Awesome Officers

Every G1 section is lead by a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC). Ours is LTC Sweeney. He's a devout Irish Catholic, has a thick Brooklyn accent, and is one of the best officers for whom I have ever worked. He, unlike so many others in the Army, doesn't believe in pointless meetings. In fact, he hates meetings. He calls them only when necessary. He also "protects" us from the bullcrap that other sections want to throw onto us. For instance, our validation event--every unit that deploys does so only after they have been validated IE the Army makes sure that they know what they are doing. Every section is doing 24 hour operations. Most have them chopped up into two 12 hours shifts. LTC Sweeney thinks this is stupid, and has told the Chief of Staff--his immediate supervisor (and a Colonel)--that he will not be having his section perform 24 hour operations. He thinks they aren't necessary. Like any good officer, he's fighting battles behind the scenes so that his Soldiers are protected from the crap storm that is Army idiocy. All officers are taught to do this, but few do it either due to fear, syncophancy, or following blindly.

Another great officer is our Commanding General, BG Ives. We were told that we would have wifi connection in our barracks--which are, by the way, quite crappy. I will post pictures. When we arrived the brigade hosting us didn't have wifi, even though they told us they would. The general was irate. He let the Brigade Commander, a Colonel, know what he thought about this. The Colonel couldn't do anything about it, or so he said, so BG Ives purchased wifi cards WITH HIS OWN MONEY so that Soldiers could have wifi at night. It's not the best because 150+ Soldiers are utilizing six cards, but he is looking out for his Soldiers. He told us that he felt that wifi access was important for us so that we could keep in constant contact with our families.

These two gentlemen exemplify what officers should be, and I am quite pleased to be serving under them.

NB: The Army rank system can be confusing so let me flesh it out. There are two classes: Enlisted and Officers. Enlisted are the guys who join the Army with little formal educated as a prerequisite. Generally, a GED or high-school diploma is all that is necessary. The ranks are Private (PVT), Private 2 (PV2), Private First Class (PFC), Specialist (SPC), Sergeant (SGT), Staff Sergeant (SSG), Sergeant First Class (SFC), Master Sergeant/1st Sergeant (MSG/1SG--depends on if you are in an administrative billet or a leadership billet), and finally Sergeant Major/Command Sergeant Major SGM/CSM--again depending if you are an administrator or a leader). The officers are those who lead elements, and have a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite. Most officers have a masters by the time they make Major. The heirarchy is 2nd Lieutenant (2LT), 1st Lieutenant (1LT), Captain (CPT), Major (MAJ), Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), Colonel (COL), Brigadier General (BG), Major General (MG), Lieutenant General (LTG), and General (GEN). The general officers have stars as their rank isignia with the lowest being 1 star, and the highest being 4 stars. There are also Warrant Officers, but they are too small to wory about now! Each rank has a differing level of responsibility with Privates-Specialists being the peons and Sergeant and above having actual levels of responsibility. Officers lead from day one, and this is why a minimum of a bachelor's is expected. I hope this helps clear things up. Take care.