My Leadership Experience Essay

In the beginning of 2001 I was a SGT in the 82nd Airborne Division, by January 2002 I was standing in front of the Battalion Commander’s desk being read my second Field Grade Article 15 in seventy days. I was being demoted to Private First Class, being sent to Correctional Custody in Camp Lejeune, South Carolina for thirty days and being moved to a new company when I returned. The first field grade was for disobeying a lawful order from three senior NCO’s, the Brigade CSM, Battalion CSM, and my Platoon Sergeant. They had all told me in the same day at separate times to get a haircut and I failed to, the second was for stealing from the company supply room while on extra duty from the first field grade.

Introduction
It all began when I arrived in 1-504th at Ft Bragg, NC in October of 2000 from Korea as a promotable Specialist with only 4 years in the army. I had only been a Specialist for a month when the chain of command decides that I was ready to be a sergeant without ever leading soldiers during training. In January 2001 I attended the Primary Leadership course where I was supposed to learn how to be a leader. After graduating from the course I was given a
This is part the of the NCO creed that I think most about. Because of some of the leaders that believed in me during my time of mistakes, I have been able to not only advance in my carrier but I am sought out by seniors, peers and my subordinates for my experiences in my career. Soldiers look up to leaders that have made mistakes and used them in a positive way to improve themselves. I have shared my story with soldiers that have been in the army for years and as a Drill Sergeant soldiers that were just coming in to the army to show them that we are just human and will make mistakes, the true measure of a man is what he will do after that