Mark Cruz
2nd Platoon Leader
2002-2003

	

		"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."- Confucius

	The position of Platoon Leader is very important to the NJROTC Unit at Princess Anne High School. As Platoon leader, you will be very closely involved with the training of several first year cadets as well as directly responsible for their development and participation within the unit. Keeping this in mind, the future leadership of your unit depends on the actions of both the platoon leaders and his or her junior staff members. The task at hand is not an easy one; however, it can be accomplished provided that you have a little organization accompanied by a lot of planning ahead.
	As 2nd Platoon leader during the 2002-2003 school year, I have learned many things about leadership and what it takes to successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully, manage a platoon. My platoon proved to be especially challenging due to the fact that they had to be bussed over to PA during 4th block from Bayside High School.  Hopefully what is inside this binder will serve as a set of loose guidelines that you can adhere to while learning the “ropes” of your new job.  I can only hope to encompass most of the larger points exactly what this job entails; however, some lessons I have learned cannot be transferred to paper. Leadership is an art, not a science, and thus there is no one correct way to be a Platoon Leader; however, there are several things you can do to manage the platoon efficiently. It is my most sincere hope that these pages will be helpful to you throughout the year and hopefully, your own experience as a platoon leader can add pages to this binder and help others in the process. 

										      Best Wishes,

C/ENS Mark Cruz

2nd Platoon Leader 2002-2003

Conduct
	
	One must always lead by example. It is important to remember that form the moment you first walk into the classroom to the moment you leave it, you have dozens of eyes watching your every move. Thus, you should always act accordingly. Staff table should not be excessively noisy. If you give the first years “at-ease” or “lock it up”, you and your staff should follow suit. Do not talk while your NSI is instructing or otherwise show attitude. Do not ask your first years to do anything you yourself would not do. There is a time for work and a time for play. Your time in Caton Center is not a time to be doing your homework. If nothing else, you can review advancement or help out in a department. 

Daily Routine

	Be sure to arrive 5-10 minutes before class starts and have your junior staff do the same. Use this time to arrange papers, pass out anything that needs to be handed out. Check your platoon box before every class. Remember that this is not all your job, delegation is a key part of leadership. Also use this time to talk to the NSI’s about the plan for today and to report in to them about the progress of your platoon. Be sure to make new muster sheets for every quarter.

	Procedure

		1. Check the Platoon Box, sort/handout papers within
		2. Check front table for papers/calendars that need to be handed out
		3. Plug in the overhead projector.
		4. Copy POW for platoon notebook
		
		Platoon Arrives
		5. Take muster
		6. Give out any company announcements
		7.  Report muster to NSI’s
		8. Await NSI arrival

During Instruction
There are several things you can do during the first year academic instruction time.  These include, but are not limited to:

		Go over advancement records with junior staff’
		Update Platoon Roster Board
		Organize your platoon binder
		Help in Admin
			Help in Supply
		Help in Armory
		Review the field manual for drill
		Study for Academics Team
	
Above all, use your time to be productive. There is ALWAYS work to be done somewhere within Caton Center.

Inspection

	Inspection is no doubt a large part of your job. As always, be sure to become very familiar with your field manual with regards to inspection. Be intimately familiar with the open ranks procedure for inspection. Know every dimension, both male and female as well as hair regulations. In addition, be sure to know all of your cadet knowledge to ask during inspection. Be sure to check every aspect of the uniform from head to toe. Do not allow minor discrepancies to slide. Inspection is your opportunity to determine many things about each cadet, from appearance to attitude. A sharp looking uniform usually indicates that the cadet takes pride and has put effort into rigging the uniform and thus displays a high level of dedication to the unit. 

	Helpful Tips:

Have the MPO carry both a new inspection sheet as well as the inspection sheet from the previous inspection. This will allow you to see which cadet has had multiple infractions and repeat violations.

Initially you may want to perform the open ranks procedure yourself, and thus serve as both platoon leader and inspecting officer for the inspection. Eventually, your junior staff should serve as platoon leader and MPO while you function as inspecting officer. Towards the latter part of the year or when your are otherwise unable to , your junior staff should be capable of conducting inspection themselves.

Repeated multiple infractions by a cadet can merit wearing of the uniform for a week or until the infraction is corrected.

		Remind the cadets beforehand not to be nervous, and to NOT lock their knees. 

The week before uniforms are worn for the first time, it is helpful to show males and females how to properly rig the uniform by bringing in a cadet uniform and devices and rigging them in front of the class.

Drill

	Drill is also a vital part of your job. This summer, be sure to become intimately familiar with all aspects of the drill portion of the field manual. This will help you during you instruction. You do not want a first year to ask you a drill question that you simply do not know the answer to. Do not hesitate to ask your junior staff to demonstrate something for you or otherwise instruct the class.
	When teaching something that is more involved, such as the manual of arms, it is very helpful to break the cadets up into squads for instruction by yourself and your junior staff. This allows for more one on one attention than when in normal platoon formation. Be sure to go over basic maneuvers first and to brief your junior staff as to what exactly you wish to teach. Also, the cadets may benefit from seeing more advanced maneuver such as columns, flanks, and obliques either demonstrated by the staff or drawn out own the classroom board before hand. Be sure to ask if there are any questions before executing the maneuver for the first time.
	Give your junior staff opportunity to command the platoon as well. This will give them the ability to demonstrate their leadership and drill capabilities. It also allows your platoon to become accustomed to different styles of commanding and different command voices. 
	When commanding, be sure to have a command voice that the first years can understand. Your command voice should allow you to be heard, it’s goal is not to confuse them. 
	Have your junior staff members critique and correct the first years while you command. Remind them not to use any harsh language that would make the first years feel inferior in any way. 
		
Extended Port

	This should be used only as a disciplinary measure, and only when absolutely necessary.  It is helpful to have a rifle yourself and to hold the extended port as long as your first years do. This will eliminate the possibility of criticism from the first years during the action.

Discipline

	As noted in the Naval Science Curriculum, discipline should be fair and expedient. If rules cannot and will not be enforced, it is better not to have them at all. Do not allow minor infractions to go un noticed for an extended period of time. This will lead to only more disciplinary actions. When issuing work details, be sure to follow the procedure outlined near the work detail box. A work detail can be issued for any of the reasons outlined in the cadet handbook.
	Make sure to teach the first years “lock it up” and “at ease” and make sure there is no talking after these commands are issued.  

Physical Fitness Tests

	These are to be administered twice a year, or as per the Field Manual. Be sure to create a Matrix that will keep PT scores for each cadet to be submitted to the NSI. 
	Something new that was implemented in 2002-2003 was a weekly PT, to be administered on Fridays. Be sure to remind your cadets to bring their PT gear every Friday and to follow the guidelines that the Athletics Officer sets for that week’s PT instruction.

Advancement

	Take your free time in ROTC to go over cadet advancement. Let the cadets know that is their responsibility to go over and maintain their own advancement records in their cadet handbooks. 

Notes for a Bayside Platoon

	In the 2002-2003 school year, due to space constraints, the majority of 2nd platoon had to be bussed over to Princess Anne High School from Bayside during 4th block. This created several problems. The cadets were often late due to problems with a bus driver. Furthermore, it is increasingly difficult to monitor cadets when they do not attend your school for the majority of the day. A high degree of absenteeism also manifested itself. With a few notable exceptions, participation was also problematic. 

	Keeping these things in mind:

Be sure to note down the time of arrival of your platoon each day on the 
		muster sheet. This is helpful for the NSI’s when reporting to the school board.

The NSI’s can ascertain whether or not a cadet has been wearing his uniform all day as prescribed by e-mailing the Bayside teachers. Do not hesitate to do this.

With regards to after school activities, let the first years know that transportation is available from other cadets who may live in or near the Bayside area. 

If the platoon arrives late, use the time you are waiting for them to do something constructive. It is possible to go over drill or knowledge with your first year cadets that are present at the time.

		BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING