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1 Tb,- views expressed in, thi~s paper are those of thie authorand do not necesszily reflect the views" of 'the'Department of Ddense or -any of its agencies. This,document may noi'be released for open publication uh~ilit~has been cleared-by the appropriate military serice6 orgovernment AND ROLES OF THE BATTALION CO1M2 AND SERGEANT MAJOIRBY 'LIEUTENAN~T COLONEL JAME$ R. SII(ET* ~DISTRIBUTION STATEMAENT A: Approved for pub'Lrelease; distribution is * 20 MARCH' 198? '7 ~L CTE IJ US ARMY WiAR COLLEGE, CARLISLE BARRACKS, PENNSYLVANIASECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (When Dtte Entered) cREPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE I READ CISTRUCTIONGI. REPORT NUMBER 2. GOVT ACCESSION NO. -RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NUMBER4. TITLE (mad Subtitle) OF REPORT & PERIOD COVEREDI ndividualDuties and Roles of the Battalion command EssaySergeant major 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER7. AUTHOR(@) 8. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(s)Siket, James R., LTC, FA9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT, PROJECT, TASKAREA & WORK UNIT Army War CollegeCarlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5008It.)

2 CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE20 March Army War College 13. NUMBER OF PAGESC arlisle Barracks, Pi 17Q11-'flpR -. 2514 MONITORING AGENCY NAME & ADDRESS(II different from Controlling Office) 15. SECURITY CLASS. (of this report)Unclassified15a, DECL ASSI FICATION/ DOWNGRADINGSCHEDULE16. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of this Report)Approved for public release; distribution is DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the abettedc enterod In Block 20, If different from Report)18. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES19. KEY WORDS (Cortinue on reveree side If necesairy and by block number)20. ABSTTIACT (Comtf=u* a reverse oh& if aud Identify by block number)See back pageDo FORM uDD JI 1473 E1 DfTION OF I NOV 65 iS OBSOLETESECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF Y'HIS PAGE (When Dale Entered)SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE(WhI Deata Entemd)The battalion command sergeant major (CSM), in peacetime, isthe battalion commander's most important advisor. The CSMpossesses more experience than any other person in the , the battalion commander must obtain the maximumeffort of the CSM both in assignment of duties andresponsibilities; yet ensure he is properly integrated into thecommand structure of the battalion.

3 Because there exists littlesubstantive policy concerning the employment of the CSM atbattalion level, the battalion commander must devote valuabletime determining how to properly employ this critical asset. Theauthor suggests appropriate duties and roles for the CSM atbattalion level. The author recommends that the CSM should beinvolved in the training, maintaining, caring, and leading of theunit's soldiers. The relationship of the command sergeant majorto the chain of command is also ~SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGF'(Mien Data Enter'ed) :? '4,USAWC MILITARY STUDIES PROGIC-o' PAPERThe viewn expressed in this paper a,:,-, ihere of theauthor and do not necessarily refit, c th2 views ofthe Department of Defense or any og Its docvzent may not be releasc6 " open publicationuntil it has been cleared by the k;y.!.'.,.prlate mitiot~rvservice or government aiency,,DUTIES AND ROLES OF THE BATTALIO>', command SERGEANT MAJORAn Individual 3ssaybyLieutenant Colonel 3<,mes R. SiketLieutenant Colonel Martin W.

4 Andresen, FAAdvisorDISTRIBUTION STATE?.!NT A: Approved for publio releasqe distribution in Army War College 00 Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania 1701320 March 1987 ELECT5 JUL 3 01987EH:ABSTRACTAUTHOR: James R. Siket, LTC, FATITLE: Duties and Roles of the Battalion command Sergeant MajorFORMAT: Individual EssayDATE: 20 March 1987 PAGES: 23 : Unclassified- The buttalion comnand sergeant major (CSM), in peacetime, isthe battalion commander's most important advisor. The CSMpossesses more experience than any other person in the , the battalion commander must obtain the maximumeffort of the CSM both in assignment of duties andresponsibilitiesr;yet ensure he is properly integrated into thecommand structure of the battalion. Because there exists littlesubstantive policy concerning the employment of the CSM atbattalion level, the battalion commander must devote valuabletime determining how to properly employ this critical asset. Theauthor suggests appropriate duties and roles for the CSM atbattalion level.

5 The author recommends that the CSM should beinvolved in the training, maintaining, caring, and leading of theunit's soldiers. The relationship of the command sergeant majorto the chain of command is also ForNTIS GR'tIDTIC TABU nannounced ElJustification -Distribution/ Availabi lity CodesAvail and/orDist SpecialiiDuties and Roles of Tne Battalion command Sergeant MajorIn making preparation for the day I would assume comxand ofmy artillery battalion, I devoted a significant amount of timereviewing the areas which I believed I was well prepared andthose not so well concluded from this xeview the critical area which I feltmost insecure concerned how I would integrate the battalioncommand sergeant major (CSM) into my master plan for commandingthe battalion. Because I had developed long range goals for thebattalion, I believed that I could meet those objectives if thesupporting programs I established could be organized into acohesive system. My previous experience of two plus years as abattalion executive officer in a direct support field artillerybattalion convinced me that the command sergeant major wouldhelp sustain systems to achieve my goals.

6 I also realized thatwithout his complete dedication, -achieving a well motivated,highly competitive unit would be difficult. If both ourpersonalities failed to harmonize well the potential for adisjointed command atmosphere could easily permeate throughoutthe battalion. This conclusion was based upon my observations ofthe relationships of numerous battalion command sergeants majorand battalion commanders during the past two years. Some ofthose appeared to be harmonious relationships, while others wereless than , I was not completely comfortable with how Iperceived the two potentially strong personalities might impacton the battalion: strong cohesion could Tield success whereasanything less meant mediocrity. Some commanders permitted thecommand sergeants major do whatever thcy wanted while othersmaintained moderate control of them; and still others definedspecific missions for the command sergeants major in every was my intention to provide specific guidance to the commandsergeant major ; guidance which I wanted him to accept positivelythat was to help him successfully accomplish hismissions.

7 Therefore, throughout the precommand course TDY I wasattentive to the special presentations delivered by CSMs both atFort Sill, and Fort Leavenworth. During these courses severalinfcrmal discussion panels of command sergeants major presentedvarious opinions concerning the duties of the command sergeantmajor and his role at battalion level. These presentationsincluded plenty of time for questions and answers from theprecommand course students so the opportunities were available toobtain I gained perspectives the discussions presentedduring the precommand course, the panels espoused onlyintangible, ambiguous, and diverse opinions concerning the roleof the battalion command sergeant major . For example, each ofthe panel members stated in one term or another that the2battalion commander and his sergeant major had to interactharmoniously concerning all aspects of commanding the battalion;they must continuously communicate effectively with one another;and command sergeant major knew his duties thoroughly and wouldprovide critical advice to the commander to ensure the battalionfunctioned effectively.

8 Further, the panel characterized thecommand sergeant major as the one who always would have a feelfor the pulse of the battalion. He would keep the commanderinformed as to whether the morale wis positive, or negative andadversely affecting the soldiers' perlormance. The panel ofcommand sergeants major was convincing toC me in its portrayalthat the command sergeant major possessed a unique talent foraccurately assessing the state of morale within the battalion asno other person my personal experience, exposure to precommand* classes and reading regulations. I was able to acquire sufficientinformation to form my initial ideas concerning the relationship* I would create with my command sergeant major . Considering allof that, I continued to feel comfortable in controling allfunctions of the battalion, except for the most effectiveemployment of the talents of my command sergeant , on the day I assumed command , I had outlined myinitial plan concerning this subject but had little moreconfidence in it than I had one year later when my name firstappeared on the command designee , with tnis oackground, I continued to search for ideas torefine my approach and reduce the number of uncertainties related3to the duties and roles of the battalion command sergeant believed I was going to begin command just as I ad witnessedothers begin command -wasting valuable time trying to create asystem with respect to the employment of my my first day of command I executed my plan to have theCSM be the first person with whom I would meet.

9 After completionof social activities associated with such affairs I spent thelate hours of that afternoon with my CSM in my office, one onone. The agenda, in addition to a few minutes of formalintroductions, included providing guidance to the CSM to take afew days to develop a list of the areas which he currently heldresponsibility and a second liLst of other areas he wanted to havegreater influence; and I told him I would develop the areas,separately, which I wanted to have him involved. I provided himone week to collect his thoughts and put them on paper. When wemet on this subject the following week, we discussed theproposals and made plans to formalize his duties so that everyonehe knew exactly what I wanted him to do. I discussed most of theoptions with my field grades and battery commanders prior tocommitting to a fixed my tenure as battalion commander I exoerienced twodistinct opposite personality types in my two command sergeantsmajor (they had one inonth of overlap). Working with each hadits own rewards, challenges, and even a few frustrations, as wasto be expected.

10 This exposure to two personality extremes gaveme insight into what a command sergeant major could ard could notdo, should and should not do. Looking back, if I had the more4aggressive of the two first, I might have expected more of thesecond. However, I had muddle through the first six months ofcommand making modifications to the relationship concerning howthe command sergeant major fit into the equation of establishingand maintaining a cohesive and "gung-ho" I began command with a much less than smoothrelationship with my most senior noncommissioned officer, I wantto share my experiences and thoughts concerning this criticalrelationship. As a result of this experience I want to identifywhat I believe are the appropriate duties, responsibilities andrelationships of the battalion command sergeant major , and how he* integrates into the command functions within the I had been in command for six months I developed alist of the areas in which I believed the command sergeant majorshould have an impact.