Xenophon, I've only recently joined this board, so forgive me if I come across as a wet-behind-the-ears contrarian, but while reading one of your posts on this thread I found some information to which I wanted to provide a respectful counterpoint.
As a former US Army infantry officer, I'd disagree that we received no leadership training prior to leading our first platoon. If you want, I suppose you can discount the four years of pre-commissioning general leadership training that both ROTC and service academy cadets receive, as its not always combat leadershp specific, but I believe that in terms of basic leadership principles, its not as ineffective as some would like to claim, and is delivered over a rather long period, with significant reinforcement of fundamental skills and concepts.Originally Posted by Xenophon
Following commissioning, an infantry officer (this is my area of experience, so I will relate to this specific officer branch training) attends a 4-month long Infantry Officer Basic Course. Following this, a vast majority of infantry 2LTs attend the US Army Ranger Course, a rather intense 61-day leadership training program. I would argue, therefore, that new Army infantry 2LTs do indeed receive general, branch-specific, and combat oriented leadership training prior to reporting to their first operational unit.
That actually isn't true, either. The Army has created a 7-week long, combat oriented leadership course for new 2LTs of every Army branch called Basic Officer Leadership Course II. It is an attempt to ensure that regardless of branch (transportation, quartermaster, finance, etc.), all new platoon leaders receive basic infantry-related combat skills training at the squad and platoon level prior to training in their specialty branch. You can find more information on BOLC II at: https://www.infantry.army.mil/BOLC/content/mission.htm...(they haven't even figured out that EVERYONE needs combat training, not just grunts)...
Certainly, this isn't the desired objective state for new officer leadership training, but I believe its a step in the right direction.
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