FORT HOOD, Texas - Before the crack of dawn, a group of senior noncommissioned officers with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team "Greywolf," 1st Cavalry Division, piled into a van to begin their road trip from Fort Hood to Austin, Texas.
Along the way, they talked among themselves about how to condense their decade's worth of military knowledge and experience into messages to educate and inspire the next generation of Army leaders.
The Soldiers were mentoring senior ROTC cadets from the University of Texas during a series of training sessions throughout the month of March.
The future platoon leaders, who will be commissioned later in May, gathered in their classroom to gain insight about leadership and Army life from the senior noncommissioned officers from the Greywolf brigade.
"The cadets hear from us all of the time," said Master Sgt. Kevin Merriweather of being the cadet's day-to-day senior military science instructor at the university. "Hearing from someone outside of the organization can help them learn a lot about the relationship between platoon sergeants and first sergeants with the platoon leaders."
Merriweather, a Crockett, Texas, native, tries to shape the cadets into the best leaders they can be before shipping them off to their first assignments.
Speaking from their own years of experience, the senior NCOs sat in front of the cadets and explained some of what to expect in the Army, and what will be expected of them.
"You need to be the cool, calm and collected, command and controlled element," said Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Lesley. "If things aren't going as you want it too, that's when you engage your platoon sergeant, platoon leadership, and your NCOs."
The NCOs described the role of the platoon leader - where new officers are placed in charge of between 20 to 50 Soldiers and are accountable for the unit's equipment - and gave the cadets advice on how to prepare for that responsibility.
"Your challenge is how you're going to be a leader at such a young age," said Command Sgt. Maj. Edgar Fuentes, a Brooklyn, New York, native and command sergeant major of the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment. "The majority of the Soldiers that you lead are going to be about your age. It could be easy, if you're honest with yourself and being humble."
Fuentes said forming a good professional relationship with their platoon sergeants and developing a good understanding of each other can help them become an effective team.
Many of the mentors also shared stories from their careers of unique situations where Soldiers needed help and how leaders attacked those situations.
"The beat of the street is different from what you read in the book," said Fuentes. "I always say that, because there is a difference between what you're taught in school, what you're taught in doctrine, and what happens in real life."
The importance of counseling, accountability and professionalism were also discussed, with the students asking questions, hoping to understand how to approach different challenges.
The seasoned Soldiers collaborated to give the best advice possible. They told the cadets that there are many Army programs available to assist Soldiers and suggested that the cadets to visit their posts' facilities to learn more about how to best use these tools to help their Soldiers.
The informal, open format discussion allowed those cadets preparing to lead to learn from those who have had that experience, and gather some additional tools for when their Soldiers start looking up to them for answers.
"We don't ever get the chance to talk to the NCOs that are actually in the service and talk about what we are going to be doing in the future," said Alan Figurski, a Lampasas, Texas, native and cadet platoon leader. "I learned that the first impression is going to be vital, and humility is going to be the most important factor in developing the professional relationship with the platoon sergeant and the Soldiers I will be in charge of."
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