U.S. Army

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ESSAY
Purpose The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate an understanding of
writing fundamentals and the application of APA 7th ed. guidelines.
Background
Information
The goal of SMA Grinston’s “This is My Squad” initiative is to build more
cohesive teams throughout the U.S. Army. In-processing new soldiers,
noncommissioned officer education, knowing your people, and leader
development were identified as factors in building cohesion, enabling Army
leadership.
In your current unit (or a previous unit), identify an opportunity for
improvement through the application of one of the factors discussed in the
article (in-processing new soldiers, noncommissioned officer education,
knowing your people, and leader development). Explain your selection and
how applying it would improve unit cohesion and your organization. Be sure
to include an example of how you implement the change you recommend.
Topic Army Leadership and the Profession
Resource
Requirements
ADP 6-22: Army Leadership and the Profession
Article – Ownership: This is My Squad
Writing Fundamentals Lesson; APA 7th ed.
Expectations 1. Following the APA 7th ed. guidelines, write an essay. Your essay must:
-be a MS Word document
-include a Title page and Reference page (DO NOT include an abstract)
-address the topic above
-include introduction and conclusion paragraphs
-be a maximum of two pages (the Title page and Reference page do
not count toward your two-page maximum)
-follow all rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation (run a spelling and
grammar check before submission)
-include at least one reference and in-text citation, properly formatted
2. Upload and submit your essay for grading in blackboard by clicking on
the Essay Submission link.
3. Your essay will be evaluated on the expectations listed above, the
assignment rubric, and lesson material (review the Writing Fundamentals
lesson and assignment rubric before you start your essay).

NCO Journal 1 September 2020
NCO Journal provides a forum and publishing opportunity for NCOs, by NCOs, for the open exchange of ideas and information in support of training, education and development.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/
Ownership
This is My Squad
By Sgts. 1st Class Christopher Dunlap, Joshua M. MacNary, 1st Sgt. Jacob
Miller, Sgts. 1st Class J. Andrew Porter, and Josephine M. Pride
Benavidez Leader Development Program, U.S. Military Academy
S
hortly after assuming the duties of Sergeant Major
of the Army (SMA), Michael A. Grinston set forth
an initiative entitled, “This is My Squad” (TIMS).
The goal of the initiative is to build more cohesive teams
throughout the U.S. Army. Grinston identified that both the
Ranger Regiment and Special Forces units tend to exhibit
greater team cohesion than traditional Army units. Their
training is intense and creates “shared hardships” that all
team members must bond together to endure. Additionally,
because of the closeness of these teams, they usually have
better knowledge of each individual team member and their
families. This helps unit leadership effectively anticipate
problems that may arise so they can prevent or fix them
early (Rempfer, 2019).
TIMS comes on the heels of the “Army People Strategy,” proposed by Gen. James McConville, 40th Chief of
Staff of the Army. The strategy focuses on deliberately
managing the talents of the Total Army Force to increase
readiness. “People are the Army. They are our greatest
strength, our most important weapon system” (Kimmons, 2019, para. 15). The concept is intended to move
the Army away from a reliance on systems and technology, and put the focus back on its people in preparation for the future fight. With this goal in mind, SMA
Note: The following article provided the concept for the future TIMS App.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Megan V. Zander taken Dec. 18, 2019) U.S. Army Soldiers with 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division prepare to approach a target during squad-level live-fire training in Rukla, Lithuania, Dec. 18, 2019.
NCO Journal 2 September 2020
NCO Journal provides a forum and publishing opportunity for NCOs, by NCOs, for the open exchange of ideas and information in support of training, education and development.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/
Grinston requested that one team from Cohort Five of
the Benavidez Leader Development Program at the U.S.
Military Academy, West Point, New York examine the
TIMS concept and predict any problems that may affect
team cohesion as well as offer possible solutions.
Five noncommissioned officers (referred to as “Team
3”) identified an overarching theme of ownership that
team and squad leaders should possess to be effective.
After Team 3’s discussion and research, it was decided
the most important factors to focus on to ensure teams
would build cohesiveness would be: in-processing of new
Soldiers to teams, noncommissioned officer (NCO) education throughout the Army, “know your people” in order to
develop the individual and the team, and ensuring proper
leader development. The following sections look at possible solutions the Army could implement to create better
leaders at the lowest level to improve team cohesion
throughout the force.
Ownership
Team 3 looked over a broad list of possible topics communicated from SMA Grinston and concluded that an
overarching theme of ownership applied to the majority
of these topics and is applicable to any unit level in the
Army. Individually, Soldiers demonstrate ownership over
their physical, mental, and occupational development
while also updating personal records, and other important
aspects of their career. Although individual ownership
is important, successful teams cannot depend solely on
individual ownership to foster full team cohesiveness.
Ownership must also be demonstrated by unit leaders,
especially at the squad and small group level. Squad and
platoon leaders must take ownership of training, supporting, and caring for the members of their teams.
Reception of New Team Members
Reception and integration, often referred to as
in-processing, is the first moment a Soldier is exposed to
their new team. There are many inconsistencies in how a
new Soldier might go through in-processing. Having an
assigned sponsor in the Army Career Tracker or a battle
buddy assigned to show someone around is only a small
step in the overall experience, and one that is sometimes
not done thoroughly (Bugala, 2017).
In-processing is a critical time for setting a Soldier up
for successful socialization to their new unit and team
culture. Team culture is defined as “the way a set of people behave and think which stems from the attitudes and
belief system that they all share. A collection of people
that are working together to achieve a common goal and
objective” (“What is Team Culture,” 2019, para. 2). This
forms the basis for how team members interact and the
type of environment in which teams operate. If the squad
leader does not take ownership of getting to know new
Soldiers and properly introduce them to team members
and culture, they may feel left out. Or worse, the Soldier
may negatively affect the climate of the team, if, for instance, another team member instills the wrong ideas in
the new Soldier’s understanding of the culture. This can
lead to issues with team dynamics.
To ensure unit leaders understand how to assimilate new
Soldiers into the team culture, it is important new members
are trained in positive cultural socialization. It is essential
Soldiers are trained early in their career to be good followers, team members, and leaders. Training in socialization,
team/group dynamics, and strong team culture can be
applied in Advanced Individual Training and Basic Leader
Course. By doing so, junior Soldiers can establish a solid
foundation early to build effective leadership skills.
Promotions and the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS)
When a Soldier is promoted into the NCO ranks,
they should be transferred out of their current squad or
platoon in order to facilitate fresh leadership dynamics.
There is the possibility current team members would still
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amada Hunt taken April 23, 2020) U.S.
Army trainees with the 434th Field Artillery Brigade conduct physical readiness training during basic combat training at Fort Sill,
Oklahoma, April 23, 2020.
U.S. Army Soldiers arrive from one station unit training at Fort Benning, Georgia to Fort Riley, Kansas to begin in-processing, April 17,
2020. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Timothy Brokhoff)
NCO Journal 3 September 2020
NCO Journal provides a forum and publishing opportunity for NCOs, by NCOs, for the open exchange of ideas and information in support of training, education and development.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/
view them as an equal. A newly promoted sergeant should
receive additional training on organizational socialization,
team dynamics, leadership training, emotional intelligence, and other psychological aspects useful to building
strong leaders and cohesive teams. Additionally, if the
NCOPDS could accredit their schools and partner with a
university or college like the Sergeants Major Academy, a
degree or certification can be accomplished earlier in an
enlisted Soldier’s career (NCOLCoE, 2019; Woods, 2019).
There is also a need for more relevant evaluation, to
include self-assessments.
There are numerous tools
used in educational and
business settings like the
Kolb Learning Style Inventory that help identify
how someone learns best
from experience (Kolb
& Kolb, 2013). These
self-assessments would
benefit all Soldiers and
could be instituted at each
level of NCOPDS. Training young NCOs in these
practices will help them to
be better followers, team
members, and leaders, as
well as help them recognize and prevent toxic leadership behavior (Department
of the Army, 2017). This will allow building positive and
high-achieving team culture quickly at the beginning of
one’s leadership career.
Know Your Team, Grow Your Team
In addition to instruction, development, and
discipline, NCOs are the Army’s first line of care for
most Soldiers. If a squad leader only focuses on mission and discipline, they risk not developing individual Soldiers or the team as a whole. They should take
the time to get to know each individual Soldier on
their team and establish a personal bond. This bond
will create trust and make each Soldier feel as if they
belong to the team.
In 2015, researchers at Google published their
findings on Project Aristotle. Over the course of
two years, they performed a company-wide research
project to study the effectiveness of teams and find
what drives the most successful teams. Their findings showed that the “who” and “what” of the team
– such as whether the team had one strong leader or
was more democratic, homogenous or more diverse,
all intelligent and formally educated or not, and
working on a simple or difficult task – didn’t matter.
There were five factors that were consistent in the
most effective teams. The five factors are:
• Psychological safety: Can we take risks without
feeling insecure or embarrassed?
• Dependability: Can we count on each other to do
high quality work on time?
• Structure and clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans clear?
• Meaning of work: Are we working on something
that is personally important for each of us?
• Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the
work we’re doing matters? (Rozovsky, 2015, para. 5).
The Army has a reasonable amount of focus on
dependability, structure
and clarity, meaning of
work, and impact of work.
But what about the number one factor: psychological safety?
Psychological safety is
a shared belief by all team
members that it is safe to
take risks. This is necessary
for strong, cohesive teams,
and leaders need to learn
how to instill and develop
it within their units. Each
team member must have
confidence the team will
not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking
up or contributing a new idea.
Teams that demonstrate psychological safety are centered on trust and respect and leaders of these types of
teams do not need to have all the answers. They embrace
humility, curiosity, feedback from others, and invite
other team members’ opinions, questions, and challenges
to current trends and beliefs (Rozovsky, 2015). The most
cohesive teams are able to question and give feedback up,
down, and across the hierarchy (Duhigg, 2016).
So why does this matter to a squad leader, and how
does it affect knowing their individual Soldiers? Leaders
can develop their unit cohesiveness by instilling psychological safety into team culture. By positively building
squads at the lowest level, it becomes the foundation for
success throughout the Army at every level.
New Trends
As a final aspect of leader ownership, Team 3 developed an idea to aid new Soldiers and squad leaders
alike. The proposal is a mobile device app that could
revolutionize how a squad leader receives and integrates Soldiers into the team. We would call this app
“MySquad.” MySquad would encompass all necessary
elements of a Soldier’s military records, to include
their reception and integration, counseling and rating
files, training and readiness, photos of their chain
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston discusses the future of largescale training rotations at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin,
California, May 13, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Casey Slusser)
NCO Journal 4 September 2020
NCO Journal provides a forum and publishing opportunity for NCOs, by NCOs, for the open exchange of ideas and information in support of training, education and development.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/
of command, items pertinent to the unit and team
culture, and even an element for anonymous feedback.
Ideally, the squad leader, platoon leader, and first sergeant would have new Soldiers automatically uploaded
to their own profile by their personnel staff. Once the
new Soldier arrives, the leadership team would have
access to the new Soldier’s information and would
not need a computer to work through in-processing.
The Soldier’s information could be identified by their
Department of Defense ID number or some other
method of anonymity not tied to personally identifiable information. Encryption would need to be strong
enough to protect sensitive information; however,
from a user standpoint, it could prove extraordinarily
useful and efficient.
Conclusion
In closing, Team 3 saw ownership as the philosophical backbone that could revolutionize team cohesion
in the U.S. Army. If NCOs embrace ownership and the
TIMS philosophy of building positive relationships, not
only will this positively affect mission success and unit
readiness, but it will lead to greater Soldier retention
and recruitment of top talent for the U.S. Army. This
will ultimately prepare the U.S. Army to succeed in any
future conflict or battlefield.
References
Buagala, A. L. (2017). Soldiers round up resources to be
effective sponsors. Army.mil. https://www.army.mil/
article/182499/soldiers_round_up_resources_to_
be_effective_sponsors
Department of the Army. (2017). AR 600-100: Army profession and leadership policy. https://armypubs.army.
mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN3758_
AR_600-100_FINAL_WEB_.pdf
Duhigg, Charles. (2016). What Google Learned From
its Quest to Build the Perfect Team. New York Times
Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/
magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-tobuild-the-perfect-team.html
Kimmons, S. (2019). New chief of staff: Taking care of
people key to winning the fight. Army.mil. https://
www.army.mil/article/225377/new_chief_of_staff_
taking_care_of_people_key_to_winning_the_fight
Kolb, A., & Kolb, D.A. (2013). The Kolb Learning Style Inventory 4.0 guide. https://learningfromexperience.com/research-library/the-kolb-learning-style-inventory-4-0/
NCO Leadership Center of Excellence. (2019). USASMA
is now a branch campus under CGSC. https://www.
ncolcoe.army.mil/News/Article/1897407/usasma-isnow-a-branch-campus-under-cgsc/
Rempfer, Kyle (2019). ‘This is my squad’: SMA Grinston
talks about his push to build cohesive units. The
Army Times. https://www.armytimes.com/news/
your-army/2019/10/17/this-is-my-squad-sma-grinston-talks-about-his-push-to-build-cohesive-units/
Rozovsky, J. (2015). The five keys to a successful Google
team. https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/fivekeys-to-a-successful-google-team/
What is team culture in the workplace? (Five ways to
build company culture). (2019). Open Sourced Workplace. https://www.opensourcedworkplace.com/
news/what-is-team-culture-in-the-workplace-fiveways-to-build-company-culture
Woods, J. (2019). Bachelor of Arts now attainable at
USASMA. NCO Journal. https://www.armyupress.
army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/Archives/2019/
June/USASMA-Gains-Accreditation/
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Dunlap is a tactical NCO for Company B-2 at the U.S. Military Academy West Point.
Prior to West Point, he served as a headquarters platoon sergeant at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Dunlap has deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation New Dawn.
1st Sgt. Jacob Miller is the first sergeant of the U.S. Army Garrison West Point Military Police Company. Prior to West
Point, he served as a platoon sergeant with the 551st Military Police Company at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Miller has
deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and to Germany in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
U.S. Army Soldiers with the Benavidez Leader Development Program
(Team 3), participate in a group meeting, Feb. 19, 2020. (U.S. Army
photo by Staff Sgt. Courtney Martin)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the NCO Journal, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.
NCO Journal 5 September 2020
NCO Journal provides a forum and publishing opportunity for NCOs, by NCOs, for the open exchange of ideas and information in support of training, education and development.
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/NCO-Journal/
Sgt. 1st Class J. Andrew Porter is a rudimental drummer and drum section leader in the West Point Band’s field
music group, “The Hellcats.” Porter also serves as the personnel and administration NCOIC for the West Point Band.
Sgt. 1st Class Josephine Pride is a public affairs mass communication specialist in the U.S. Army. She is serving
as the senior enlisted advisor for West Point Public Affairs and has led a combat camera team during a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Prior to West Point, Pride served as an operations sergeant with the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Sgt. 1st Class Joshua MacNary is a tactical NCO at the United States Military Academy. Prior to serving at West
Point, he served as a rifle platoon and mortar platoon sergeant with 2nd Battalion “Patriots”, 3rd Regiment out of
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom
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