Comments on: NEWS FROM THE FRONT

By: joy

joy — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

The acronym for staff positions (in the Infantry at least) was PITS. Personnel, Intelligence, Training and Supply. At least in the unit I was familiar with, the S-1 was a very important guy as he was the Battalion Commander's right hand man.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Yeah--the S-1 is important because of all the paperwork. The -1 and -3 are the most prestigious of the staff positions, with the -3 being much more senior.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

James, I don't know what unit you were in, but I've never been in a unit where the -1 was considered a prestigious position. That's your basic scut job. Important work, and it does keep you in tight with the commander, but very few officers I've known have enjoyed the job.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Also, I should note the battalion S-3 is a major's slot. The only time a captain will fill it is when the unit is short a major for some reason. Interestingly enough, when a captain does fill the slot, he's usually a junior captain. The battalion's senior captains are almost always the company commanders. And the S-2 is an MI captain's slot, with an MI lieutenant as his assistant.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Andrew,

Interesting. I was with 1/27 FA (MLRS) in Babenhausen from 1989-92. In that particular case, it depended. The job was held--as your piece suggests appropriate--by three lieutenants who were on the fast track. It was then held by a very competent lieutenant who was then promoted to captain. It was clearly not a prestige assignment for someone at the captain level.

So, in my limited experience, it's a great job to get as an LT--you've already had the prestige jobs by then--but it sucks as a captain.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

And very interesting on the -2 slot. We never had an MI guy for the position nor were we authorized one so far as I know. When I arrived, the job was held by an E-7 on his way to retirement and later by two first lieutenants on their way out of the Army. I don't know if that was anomolous to that particular TOE or if things have just changed over the years.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

James,

The S-1 was almost always filled with a very good officer, because the battalion commander wanted to have a good guy as his right hand man. We just all viewed it as a lousy job to have, because it entailed a great deal of boring, repetitive paperwork. But I suspect S-1s do well afterwards, because their commanders take care of them when they leave.

As for the S-2, it may vary from armor to FA. The Army may have decided that FA battalions don't need MI officers, for whatever reason. That doesn't make much sense to me, but the Army has its own reasons. All I can say for certain is that every armor battalion to which I've been assigned has had two MI officers on the MTOE: the S-2, a captain, and the tactical intelligence officer, a 2LT.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Andrew: Interesting. Which makes some sense, since it gives MI junior officers something to do. Indeed, in my unit, the only MI officer we had was a captain on brigade staff.

By: John Cole

John Cole — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I my Cav unit (11th ACR), NCO's and officers could wear spurs on certain days if they had completed a Spur Walk (which was much like an EIB badge- though probably not as rigorous).

FWIW- The Cav was the most fun I had in the military.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

John: I think Cav gets it right, actually. Like the Marines, they manage to build esprit de corps through their traditions. The artillery mainly had stupid stuff like dinings out but very little in the way of fun rituals. The only thing comparable was the Saint Barbara event, but I found it fairly lame, too, since it often became a gimme.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

James,
I was a member of 3ACR is the late 90s. I wouldn't call them a light unit in any case. Abrams, Bradleys and Apaches are never light. What they don't have is the support elements that the Division has.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Jim: Right. I should have said "relatively" light, I guess. Not really such a thing as a "light" tank. ;)

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