I have the distinct pleasure of watching as one of A Special Group of Soldiers I got to know on our way to Iraq, tries out his hand at milblogging.

Over at Cheese’s Milblog, one fine soldier and prospective NCO remembers a couple of leadership role models under whom he served:

In the face of my upcoming deployment, I spent a good deal of time wondering aloud if I was to be promoted. Some of this could fall under the category of "bitching," given that I have spent much of my military career as a junior leader and have probably lead more training events than any Specialist in Army history. However, as I attended more and more predeployment training exercises, I was reminded why I love being a Specialist...or Specialist Major, as my fellow Romeos were fond of calling me. I am forced to prove myself to those around me and that challenge makes me a better soldier. Also, I am often given leadership duties, but I have the cushion of being "just a Specialist" in case anything goes wrong.
Recently I was told by my immediate leadership that I may be promoted to Sergeant before my unit leaves for Afghanistan. While I am excited for the challenge and the opportunity, I am not relieved. I am nervous about being officially in charge of other soldiers...especially since those soldiers are not Romeos. This is not to say that I don't trust my new unit or that they are not as trained, disciplined or motivated as my old squad(because they are), but when I deployed with the Romeos I had known them for my entire military existence...they were the reason why I enlisted! We had the rhythm down. Most of all, I know that I have large Danner Arcadias to fill.
I have been fortunate enough in my military career to have had the best small-unit leadership one can imagine. As a "Romeo," I had a phenomenal NCOIC, and a great group of team leaders. I have taken much of my leadership style from my old NCOIC. His strengths were his tactical and technical proficiency and his demeanor. He was one of those guys that was impossible to categorize because you knew his actions were genuine, not part of some manufactured act that he'd learned at PLDC...or WLC for you "warriors" out there. This made it easy for everyone at every level to trust him and follow his advice and direction.
The person who I most look up to as a leadership model, however, is my old team leader. I'll refer to him as "Doc."

Now go read about Doc from a new MILBLOGGER, who will no doubt have lots more interesting stories to tell!