a casualty, each is expected to fill in for the other. They had better have the physical and mental stamina to perform their duties.
Most can, some can't: there are bad officers and bad NCOs.
In a fighting withdrawal, the last soldier off the position is the officer. That is leading.
In a platoon attack, the officer is with the forward elements, directing the battle from the front. That is leading.
Any officer knows that he cannot show weakness, fear, despair, or lack of confidence or it will destroy morale. That is leading.
If a platoon commander is doing his job correctly he will be working harder than anyone else in the platoon - with a tie going to the 2ic.
Good NCOs and officers are equally vital to the success of any mission.
ALL lead by example, or da*n well should.
The general difference is that the NCO came up from the ranks, and by proximity has more day to day dealings with the younger ranks. Some officers do this as well, some not so much.
We all have known 'leaders' that led from a sleeping bag; some wore bars, some wore hooks.
Likewise, we all have our favourite leaders that you would follow anywhere.
Some were officers, some NCOs.
You want to know the secret of leadership?
Figure out what the right thing to do is, do it the best you can, no matter how personally difficult. Always.
The rest is details.