Platoon Leader Duties and Responsibilities

Serving as a Platoon Leader (PL) is a fun, rewarding, challenging and exciting job. Most people coming right out of college will not get the same level of responsibility or authority, as a new platoon leader. Where else can a 21-23 year old be in charge of nearly 50 people and several million dollars worth of equipment?

So, what are the duties and responsibilities of a PL? Here are a few:

Manager: A Platoon Leader is a manager and leader. He or she must get things done through other people. Most PLs supervise between 20-50 soldiers.

Training: PLs plan, resource, execute and assess training at the platoon level. They write operation orders, request training resources, conduct mission briefs and assess training. They also prepare risk assessments and do After-Action-Reviews (AARs) with their soldiers and with their supervisor, the company commander.

Morale: Platoon Leaders are responsible for the morale in their platoons. They set the tone for their platoon. Their leadership style, level of competence and attitude directly determine whether morale is good or bad.

Discipline: Platoon Leaders work with their platoon sergeant to enforce the Army standards. PLs do not have command authority to administer the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), but they do make recommendations to the company commander. More importantly, PLs administer corrective actions to remedy poor performance. This includes corrective training and formal or informal counseling.

Property Accountability: Most PLs are responsible for $1 million or more worth of equipment. This includes vehicles, sensitive items, radios and much more. They typically "sign" for this equipment and must maintain accountability for it at all times.

Maintenance: PLs are responsible for the operational readiness of their equipment. They must adequately maintain their equipment to ensure it is ready to deploy at moment's notice. This includes scheduled maintenance, unscheduled maintenance and services.

Soldier Readiness: PLs must ensure their soldiers are ready to deploy at moment's notice. This includes physical fitness, medical readiness, weapons qualification, profiles, etc. Platoon Leaders manage their soldiers on an individual basis and know the strengths, weaknesses and shortcomings of each soldier.

Soldier Development: The PL works with the Platoon Sergeant to develop his or her subordinate Non Commissioned Officers and Soldiers. The Platoon leader gives classes and oversees the NCO Professional Development (NCOPD) with his or her Platoon Sergeant.

This is not a complete, ends-all list. But, this gives you a fairly good idea about what to expect as a new Platoon Leader.

Simply put, serving as a PL is a great job. You learn so much about yourself, your strengths, your level of competence, and your own leadership style. It is the best company grade officer developmental job in the Army.

To learn more helpful tips about platoon leader duties and responsibilities, visit our resource center at http://www.part-time-commander.com/platoon-leader-duties_62.html. Charles Holmes is a former commander and PL.