From the front: NCO looks to mentors, draws on experience to shape leadership style

By U.S. ArmyOctober 23, 2014

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Angelo, center, acting first sergeant, C Troop, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, mentors Soldiers who approached him in their troop area. Drawing on previous experiences, Angelo was able to provide ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- There are many approaches to military leadership, many situations that affect leadership, and many ways to develop one's style.

Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Angelo, acting first sergeant with C Troop, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and a recent recipient of the Maj. Gen. Aubrey "Red" Newman Award, shared events that have influenced his current leadership style.

Angelo began playing sports around the age of 5. His passion for basketball and football gained momentum through high school; his environment and experiences set the foundation for a life of leadership.

"My views on leadership during my youth were heavily influenced by the sports I played," he explained. "Being a high school quarterback allowed me to take control of the game, to motivate my linemen and to ensure plays were run successfully.

"I was also a basketball point guard, kind of a general on the court," he added. "This is how I saw and learned leadership when I was younger."

Gaining civilian work experience before joining the military as a cavalry scout, Angelo adapted a passive leadership role as a welder in his hometown of Philadelphia.

"In the civilian workforce, leadership is a whole different thing; I didn't see a lot of it," he said. "When you're fabricating and welding metal, everyone is on (his) own. At the end of the day, we punched the clock and rolled out."

For Angelo, welding offered little room for advancement, and in the fall of 1999 at the age of 24, he joined the Army, seeking a more fulfilling future.

"My father was in the Air Force; my two uncles were in the Army," Angelo said. "I wouldn't say that I grew up in the military, but I was aware of it and always knew this would be something I'd do."

The transition from civilian to military life was not quite what Angelo expected.

"I can tell you that when I first joined the Army, it was a culture shock," he said. "I had two drill sergeants -- Lopez and Blunt; both were very motivated. I was like 'wow, I'm here, I'm in the military now, and this is much different from what I thought it would be.'"

The change between civilian and military leadership was abrupt, but through the years, Angelo built and developed his style.

Crediting his current success to the mentors he had while advancing through the ranks, he reflected on the compassionate nature of his first platoon sergeant.

"My first platoon sergeant was Sgt. 1st Class Harold Trent, who is now a first sergeant," he explained. "He was a great mentor and leader who cared about the Soldiers. He cared about training, cared about how they performed, and he tried to make you better."

Modifying Trent's leadership style to fit his own, Angelo noted the importance of understanding that each Soldier is unique and should be approached as an individual.

"To succeed in mentoring, coaching and developing these young Soldiers, you have to tailor your leadership style to that Soldier," he explained. "If you do, they'll become motivated, they'll be willing to learn, and they'll want to grow."

For C Troop, an organization short of cavalry Scouts, internal growth is essential to maintaining quality noncommissioned officers within their ranks. Fortunately for Angelo, there is no shortage of troopers willing to prove themselves at the promotion board.

"We need to create sergeants," he said. "Well, we are creating outstanding noncommissioned officers. I have a few guys that we've had since they were privates that just went to the board, and now they're promotable."

Leader development doesn't end with obtaining a promotable status for these troopers. When Angelo took responsibility nine months ago, he established a curriculum for continued professional development -- something the troop was lacking.

"The first thing we started doing was NCO Professional Development," he remarked. "I really wanted to focus on the squad- and team-leader level -- going over the basics, drill and ceremony, overweight program, body composition program -- and we just completed a week of physical readiness training to ensure our leaders understand how to properly instruct according to the manual."

Angelo is also focused on the unit's mission essential task list, or METL, and he has charged his leaders with teaching the troopers how to master the basic cavalry tasks before advancing to more complex operations.

"We need the squad and team leaders to ensure the Soldiers are proficient in their basic tasks and build upon that," Angelo said. "If we build a strong base and build a strong core, then you can build up from that."

Setting a positive climate within his troop, fostering an environment that encourages growth through NCOPD classes, promotion board study groups, consistent counseling and coaching for future events, Angelo knows that these troopers are the future of the cavalry.

"We have to succeed as leaders in mentoring, coaching and developing these Soldiers to take our place one day when we retire," he explained. "So I take pride in what I do, and one day when I leave, I'll feel comfortable that I have Soldiers who were under me that learned and grew off the way I coached and mentored them."

"He has performed exceptionally well as a first sergeant," said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Jusino, 1-89 Cavalry. "Because of his leadership, he was able to mold C Troop, taking them from being a good performing unit to a great performing unit. To me, I don't know what else I would want out of a leader who takes and changes a culture through leadership and example."

Angelo noted that these skills were not developed overnight and that his 15 years of service have been a continued learning experience.

"As a new sergeant, I might have been a little hesitant when leading Soldiers -- I had a lot to learn," he explained. "As a staff sergeant I was surer of my actions, but I was still learning. Even as a first sergeant, I learn something new every day -- you have to. Leadership is a continued learning experience."