Fifth Battalion AAR 2015-2016

ISSUE – Cadet Commanders/ CSMs/ 1SGs lack full understanding of the White Book and Blue Book.   DISCUSSION – Recognizing that the White Book is in dire need of updating (separate issue, but this fact is linked to the stated issue), the Bn and Co command team leaders faced monumental change with a new accountability system which ended up being unprepared to function the entire Fall semester. Some companies and battalions initially struggled with cadet operations, and some command teams failed to properly utilize company personnel, resulting in micromanagement. Company XOs are severely underutilized, generally speaking. The commanders and first sergeants have a sharp learning curve in terms of understanding their subordinates’ strengths and weaknesses, and many did not hold subordinates to the duty standards of the positions in the White Book. This stems from not knowing the White Book duty descriptions, or the authorities laid out plainly in the Blue Book. They revert to doing everything themselves, or just ignoring that it’s not being done.

2.2.3 Authority 2.2.3.1 Cadet leaders in positions of authority have the following general duties. - Discharge all responsibilities of the position to the best of their ability and enforce these regulations. In the areas of “health, morale, and welfare”, company commanders don’t track this very well. - Set a good example for all cadets. Most commanders and first sergeants do this well - Be accountable for the whereabouts and well-being of all cadets. This is not executed well, because commanders are not holding NCOs accountable. - Be accountable for equipment assigned to their organization. This is not understood well, it’s relegated to the Supply Sergeant with little oversight from the Cdr or 1SG. - Be required to address discrimination when it occurs, by reporting/reprimanding/taking appropriate action, etc. – This is an area which also gets relegated to the HA Team in a company, which points towards a lack of understanding of the responsibilities outlined under each duty position in the White Book. - Unit policies written or unwritten which go against The Citadel Rules and Regulations are strictly prohibited. Unless specifically prohibited in the Blue Book, or White Book, cadet leaders continue to come up with policies to constrain/ correct behavior deemed outside a class’ privileges (“Third Class System”).

RECOMMENDATION: Form a committee to update the White Book’s duties/ responsibilities sections. Focus on the accountability areas of the White Book in terms of updating procedures for CAS. Develop an objective test for both the Blue Book and White Book, and make it a requirement for cadets to pass the tests each academic year.

ISSUE – Cadet leaders do not fully comprehend “organizational climate”, or how to gauge it.   DISCUSSION – Although organizational climate is taught to seniors at the beginning of LTP, this information is largely unrecognized by the lower three classes. Cadets intuitively know if things are going poorly, or well, in the company or battalion, but will often attribute the cause of such a state to an outside factor. Inward refection is absent. Cadets do not understand how to gauge the climate or culture within their units. RECOMMENDATION – Outline what a positive organizational culture and climate look like in the White Book under the “Organizations” section in Chapter 1. Likewise, provide a list of attributes or questions to answer that reflect a negative climate and culture. Require platoon leaders and company commanders to submit a written vision of what their unit’s climate and culture will look like, and make it a TAC counseling tool.

ISSUE – Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors do not fully understand nor enforce class privileges as outlined in the White Book.   DISCUSSION – The White Book chapter on Leaves, Passes, Incentives, and Privileges (Chapter 8) needs revision. Overnights/ weekends are the expected/ de facto result of meeting an incentive, and there are so many available that the lines between classes is blurred. The main problem is that privileges outlined in the White Book are not understood nor enforced by the cadet chain of command. RECOMMENDATION – Re-write the Chapter 8 portion of the White Book and organize it/ create headings by class – not by privilege heading such as “Building Entrances” or “Club Sports

Issue – Commanders and First Sergeants understood and executed their duties, but were late in becoming effective.   Discussion – Due to the fact that Commanders and First Sergeants were new to their companies, it took them a while to become effective in dealing with some cadets. They eventually started to know the strengths and weaknesses within their chain of command and were able to use a measured approach. Recommendation – Have the new Commanders and First Sergeants move into their new companies earlier (After Recognition Day, for example). This would also alleviate the “command gap” at the end of the year, when Commanders start to lose interest in their commands and the First Sergeants are already working towards their new position.

Issue – Organizational climate is impacted by having too many rank holders in the Corps.   Discussion – Too many people wear rank for positions outside the normal military structure. These rank holders often do not enforce the rules when confronted with infractions, leading to expectations among cadets that rank holders in general do not enforce. This undermines the authority of those that do execute faithfully. Recommendation – Only issue rank to line and staff leadership – positions within a normal military structure. Utilize additional duties and CICs for other positions.

  Issue – The degree to which there is a four-class system instead of merely a fourth class system is impacted by an undertrained and underutilized sophomore class. Discussion – In spite of improvements in the preparation of freshmen for their roles as sophomores, there continues to be a disproportionate amount of issues with the sophomore class. While they are eager to execute their newly gained freedoms and leadership qualities as they understand them, they are blocked in some ways from actually engaging in any meaningful leadership experiences. Recommendation – Create more opportunities for sophomores to use their newly gained skills. Examples would be setting up and executing a community service project for a company’s sophomores, and expanding on the opportunities for sophomores to act as mentors for fourth classmen.

ISSUE - Communication of plans and orders in the Corps needs improvement.   DISCUSSION - Communication from the Regimental Commander and Staff down thru the battalions to companies is often slow, late and unreliable. Many cadet leaders do not understand command and staff relationships, causing confusion in planning and gaps in communication. An example is Regimental PT planning and execution. While the Athletic Officers may know the plans, they do not always get communicated to commanders, thus they rarely get communicated to cadets in the companies. Cadets – especially cadet leaders – should know the PT plan prior to reporting for Regimental PT. RECOMMENDATION - Incorporate some training in the Academies to address command and staff relationships. Coach leaders in the importance of communicating orders and plans in a thorough and timely manner.

ISSUE - Cadets are not trained how to use the new Cadet Accountability System.    DISCUSSION - As we implemented CAS - with all it’s delays, issues and changes - there was very little training for cadets in how to use it. RECOMMENDATION - Schedule some time to run through the basics of CAS as soon as the Corps returns.