Quote Originally Posted by Ron Humphrey View Post
Getting those in higher positions to buy off on the risk and subsequent necessity for occasional imperfection or mistakes not being the end of ones career for NCO's will be pretty hard to get. Officers already carry immense responsibility in their own jobs let alone in CI type environments. The'll have a hard time being comfortable with such a thing unless there is a good training and education base to show that those NCO's should be able to do it. Without that they will probably be wary of placing too much on their NCO's shoulders.
Just my thought but I could be wrong on this one as things may have changed in that respect in the last few years
My belief is that they're dead wrong -- and while I acknowledge that attitude is probably quite prevalent today, it hasn't always been that way. Fortunately for the Army...

I also am sure that many more do not have that concern which is a good thing as my suspicion is that, as was true in Viet Nam and at other times (the average rifle company in the 82d in 1962 probably had 2.5 Officers, priority was to USAREUR), there'll be an Officer shortage and sooner rather than later.

Officers probably need to get used to the thought of having SFCs and SSG as acting platoon leaders. They'll do okay. I've seen SGTs as Acting PLs and one serving as a 1SG -- all of 'em did a good job. One gets responsible behavior when one expects it; if one expects poor performance, that's generally exactly what one will get. And certainly, IMO, deserves...

I spent over six years as a PSG, peace and war, had four Platoon Leaders and only one of them for eight months in 1961-2 at Bragg; none of the others were around for more than two or three months. Do the math on that. They only gave me a PL in Viet Nam after seven months without one when I got promoted and was getting transferred up to Brigade. I had two weeks to train him. He made Colonel so I guess we did okay. I made SGM in a little over 11 total years (there was a war on ), every stripe in a different unit, so I don't guess I screwed up too badly running Cav, Scout and Recon platoons on three continents.