{"id":28919,"date":"2019-03-08T19:48:52","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T19:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/08\/lieutenants-appearing-soon-at-an-army-basic-training-platoon-near-you\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:42:32","slug":"lieutenants-appearing-soon-at-an-army-basic-training-platoon-near-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/03\/08\/lieutenants-appearing-soon-at-an-army-basic-training-platoon-near-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Lieutenants, appearing soon at an Army basic training platoon near you"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Step by step, the Army has been overhauling its basic training enterprise<\/a> over the past year. First came a new program of instruction at Fort Jackson, then a pilot extension of infantry one-station unit training<\/a> and the return of drill sergeants to advanced individual training<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the Center for Initial Military Training is tackling its ratio problem: There are too many trainees for the number of drill sergeants there to teach them, considering the wide array of responsibilities they have to take care of. But coming this spring, a new position has opened up to remove some of the burden on leadership: Basic training platoon leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re going to do is, they\u2019re going to be responsible for things that drill sergeants are doing right now, that\u2019ll free drill sergeants up to do what drill sergeants are supposed to do,\u201d Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost, the head of CIMT, told Army Times in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(FORT BENNING, GA) \u2013 An ABOLC Instructor passes a 120 mm training round to a student during an ammunition resupply, Feb. 9, 2017, here, at the Digital Multi-Purpose Range Complex (DMPRC). (Photo by: Patrick A. Albright\/MCoE PAO Photographer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Starting in April, more than 700 lieutenants will arrive, going to every basic combat training and OSUT platoon. About half will be in place by the time the summer rush is in full swing in July, but they\u2019ll continue to flow in until October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platoon leaders will be responsible for things like equipment maintenance and accountability, Frost added, and the assignments will last about a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to plan, resource and coordinate the training events, and lead those platoons, and free up drill sergeants to do some of the more hands-on duties,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is key, because last year\u2019s POI overhaul includes more focus on key tasks like weapons and land navigation, as well as fundamental soldier conditioning in physical fitness, plus drill and ceremony \u2015 all right in the drill sergeants\u2019 wheelhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenants themselves will have a range of experience. Some might be preparing to head off to their career field\u2019s basic officer leader course, while others might have just completed it and are preparing to report to a platoon, or are on their way to the Captains Career Course after a platoon leader gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, the 12 to 15 months they\u2019d spend leading a platoon will replace the downtime young officers often have in between schools or assignments, when they tend to kill time at staff jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s an advantage for the lieutenants,\u201d Frost said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be working with and training with the best noncommissioned officers that we have in the Army, which are drill sergeants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be a learning curve for brand new officers to integrate into a platoon with seasoned NCOs, but leading a basic training platoon can prime them for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would have been a fantastic opportunity,\u201d Frost said, reflecting on his own career. \u201cOne of the biggest deficiencies I felt, personally, coming into my first unit, was the technical abilities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than learning communications on the fly in your first unit, or spending remedial time in the arms room with a platoon sergeant, they can get some of that experience before leading an operational unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company commanders will assess each lieutenant\u2019s experience and capabilities, giving them a chance to function more as a platoon leader or as an executive officer. They might rate their drill sergeants on evaluations, for instance, but they will not be part of the day-to-day training plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like you\u2019re going to have a brand new second lieutenant demonstrating how to throw a grenade to a trainee,\u201d Frost said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been decades since the Army had any officer below a company commander leading trainees, but it\u2019s not unprecedented. The last time was around World War II, but like most organizational decisions in the Army, needs of the force set the norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just need a higher density of leaders than we currently have,\u201d Frost said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t