Photo By Capt. Kayla Christopher | Col. David Jordan and Command Sgt. Major Christopher Miller, the command team for the...... read more read more
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KIEV, Ukraine—Trust and respect, these are the hallmarks of a strong command relationship - the relationship between a commander and his or her senior enlisted advisor.
During a recent seminar at the Ukrainian National Defence University in Kiev, Ukraine, U.S. Army representatives, Col. David Jordan and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Miller, stressed to senior Ukrainian officers the importance of building-up Ukraine’s NCO corps.
Progress starts, they said, with an understanding of how officers and NCOs most effectively work together.
The pair did more than just talk during their time at the university supported by the NATO School Oberammergau; their interaction demonstrated the characteristics of a good command relationship in action.
Together, Jordan and Miller form the command team leading the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, an international coalition working to build professionalism within the Ukrainian army.
“I have always been treated as an asset and valued team member,” Miller told the officers. “I have always taken great pride in the successes of the officers I served with in a command team role, but more importantly, I have also always understood that if my commander fails it is just as much my fault.”
The team also traveled to Desna, Ukraine to discuss the same topic with Ukrainian sergeants studying at the 197th Noncommissioned Officer Training Center.
“The U.S. Army calls the NCO Corps the backbone of the Army for good reason,” Jordan told the sergeants. “They hold our formations together and make them function.”
As Ukraine has shifted from having a Soviet-style military to a force more in line with Western and NATO standards, Ukrainian officers have struggled to feel comfortable allowing NCOs to take on more significant responsibilities, Jordan said.
“I have [thousands of] soldiers to train to fight, but my job is easier because I utilize my NCOs to the greatest extent possible,” Jordan said. “I've always had highly professional NCOs helping me along the way, so that's normal to me. It's not normal for your officers.”
The culture of the U.S. Army conditions officers and NCOs to understand the importance of their relationship from the very beginnings of their careers.
“As a young lieutenant, I had the privilege of being assigned next to some of the best platoon sergeants in my battalion,” Jordan said. “Just as I could not do what I do without the support of my family, I could never have successfully led my units without the strong support and advice from my senior enlisted advisors.”
For many officers and NCOs in Ukraine, whose young military was hastily pitched together in a time of crisis under outdated Soviet doctrine, this concept is harder to grasp.
The growing pains of the young army are evident.
As one of the Ukrainian sergeants explained through a translator to Jordan and Miller, basically, our army is three years old; we're going through issues now that you went through during your revolutionary war.
Miller and Jordan acknowledged the difficulties Ukraine is facing in growing its NCO corps, but encouraged the sergeants to continue working toward progress.
“It's a difficult thing to accept radical change, but keep in mind your army is transforming—building new systems, making new rules, building new facilities and learning a whole new way to fight to make yourself more compatible with NATO standards,” Miller said.
He added other former soviet nations took 10 to 15 years to make the changes the Ukrainian military is starting to make.
“It's a big challenge and it won't go as quickly as you want it to, but that doesn't mean you should just sit quietly and wait for change,” Miller said. “Engage your officers now and develop those relationships now even with the current problems.”
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2017 04:57 |
| Story ID: | 243311 |
| Location: | KIEV, UA |
| Hometown: | KIEV, UA |
| Web Views: | 476 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Trust and Respect: The Foundation of the Command Relationship, by CPT Kayla Christopher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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