The legal part of the commissioning event for a new officer in the US military is the swearing of the Oath of Commission.
I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So, help me God.
In addition to the oath, two ceremonial actions take place: the pinning of rank and the first salute.
The first salute, rendered by a current or retired enlisted US military service member, is the initial demonstration of the seniority of the officer position: a person with more experience, sometimes a lifetime’s worth, salutes and offers respect and courtesy to the new officer.
Commissioned through ROTC; most Second Lieutenants at my commissioning ceremony received their first salutes from the senior non-commissioned officer in our ROTC program. Master Sergeant Blaine had been in the US Army longer than I had been alive. He had previously been an instructor at the Field Artillery School in Fort Sill, which I had yet to even attend. He was the first person in the Army to salute me.
MCTP 6-10A, Section 5-10, PDF page 82
Officers, over the course of their careers, get saluted innumerable times, usually as a formality. Sometimes in front of a formation, sometimes while walking (on a sidewalk!) on base, or once for me, memorably, when I turned the corner into the wrong courtyard at Fort Sill and one hundred privates were called to attention because an officer had accidentally wandered into their space.
The first salute has more meaning, as do a smaller, but more significant percentage of salutes an officer will receive at critical points in their career. They are salutes with an unspoken message: you have the rank, but I have the expertise, and I’m here to help.
These salutes give junior officers the confidence to lead when the lack of experience seems daunting. These salutes reaffirm for more senior officers their ability to scale into ever more complex roles. These are the salutes that matter most.
Somewhere in your organization, perhaps on one of your teams, is a junior team member that has the look and feel of a future leader.
Absent a commissioning process, they will not outrank you tomorrow. But that’s no reason not to give them their first salute, to indicate to them your respect for their future journey and your willingness to be supporting expertise.
There is someone more junior than you in your organization that you will be your peer tomorrow, or for whom you might work some day. But today, you have the expertise. How will you help them?
This week, borrow with pride and reflect on when you received your first salute from a more experienced team member. How did that moment, and the subsequent support, help you? Who, this week, could you provide with their first salute? How will that moment, and your subsequent support, help them? What do you do with your expertise?
Get Familiar With: Maturing as a Leader
Chances are, you are still not a Marine. I’m still not one either. That does not mean we cannot work to be like them. Not in all ways, but some.
Senior enlisted leaders in the US Marine Corps are those non-commissioned officers at the Staff Sergeant rank and higher.
Staff noncommissioned officers exemplify a heightened level of commitment that comes with multiple reenlistments and a long-term vision as a career Marine. A promotion to staff sergeant also brings a new level of engagement with Marine Corps leadership. Just as there is a separation between junior Marines and NCOs, the promotion to staff sergeant opens the door to a new peer group with new responsibilities.
MCTP 6-10A, Section 5-1, PDF page 73
Senior enlisted non-commissioned officers exist in a decidedly hybrid leadership space: they have the most experience but will never have the highest rank. The Marine Corps is entirely reliant on them as the embodied repository of expertise from which both junior Marines and commissioned officers must draw. And at the same time, senior enlisted non-commissioned officers are still growing in their own careers.
The primary role of senior enlisted leadership is to shape the future of the Corps. It is their responsibility to contribute to the betterment of the institution for the sake of the Marines around them. At the same time, they must continue improving themselves to remain current and retain their value. Some of the main areas of balancing personal advancement with servant leadership are investing sacrificially, avoiding the expectation of entitlement in their position, and supporting the institution.
MCTP 6-10A, Section 5-1, PDF page 73
This is a complicated balancing act for the individual. But it is a critical balancing act for the organization. Senior enlisted non-commissioned officers are the leadership cohort that simultaneously represent continuity and evolution. Senior enough to have survived the trials that reinforce the criticality of the values and technical requirements…but still close enough still to the action to understand what is evolving in real-time and able to be the agents of change.
There is a lot we need to get right when our careers progress to this stage. Because there is a lot that can go wrong. At at this level, the successes and failures impact entire organizations.
What do you do with your expertise? How do you balance continuing to build your career and investing in others? What expectations and obligations does your expertise create? Are you meeting and exceeding these?
The Guided Discovery for this week will explore the US Marine Corps expectations for Staff Non-Commissioned Officers, sustaining a professional journey over a longer career, and the role that expertise and experts play in developing high performing teams and junior leaders.
Learn More: Suggested Reading
MCTP 6-10A, Sustaining the Transformation
Pages 5-1 through 5-20 based on printed document (PDF pages 73-92)
Description of general responsibilities and expectations of more senior enlisted Marines as they progress through the later stages of their careers
Always be asking: 1. What is the connection with my leadership development? 2. How does this change my thinking on management? 3. How does this influence planning for life? 4. What can I borrow with pride to use this week?
