Chain of Command

[Komissar]

This discussion was originally posted at SEAD in Florida. Thought it would inspire thoughts here.



How do we feel about Chain of Command vs. fun factor?

COWBOY wrote:
"Personally I believe you should have an established chain of command for the OP before the first boot hits the ground. All too often I see things run by a bureaucracy instead of by a few good leaders. Poor leadership leads to poor battlefield initiative, which leads to stagnation which to me = NO FUN.
I know everyone comes out to have fun, certainly we don't need any Patton/Nimitz types barking orders. I feel that once an operator is Team Leader the other operators on that team should defer to his judgment and save the constructive criticism for after the game. I cant stand ten people wanting it done their way, just for the sake of wanting to do it their way."

I would like to hear other's thoughts on this matter

[Tank]

I tried chain of command with my last group and it worked pretty well for the size of things i think if we are to do chain of command we need people who are the leadership type. I also think that our mission day which we opperate without COC (chain of command) runs well because we have these leadership type personalities. the people with the leadership "gene" are people who have experience on the field, strategy, work well under pressure, and are quick on their feet. they think about their team and about how they can better their field advantage. there are a few of those personality types i can spot on the team but they are nothing without their men to follow them and also for their second in command or "advisors" if there are more than one. this is when chain of command becomes necessary. this is when (as a unit) needs division and levels of command such as our modern military is using. and like Komissar said poor leadership leads to no fun. so i agree that we need to establish a commander before the mission and that commander can choose his "little helpers" or other commanders. i do agree having a patton or nimitz with this group is not the way to go. i must admit less serious and less trained groups need a person barking at them but Diamond Corps is exceptionally trained and disciplined operators. Oorah!!!

[Komissar]

I agree with Tank's comments, however,
To clarify:
I did not write the above article.
It was taken from our friends at SEAD Airsoft in Florida.
I thought it was insightful, and reflected many of the ideas I think about when either hosting Missions Ops here at the field, and when we as the Corps take the battle to the enemy.
In this case, I thought the article was well written and expressed my thoughts on the subject. I don't wish to plagiarize.
Thank you Tank.

[Tank]

definitly it does express a lot of veiws shared by many on Diamond Corps it is very well written and i think this was a good thing to post

[Flapjack]

I agree that leadership on the airsoft field is a must for larger groups and more serious scenarios. But for the Diamond Corp, I do believe we are the exception to this trend. I think the Diamond Corp is put together in a way that leaders are bred and allowed to be in positions in such ways as to allow them growth as leaders on and off the field. For example, picking a new person to step into the leadership position for a game is a good thing and they should be encouraged to take charge of their team. By allowing them to pick their team and have them ultimately make the strategic choices for them and their team, they are becoming more capable as leaders and they should be becoming better airsoft players. For people like myself, Scramble, and Tank (to name a few) have played enough so we can now start thinking as leaders as well as airsoft operators. I frequently find myself in the role of team leader or fire team leader which forces me to make decisions which determine the fate of the team I'm on charge of. On the small scale it is good but not necessary to have such leaders in place. Small mission days with only 10 people per team does not require a leader (except for the marshal) on the field but I think it is good to have people step into leadership roles at this level because of the simpler tasks and duties that come with it. Having someone new lead the team on a big scenario day puts too much pressure on them making the day less fun for them. Whereas having a trained leader or someone with more leadership experience get the chance to lead a larger group makes the day run smoother because more operators will have direction and should be able to work together more efficiently. So for bigger scenario days Team leaders and Fire Team Leaders are very necessary to have the day run smoothly, but it is also important that we create more of these leaders during the mission days so more people will be able to run a fire team or even the whole team as needed.

[Joseph Aguilar]

I actually enjoy having a squad leader. Although I found that i did the best when i was given a general command like, "go take that hill". Those kinds of orders are pretty general orders, and within those guidelines i feel a successful team should be able to adapt their own commands inside those guidelines.