This Article Is From Linkedin

Linkedin posted the following on December 19th. I am posting this as it was posted because it is so well written there is nothing I can add.

Why Marines Being Chosen for High Leadership Positions Eat Last?

 

America is about to be exposed to some new and extraordinary leadership traits. With Generals Mattis (Defense Secretary), Dunford (Joint Chiefs of Staff), and Kelly (Secretary of Homeland Security) nominated to high positions, the spotlight will be on the Marine Corps and their tribal culture. This means Marine leadership styles, principles, and traits will soon become apparent; Read about more of these in the article “Why Marine Officers are Being Chosen for High Positions”.

“Selfless leadership” will become a leadership buzz term. Americans will soon find out that all three of these gentlemen have one thing in common; they eat last. You will not find a single officer in the Marines who eats before an enlisted Marine. If you do find a person in a Marine officer uniform eating first, call the police because this person is a Russian spy. Why is this important? The officer eats last to set precedence that their Marines come first. To understand this, you must know a few things about how the Marine Corps leaders form their bonds with enlisted.

Officers are trained by enlisted. As candidates, they are grounded into Second Lieutenants by enlisted Drill Instructors. If they make it and become officers, enlisted subject matter experts teach them how to shoot, move, and communicate (fight). Once they become platoon commanders, those same enlisted that trained them, will now be under their command. From that point forward, an officer is expected to serve his men and women, not the other way around.

Officers serve their enlisted because they are the ones who are at the tip of the spear on each mission; they provide the guidance that helps them lead. Good senior enlisted leadership will ensure their officers do not fail. Officers rely on their enlisted throughout their entire careers. Each officer in command will have a voice in his or her ears at all times because they have a high ranking enlisted assigned to them.

The Senior Staff Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) knows the pulse of the Marines and understands that he is the crucial link to ensuring that all Marines in the unit are trained, ready, and performing well. Each officer is not one man or woman; they are a system, and they are an embodiment of a symbiotic relationship between themselves and their enlisted leaders.