“SIT UP STRAIGHT AND LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!” yelled Marine Corps drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Dixon in her frog voice. With these words, Marine Corps senior drill instructors address each new series of recruits, followed by, “. . . a Marine is characterized as one who possesses the highest military virtues, who obeys orders, who strives constantly to be the best in everything he does.” Arguably, leadership and character are first instilled in Marines, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen at recruit training. It is here civilians are transformed into warfighters. Bootcamp’s culminating event, the Crucible, is the hearth in which the flames of leadership and character are tested and stoked, where honor, courage, and commitment are branded. Even when we are long gone from bootcamp, leadership and character prove themselves indispensable parts of our nature. As service members, we are trained to be the best. And we remain the best by accomplishing the mission––through competency and care.
While serving as a series commander at Fourth Recruit Training Battalion in Parris Island, South Carolina, one of my mentors was Colonel Misty J. Posey, USMC, who often instilled the simplest yet most profound of command philosophies: “Know your sh%t, and give a sh%t.” As a Marine major, she designed a detailed pull-up plan that measurably improves physical fitness capabilities in military and civilian leaders alike. Colonel Posey lives and breathes this command philosophy. In thousands of books that have been written on leadership and character, I argue that competency and care—to “know your sh%t and give a sh%t”—are the two integral components that set us apart as the finest warriors in the Sea Services.
Competency
Inevitably, Marine lieutenants at the Basic School come upon the dreaded peer evaluation after weeks of initial combat training, hoping at all costs to avoid markings like “self-centered,” “arrogant,” “eccentric,” or perhaps among the worst descriptors, “incompetent.” What do competent servicemembers look like? In summation, they know their sh%t. Competent Coast Guardsmen, sailors, and Marines know their jobs, and possess a strong understanding of their roles and responsibilities as nested in their unit mission. These leaders understand from the bottom up that the ultimate endstate in their service is to defend our country along with its interests, whether by air, land, or sea. They embrace the full scope of the Marine Air Ground Task Force and naval environment in which we operate. They are both book smart and street smart—not only familiar with the orders and references that dictate particular assignments or missions, but also familiar with how to execute this in practice, and willing to learn what they do not know. They are experts in the field, whether the field of political science, technology, weapon systems, or combat engineering. The competent Navy logistics specialist both knows the functions of logistics, and knows how to get the porta potties on the deck, whether in garrison or forward deployed.
Marine Corps Doctrine Publication 7: Learning (MCDP-7) defines competence as, “having sufficient knowledge, judgement, and skills to perform a particular duty, job, or function.” Professional competence derived from learning one’s trade is mandatory to achieve the unit mission. The Coast Guard aviation maintenance technician, Navy corpsman, or Marine field artilleryman must know and be able to execute the necessary functions required of those respective jobs. Without the requisite skill or mastery of assigned duties, the mission simply cannot be carried out. If the F-18 jets can’t refuel at night because of a lack of know-how, the plane’s capability is degraded. In The Armed Forces Officer, the chapter on character is soon followed by a chapter on leadership, wherein the competency of military leaders is discussed: “Military subordinates expect their leaders to be competent in their trade. They trust their lives and blood will not be wasted in meaningless actions.”1
Competence, however, is also not mere or rote execution of an assignment. General James Mattis puts it simply: “The first is competence. Be brilliant in the basics. Don’t dabble in your job; you must master it.”2 Beyond the foundational level, Marines and sailors are developing experts, and expertise demands critical thinking. The unit’s Defense Travel System (DTS) representatives, whether the Organization Defense Travel Administrator (ODTA) or Approving Official (AO), are not groomed to simply review the authorization or voucher and hit “submit.” They master the trade by developing critical thinking to ensure that monthly reports are properly pulled, that any data points toward efficiency in mission accomplishment are observed, that, if needed, currency conversion is available to unit leaders, that points of contact for levels in the routing chain are accessible to the command. The DTS ODTA and AO can further gain a working knowledge of upcoming training events to know when travelers will submit authorizations or vouchers––to strategize and anticipate when to expect items in the working queue. One cannot achieve competency at his duties without practice, or without feedback. Often, our greatest learning occurs by mistakes and risks taken. We become experts by thinking critically and mastering the trade.
Moreover, MCDP-7 concludes, “learning is purpose-driven to develop professional competence.” Measurable goals and objectives aid servicemembers along the path to true expertise, if you will, strategy. For this reason, professional military education is broken down by grade, where introductory items are first taught, to be built on throughout the servicemember’s career. Additionally, competent Coast Guardsmen are also not “know-it-alls.” Competent Marines and sailors know what they don’t know—and know what requisite knowledge, skill, ability, or resource is lacking in their team. We must humbly learn from each other. Not only do we study our defense systems and capabilities, but we also study the enemy, and the environment in which we are operating. Under the current Marine Corps fitness report evaluation system, there is a category for “proficiency”—what one might deem, the “level of competence.” Sections A through F are broken apart categorically by basic “competence” on the left, to “mastery” in the middle, and “true expert in the field” on the right. We are not striving for the minimum standard of competence. No, we are developing the very best—professionally competent experts.
Care
Still, competence in and of itself is not sufficient to accomplish assigned missions. We need the driving force behind the skill, the motivation when our efforts don’t first succeed. We need to “give a sh%t”—we need to care. In Phillip’s Lincoln on Leadership, the very first leadership principle he addresses that then-president Lincoln demonstrated, was to “get out of the office and circulate among the troops.”3 It becomes obvious to others what we care for. We care about where we spend our time, our resources, the hours that we can’t take back. We are spending it somewhere, on something, on someone. The question is, where?
There are two things we must care about in the Sea Services: care about the mission, and care about our Coast Guardsmen, Marines, and sailors. Mission accomplishment comes first, but it is followed closely by troop welfare.4 To care about the unit mission, we must know our unit mission, and the missions with which higher and subordinate echelons are engaging. We must understand our ultimate objective, whether it is to provide security and screen for enemy movement at Gwadar Port, or if the mission is deterrence. It is imperative to understand our enemy, the operating environment, as well as our capabilities and limitations. Every piece of intelligence and information in the five paragraph order matters, directly informing our mission and impacting our servicemembers. The criticality of information is detailed in the newly published MCDP-8, Information. And ultimately, what we do as sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines, is inherently risky. There are human lives entrusted to our care—the lives of America’s sons and daughters. Leaders of honorable character will care about the mission and about the troops.
Marine leaders often hear the phrase, “Take care of the Marines, and they will take care of the mission.” Perhaps, caring for the troops is best evidenced by being present. What I mean by being present, is not merely showing up to the meeting. Being present is possessing an awareness of who and what is being engaged. Being present is having an understanding of the purpose of the meeting, which team members are involved, and how we need to work with one another to accomplish the mission. Leaders care by paying attention to the members on the team, noticing who just suffered an injury, divorce, or lost a loved one, and what particular needs the situation may dictate. If sailors are confused about a directive or task, care is demonstrated by taking the time to address the confusion and by communicating clearly. If Marines are lonely during the four-day holiday weekend, a leader cares by being present, by spending time with them, by showing them they are not alone.
On the flip side, as leaders, we do not care for our Marines, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen by pretending we might be a medical professional or behavioral health professional, when we are not. Caring for the physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual well-being of servicemembers usually requires a team of experts with available resources. Genuine care acknowledges the significance of each life issue. Further, appropriate care demands professional boundaries—ones that abide by our Uniform Code of Military Justice, but boundaries that are also not too rigid to lose empathy for the human in the uniform.
Finally, leaders demonstrate care by leading like a gardener. Perhaps, a gardener is the last image you had in mind when considering a leader in the U.S. Sea Services. However, General Stanley McChrystal understood this point in full. In Team of Teams, he expounds, “Within our Task Force, as in a garden, the outcome was less dependent on the initial planting than on consistent maintenance. Watering, weeding, and protecting plants from rabbits and disease are essential for success. The gardener cannot actually ‘grow’ tomatoes, squash, or beans—she can only foster an environment in which the plants do so.”5 A gardener does not conduct the exact same regiment for every plant in the garden. Some plants require abundant sunlight, and some require more water. Other plants require more shade, and still others need frequent pruning. The point is that each member on the team is different, with a unique makeup, with differing needs, purposes, and functions—and of course, with a different family of origin that shaped them before they joined the service. A wise leader cares by learning the capabilities of each member, and knows how to foster an environment in which each can grow and produce the best results.
This essay began at the drill field on Parris Island with an example from Colonel Posey, and it’s fitting to also end with her. Colonel Posey did not just get smart at pull-ups, write a plan, and pass it along nicely to others. No—far beyond this. She practiced them. She studied Marine Corps physical fitness requirements for both males and females, inside and out. She learned from Russian kettlebell experts, and trained in many varying forms, observing and analyzing what methods were most effective. She cares by being present—at free pull-up clinics, teaching others how they can accomplish their goals. She did not pass on an email and carry on with her day. She gave everyone who attended her training programs the tailored individual attention that was needed. She spent her own time and effort and energy, and became a force multiplier for the Marine Corps. Her character and passion for leading is evident both inside and outside the gym. Her influence is well-known throughout the Corps as a combat engineer, battalion commander, planner, mentor, and friend. So, the moral of the story is simple. Leaders are competent, and leaders care. Know your sh%t and give a sh%t.
1. U.S Department of Defense, The Armed Forces Officer (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2007), 51.
2. James N. Mattis and Francis J. West, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead (New York: Random House, 2021).
3. Donald T. Phillips, Lincoln on Leadership (New York: Warner Books, 1992).
4. U.S. Department of Defense, The Armed Forces Officer (Washington, DC: Potomac Books,
2007), 51.
5. Stanley McChrystal, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World (London: Penguin Business, 2015), 225.
