#11--Scott Helminski

Controversy & Clarity

In this episode, we discuss:

*Scott’s enlisted experience and its effects on how he views on leadership, command, and warfighting

*Scott’s experience as an artilleryman, his understanding of fire support, and how these things may influence how he commands his battalion

*Scott’s two deployments with Second Battalion, Eighth Marines, and how these experiences have influenced him as a leader

*His time at the School of Infantry-East and the similarities and differences between serving in a battalion in the operating forces and one in the supporting establishment

*Scott’s two deployments with Second Battalion, Second Marines, and what he learned from them

*His time at TBS and how it shaped him as an officer, leader, and teacher

*Scott’s views on decision-forcing cases

*His time as a battalion XO and what it taught him about command and leadership

*Scott’s advice to future XOs and battalion commanders about working together effectively

*The challenges that XOs and battalion commanders face while on a UDP and some ideas on handling them

*His time as the division secretary of the 2nd Marine Division

*His experiences as the division’s current operations officer

*Being the XO of the 6th Marine Regiment

*The ideal and worst kinds of battalion commanders

*The single most important thing battalion commanders do for their unit

*How teaching and leading are complimentary

*Scott’s PME plans for his battalion

*The steps Scott has taken to prepare for battalion command

*How Scott will use the history of his battalion to help with unit training, education, esprit de corps, identity, and cohesion

*What excites Scott most about being a battalion commander and what concerns him most

*The atmosphere and culture Scott wants to create in the battalion

*The characteristics of the best and worst battalions

*Scott’s take on battalion exercises like MCCREs and ITXs

*Common mistakes new battalion commanders, and commanders more generally, make

*How battalion command in the future will look, particularly in the context of Force Design 2030

Links

Infantry in Battle by the Infantry Journal

Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet

Grit by Angela Duckworth

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink

Noise by Joseph McCormack

Errata

I said Scott’s 2nd deployment to Iraq with 2/8 was in 2006. It was in 2007.

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