 The man we want to talk about may come from any one of a number of sources, from the military academy at West Point, a career officer just starting up, or from the ROTC program of any one of many colleges and universities from coast to coast. He may have received a commission from the National Guard of his home state, although that matter have received a direct commission from the enlisted ranks, or he may have enlisted specifically for officers candidate training and a commission in the Army. But wherever this man comes from, his job is basic to the success of the United States Army in combat. His skill and ability, his leadership, these things his men and his commanders and the nation depend upon. And if they do so with confidence, that confidence is well placed because he is good at his job. He has met standards of excellence and mastered the complexity of arms, equipment and tactics completely unknown to his counterpart of years past. He is today better trained, better equipped, and more professionally competent than ever before in the Army's long history. He knows his job and the importance of it. He is the platoon leader. Move out! The largest single source of platoon leaders in today's Army is the Infantry Officer's Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. But the fact is, even a man who already has lieutenant's bars, from West Point, ROTC, or other sources, must receive training here at Fort Benning before he can command an infantry platoon in combat or in a combat-ready unit. So whether he's here for the full 23 weeks of OCS or the shorter combat platoon leaders course, he's got a busy time ahead of him. As a general rule, he'll be on the go from six in the morning until ten at night, except for the long days. There is, after all, an awful lot to learn. Physical conditioning is an important part of the training, especially in the early weeks. The job of platoon leader is one that demands physical stamina, strength, agility. It's no line of work for a strong back and a weak mind, but the bodily strength has to be there, along with the ability to think quickly and clearly under stress. So the early morning runs and the obstacle course and the calisthenics all work toward one goal. To build reserves of endurance against the time, what endurance may be the key to survival and victory in combat. The general rule of double timing to classes helps in the physical conditioning, but its main purpose is simply to save time. The schedule is tight, and there are a lot of classes. All of them important. The two basic responsibilities of all leaders. Kennedy Burns. Sir, Kennedy Burns. Take care of my men to get the job done. Sure, exactly right. The accomplishment of the mission and looking out for the men's welfare. The two basic responsibilities of any leader. However, if you must select one, which one would you choose and why? Kennedy Halton. Sir, Kennedy Halton. I feel that they are equally important. OK, I'll buy that. Sure. However, if a conflict exists. To take care of his men, a basic principle no potential leader can ignore. At the same time, he must know how to take care of himself. Remember, those of you that are doing the throwing, straighten your legs fast and hard and pull down with him. Even in this day of satellites and intercontinental missiles, there are times and places in which a combat soldier may have to depend on the primitive deadlines of his hands, feet, and elbows for self-defense. A platoon leader must master all that 20th century technology has made available to the foot soldier. He must also be adept in skills with weapons, like the bayonet, which have been familiar to generations of men under arms. And when you give a command sound like it, you know what you're doing. Bring it up from here. Keep in mind you're giving a command and not requesting something. Candidate Sparks. Sergeant Candidate Sparks. Report for instruction. Platoon. Attent. Sergeant Candidate Sparks reports. On the platoon for close order drill. Take charge of your platoon. Right, three, four, one. Each man, regularly and systematically, is exposed to the actuality of command. He gets the feel of command in the only way it can be gotten, through exercising the confidence, the self-discipline, and control, the overall outlook which a good leader must have. And always, there are the watchful eyes of those charged with his development as a leader, seeking out the signs of leadership, searching for strength to build it up, and for any weak points, so that they can be corrected now. Questions to enter? I can't hear you. Sir, Candidate Sparks reports for counseling. Take your seats, Sparks. In each counseling session with his tactical officer, the potential platoon leader is given the opportunity to see at first hand, the remarks on his instructor's observation report. Candidate Sparks, you're being counseled on your tour of duty as platoon sergeant, the first half of last week. Yes, sir. First, let me say this. You're doing pretty well. Academically, you seem to be on top of the material. You learned fast. Yes, sir. There's one thing, though, that you may have noticed from this observation report. When in a command position, you seem to go easy. I'm afraid I don't understand, sir. You try to play it as if you were just one of the boys. When in a command situation, you take command. You can't do it gingerly. I think I see what you mean, sir. The men you lead will have buddies. They won't look to you to be a buddy. They'll look to you to take command. You may be only 21 years old, but to the men you lead, you'll be the old man. If you're not, you'll be letting them down. May as well get used to it. That's the name of the game. Yes, sir. The name of the game is leadership. And the development of this quality is the focus of every moment of the training schedule. The leader's reaction course is one ingenious aspect of this unending effort to uncover and cultivate the qualities of leadership. Its purpose is to reveal how well a man can conceive and give the orders a given situation cause for. How well he can analyze a problem, find a workable answer, and then organize the men under him to get the job done. Each problem is solvable, sometimes in more ways than one. But none of the solutions come easy, and time is always short. In groups of 10, the potential platoon leaders take a series of problems in turn. For each task, the group splits in half, five men to attack the problem itself, and five to harass the work party, try to confuse them. The problems represent the remains of a bridge which is undistributed by enemy nuclear artillery. Your survey meter indicates the portions of these problems, and the stream have been contaminated. You are part of a squad operating in enemy territory. One of your party, the dummy here, has been critically wounded in the back. You know that on the other side of the stream, there is a stretcher, which you will need to transport your wounded comrade back across the stream. You have problems to be solved in limited time and under pressure. No instructions on how to do it, just that it can be done with what's on hand if they work it right. The rest is up to them. It's designed to reveal strengths and weaknesses, and it does. It happens like this. Okay, your squad has been sent back to get a drum of gasoline you observed in a rear area during your advance. When you cross this stream, your way to get the gasoline, this bridge was intact. However, since then, enemy artillery has destroyed the center portion. This is your only way of getting across the Swift River. You must take the drum of gasoline, the planks, and the rope with you. As equipment to do this, you may use only the four planks and the rope which you will find on your span of the bridge. No one flank will span this gap. You cannot touch the ground under the bridge because it's quicksand. Any object allowed to touch the water will be swept away by the force of the current. No jumping is allowed. Alpha team under the leadership of candidate Howard, again work. The completion of the mission could be attributed to the teamwork, everyone working well together. You had a good sense of urgency, good sense of drive, enthusiasm, and that's what it takes to complete any mission. Some groups make it, others wind up in the water. Either way, what they learn is important and the learning goes on. Basics like map reading, there's intensive work on this. Cross-country navigation is a frequent necessity for the combat platoon leader. He has to know and know for sure the price of guesswork comes too high. Nowadays, a platoon leader also needs to know the tricks of reading what is significant in a photograph taken by reconnaissance aircraft. And inevitably, the ever-present necessities and procedures of Army paperwork. Administration too is part of the job of a platoon leader. The platoon leader also has to know quite a variety of weapons in his chosen line of work. He must know all the firepower available to the combat leader. The .45 caliber pistol. The M-14 rifle, the infantryman's personal weapon. The light, high-powered M-16. Much favorite for close action in jungle countries. The reliable and potent M-60 machine gun. And more, a lot more. The .50 caliber machine gun. And the hand grenade. And then on to the big punch firepower. The 90-millimeter recoilless rifle. And it's hard-hitting big brother, the .106. The indispensable, reliable, 81-millimeter mortar. And on up from there to the armored punch of the 90-millimeter tank gun. And the still heavier, .105-millimeter. And finally, for long range, accurate fire support, the Howitzers. The .105. And the Sunday punch, .155. All in all, quite an array of firepower. And the platoon leader must be familiar with a full spectrum of it. Just as important as firepower is mobility. And every potential platoon leader gets a thorough orientation on all the modes of tactical mobility available to infantry forces. In fact, a basic orientation on the maintenance of standard vehicles is part of the curriculum. The platoon leader also needs to know the performance capabilities of the machines which will move him and his men. He needs to know and he is shown. Wherever he may need to go, there is army transport that can get him there. But there is terrain which makes ground transport impractical. For this too, there is an answer. The army helicopter, mobility, and the third major essential of combat effectiveness, communications. Here too, there is a wide range of equipment to fill specific needs. At one end of the spectrum, the familiar field telephone equipment. And from there through the light and powerful man-carried field radios. And on to the vehicle-mounted FM equipment. The function of command as the platoon leader of today knows it is virtually impossible without them. To command any unit, a leader must be able to do two things. First, know what's going on. And second, tell his people what they have to do. Both are wrapped up in the single word, communications. Surely, swiftly, today's platoon leader can receive reports from the field, pass on orders from above, or give orders of his own. And the specialized language called for is a study all its own. Roger Wilco, out. Roger Wilco, wrong. We never use Roger Wilco together. What do you mean when you use the pro-word, Roger? I have received your transmission. I have received your transmission satisfactorily. What do you mean when you use the pro-word, Wilco? I will comply. I will comply. Before you can comply, you first have to receive it, understand it, and then comply. And again, never use the pro-word, Roger Wilco, together. Nor will the pro-words over and out be used together because they have opposite meanings. You picked up this Roger Wilco over out when you were looking at your TV show. Remember, they're dealing in cereal and cold temp. As an infantry platoon leader, you're dealing in real estate and human lives. A laugh or two helps keep things moving, but the potential platoon leader never loses sight of the fact that his instruction, all of it, is aimed at preparing him to lead men into combat. Progressive, he finds himself functioning on the position of command in various field exercises. He gets a realistic taste of what it's like to have in his charge a group of able and trusted men to have the responsibility of guiding their actions so that the mission is accomplished, to be, in fact, the old man. This is Romeo 3-6, Papa Lima Pair. I say again, Papa Lima Pair. Over. His objective, a remote village. His mission, search and clear. Call the villagers. Long night, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. A message in the villager's own language informs them that the village is surrounded and that it must be searched. Exact instructions are given to the people, assuring their safety if they comply. The villagers will gather in one part of the village while only the head of each household remains in front of his hut. The platoon leader has been taught how to use his men to ensure each step of the way with firepower. He does so. The approach is made by the numbers, but this is no dry schoolbook exercise. The numbers themselves have evolved out of hard, specific combat experience. Nothing can be assumed. Nothing left to chance. He sends in his fire support element first to make a brief check and provide security for the searchers that will follow. He's trained to know what to look for and the likely places to look. In searching a house, he's been taught the wisdom of having the head of the house go along. Effective insurance in case of booby traps. It's also wise to keep a close eye on the villager. Maybe it's training, but it's realistic. And the outcome depends in large part on his alertness, his know-how, his estimate of the situation, the rightness of his decisions and orders. His are the eyes that must see it all and make sure it all goes right. As the long weeks of intensive work have passed, each potential platoon leader has steadily grown in skill, in knowledge, in confidence and experience. He's come to know himself and his hidden reserves of stamina better than he would have thought possible. He has learned the responsibilities and the satisfactions of command. At least he has begun to. This then is the platoon leader, the officer who works with the men on up the chain of command. Other officers work primarily with and through their fellow officers, which too is the name of the game. But this man may take particular satisfaction that his work is directly with his men. This is his job, platoon leader.