Leadership is preventive maintenance

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Part of Philippine Armed Forces Journal

Title: Leadership is preventive maintenance
Language: English
Source: Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 6) May 1956
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Fulltext: PHILII'INES ARMED FORCES JOURtiAL LEADERSHIP is Preventive Maintenance By Lieutenant Colonels Reynalflo Mendoza and Ltwtano I Gunabe I""""'""'"" '"'' '"'" """" """'""''" "' s'"· u""''"""· tw" ca~,·~ that ct·<;'alcd no little stir Ml.'xico, Pampung-a. P1ivalt.• Fh·st iu th., Arm~d Forces. Cla~s F.stil while on guard was ac Nl•II'Spap.,t· accounts revealed that costed by Captains Rf"yt·~ and Yaon May 14, C'antain Felicisimo Ca long and ordered to don the reg-ula rungcong, commanding officer, ·'f:'' don uniform. He o·nt<"n•d banacks Company, 8th Infantry, 3rd Oivi~ion, but came back :;till in improper rt was wounded in the i<"ft shoulder tire. At this junchll"<'" Captain Rl•with a .45 caliber pistol fired by yes attempted to disarm him, but Staff S<"rgcant Fondador Alamar. the latter move<! back and fin•d at Findings showed that Staff Sergeant the two officet·s. Findings ~howed Alamar <'Onfronted and fit·cd at his that ,he enlisted man had n·ackd superior officer in resentment against sharply to the abrupt chang-1• of duhis (Carungcong's) reprimand and tics and his being called o!own by recommendation for his dismissal <.he two officers. ft·om the service as punist>ment for In citing these two cases no in having absented himself fl"equently tent is made to influ,•nct· in a-ny from camp. way the conduct of inn·stil!i\,tion in On May 21, Captain Poliearpio to thl' cases that is sure to fullow Reyes diet! of orun shot wourH!s in· or to pre-judge the actuations of .he flicted by Private Fin;t Class Ma. military pt·t·sonncl involved. In j~s nuel Estil, a banrl memher, 2.1nl ticc 'o 'he person.<: conccrnerl and t!, Battalion Combat Team. Anothct· to the servic<', the rinal detcrmina officer, Captain Abelardo Yalong, tion is better left to the judJ!"ment was hurt in the right a-rm. The in of the duly constituted authority" who will have chance tO· decide the eases impact upon the men they handle is on the basis of facts and circum- not fully felt and recognized. _. stances. This manuscript is p1·es- Almost always an office1· who neg ented purely on the leadership :lp lects to develop and maintain a pos· • .proach as we see and ap11ly it in sible level of the leadership ability the rnHitary organization. ends up as a dismal failure. There Most Vital Factor cannot be any other conclusion. If It is ~ubmitted that cases of this he was able to get along for some natUl"l' need not cause undue alarm time it could have been merely beamong- us. Various segments of cause his hurclen was passed to his even our civilian population who are subordinates 01· his immediate su. engaged in a calling less strenuous nenors. and mm·e stable than that of the Success in ham\ling a military unit sen·icemen have thdt own share of is attained only hy a progressive violent accidents. The incidents development of \he ability to lead should tend more to spur us to adop that particular unit. An officer tion of effeettve measures against joining such unit must decidedly un. their being repeated. de1·go a ~erie~ of preliminaries, tests, To our mind, the most important and trials hefore he could conside1· single factor that enters into any himself fit to lead <he complement. case of this nature is leader.~ldp. He must lock first. into the state Among some aTmy officers today, of preparation of the personnel for leadership is one ability that is be- general military duties. Next he ginning to be taken fot· granted. Its ~xamin~s into the qualifications and into t~e boJic copobititiu ond weokneue• of lli1 men by"rroinin9 ond opplicotion OJ 1l>own in pl!oto obou Pholo obovel!efll JhowJ .> Jo!dier being a/fended lo b1 we/1-rrained nwueJ of rhe Arm1'• V. luna HoJpo'lal In rhe field a• 1hown in middle pholo, the unil !eoder ,hare• lh• diflicultieJ, di~eom loriJ ond incon•enience• wnconcerned!y with hi• men, l!ecreolion i• ol•o ottended ro frtn.,ss :Jf t'ach sol<li.,r· for his sp<>- some officers assign.,d to a new unit cifrc duty assil;rnmr'!lt. Their pet·- is the tendency to assume that he formancl' must h.. wakht:'rl and eval could readily begin employing men uated. Enors and defect~ ~hould be undiscernerlly - men he, in a true dt>tected anrl appt·opriat .. tonectivc sense, does not as yet know. Such m.,asm't'.<:: apph .. n. assumption, under present operationKnowledge of l'tlen al demands, is normally fataL Tht· ThP job 1.<:: quilt' t.,diou:s but it pay~ results are tragic. Exceptions may the desrrerl divid.,nds. There is no perchance ~o through, but pxc.,ption substrtutt' pr·escriptmn (or thal as a is never thP rut,., mon· SCf· i11 the commencrn.~~: t•ffort in knowing the military. m<>n. Th .. rr· habrts and i<liosyncr·a In the cmploynwnt ,lf n11litary eie~ hav .. to b+- knowr1. This know\· personnel th" unit ll:'ader must h•• .,d,:w rs vital i11 rl,.t.,r·mining the 'l'uided by an insillht into th~ Oasi<' r&nfi!'<> of duty and assrl{nnwnts to b(' capabilities and weakn.,sses r>f hi~ grven .. ach trno> of tho·m. men. Capabilitres an• dr:welop¥d by The common mistake commttterl by t!·aininl{ and apphcatron; rt 110 from these two phasts of military activity that 'the unit leade1· comes to assess and learn them. Weaknesses are better seen in performance. Needless to state, the unit leader, therefore, should invariably train with his men befo1·e he really works with them. Tr:rining with the men produces identity of purpose, harmony of effort and a common perspective for both the men and the leader. Working with them puts into effect the sychronization that the service, in the final analysis, underscores as the ultimate in perform, Training Continues The unit commander does not stop there. As time goes on he intenSifies his efforts to further integrate the human resources at his cOmmand. Training continues. He always finds time for reinstruction of his men in the milita-ry fundamentals. He watches over their upkeep and see that military standards are maintained. Tolerance at slovenliness, misdemeanor, and infractions of the military rules and regulations are strictly guarded against. Tolerance at these defects leads to an intolerable loss of discipline and courtesy. It breeds res<i'ntment at corrections and punishments. Under such a condition it is not surprising to know that even a simple reprimand ends up in instances of illegal shooting. In this aspect of military management, such routines as formations, ceremonies, guard duty, inspections and other administrative duties should be followed and performed. The end-purposes of these activities al'e still immutably and universally sound. The men must be assembled and formed before instruction is conducted or duties are assigned. Before soldiers are posted on guard duty, they must be formed to cheek their presence; inspected to cheek their physical fitness and readiness to guard, including arms and equip. ment; and instructed to cheek their understanding of the guard assignment to be performed. It is a must that these essentials be executed unfailingly, Otherwise, there would be needless sacrifice. Eye on Men's Welfare The unit leader should consider it 1'/toto obove ,/tow• o unil leoder conducting lecture, before /tio men ore o"'gned ro t/teor reooecfive </ufieo Tlti• i< o muol proc<:dure o/ o good /eoder a masterful obligation to continually signment have to be explained to all took over the welfare of his men, the men concerned. The p1·actice Our military doct1·ine declares the· serves to instil stability, continuity welfare of the men as second only and serve to inculcate in the minds to the mission. of the men the leader's regard and He should attend to their needs conce1·n ror their welfare. assiduously. Their clothing, their In the field, the men love to see pay and allowances, their food, theil· their· leader undergo the difficulties, sleeping quarters, their equipment, discomfo1·ts and inconveniences attheir :J.musement and 1·ecreation, their tendant to operations. The lea-der small privileges, their health _ all should share them unconcemedly need be attended to. with his men. He should demon· stJ·ate endurance, stamina, courage, and tletermination. No fnan will balk at such a leader. The unit leade1· should develop a dignified approach towards his men. Men readily respond to personality. Dignity is o.he finest manifestation of a compelling personality. These rules are simple. Any officer who has what it takes can ap. ply them as long as he is fully deIt is an accepted practice in our dicated to the oath of service and army tha:t major and abrupt changes duty that goes hand in hand with in military programs and duty as- his commi~sion.