Ain't that the truth! The "light went on" for me during my first tac eval (a bit too late - I flunked). From that point on, I knew exactly what my platoons had to do to excel, and also what I could get away with as long as I showed initiative and imagination. It was great fun.
I made it as far as Captain, but never would have made the Majors list, thanks to a superior that played favorites.
The day after I received my OER from him, I put in my resignation papers. Due to the nature of my command (HQs unit), the first O-6 in my chain of command was the Base Commander at Fort Bliss.
Based on the metrics that I could be reasonably evaluated on, he and the five other O-6s in my unit were certain I was doing a great job. He was really pi$$ed when he saw the OER, but there was nothing he could do.
As word spread, "interested observers" started paying attention to the "leadership" being displayed by the Battalion Commander. As a result, he was never selected for Army War College.
Had circumstances changed, things probably would have turned out better. I got along so well with my last Battalion Commander in Germany, I went to work for him for another 18 months at Fort Bliss. I was his Operations Officer, which was an O-5 slot in that unit.
I'd say there were 3 positions that I enjoyed the most: Battery Commander, Platoon Leader, and Battalion S-4. The job that I came closest to despising was Systems Maintenance Officer/Motor Officer. It was a thankless, no-win job: my vehicle support was 50 miles to my east, my system support was 45 miles to my west, and there was never enough money for spare parts during the Carter Administration.
I was uniquely suited as Battalion S-4: my degree was in Public Accounting, and I filled in as the Battalion Property Book Officer for eight months before taking over as S-4. I had also been in the battalion for three years, so I knew all the key players in each unit, battalion staff, and group/brigade staff.
What made the job particularly rewarding was that I played a role in turning a C-3 battalion to a C-1 in 18 months. The "old man" rode us, but he let us do our jobs. I was fortunate to have fantastic NCOs and a CW3. Couldn't have done it without them.
I enjoyed my company command time as well...I commanded the 55th MP Co (CS) in Korea. My company HQ and two line platoons were in Chun’Chon (Camp Page, at the time the northeasternmost US base in the ROK), with outlying platoons at Camps Red Cloud and Long (app. 2 hours west and south, respectively). It was like running a mini battalion with three arms rooms, three supply rooms, etc. Because of the turnover in Korea, during 18 months of command I had a total of almost 500 soldiers come and go...it was a tough assignment, but one of those things you’d never trade once it was over...