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It seemed like there was little "in-between" with the West Pointers I knew. They were either excellent officers, or poor leaders of soldiers (maybe they were just playing the string out on their commitment.

I was fortunate that I had excellent platoon sergeants when I started out. My best squad leaders, with a few exceptions, were "acting jacks."

As a Maintenance Officer, I realized too late I was being played by my Motor Sergeant. It was a great learning experience for a thankless job.

I had a few dustups with the ring knockers, but nothing serious. I realized that I could be abrasive and a PITA, but only when someone really pi$$ed me off.

The most valuable lesson I learned was failing my first ARTEP, with a platoon that was handed to me the day of the ARTEP. After a couple of weeks of catching flak from the Battery and Battalion Commanders, I said "ok, I get it. Now let me do my job and stay the hell out of my way." Over the next 18 months, I took 3 of the battery's 4 platoons successfully through their ARTEPs (two Chaparral, one Vulcan). I had 3 AJ squad leaders in the platoon, and we had the only platoon to pass during a battery level ARTEP. Damn, I loved those guys! Every member of the platoon was trainable, even though I was given some of the worst problem children in the battery. They got a clean start when they came to my platoon, and we made it work.

I wasn't anything special, I considered myself an average officer. I was the product of a great ROTC program.