The SOF Truths can benefit the Texas State Guard

From the desk of CSM Thompson

Good afternoon. It’s time for another of my periodic leadership rants. Those of you that attended the Leadership Conference over the weekend got a preview of this one, so now it is time to unleash it on the rest of the formation.

As I have said before, inspiration for my rants comes from many places. I recently posted an article focused on the new Sergeant Major of the Army, SMA Michael Weimer. In that article, the SMA stated that NCO development was a top priority. He also stated, and I quoted, “Humans are more important than hardware.” While this is an awesome statement, it was not an original by the SMA. It is part of what is known as the SOF Truths. The Special Operations Forces Truths are 5 statements that guide everything the Army’s Special Operations Forces do. From planning, to training, to operations, the SOF Truths play into everything.

While we are not Special Operators in the Texas State Guard, the Truths still apply to what we do as leaders and as an organization. So today’s Leadership Rant will be all about the SOF Truths, with some slight modifications for our purposes, and how we can apply them in the TXSG.

Truth #1 – “Humans are more important than hardware.” With the advent of technology for everything, people forget this point. While hardware is important, and it makes our lives easier, it is just a tool. No matter what it is, that piece of equipment needs human interaction of some kind to make sure it is doing the job. We need to remember that in our jobs, when we are called to assist the state of Texas, “human capital” is what gets the job done. No matter what technology we utilize to assist in the operation, people accomplish the mission. As leaders, our Service Members are the center of our universe. Without our personnel doing the job in all conditions, there is no mission accomplishment. Leaders must always keep this in mind. We need to ensure we are taking care of our people. This means not consistently working them 12 to 16 hours a day. It also means giving them downtime when they are working in the elements. Whether it is extreme heat or cold, leaders need to ensure they are checking on the troops and giving them breaks. A healthy workforce may not be the only way to mission accomplishment, but it is the best way, for sure. Leaders also need to understand that people not only need physical rest, but they also need emotional and psychological “downtime”. Ensuring your troops have adequate time away from the job to de-stress is important. Depending on the mission at hand “adequate” is a relative term. Sometimes it is a “96” where deployed troops can get back home and spend time with their families, which is important. There may be times, like during a disaster relief mission, that the OPTEMPO does not allow for 8 hours of “crew rest”. These situations may be an opportunity to make a schedule consisting of staggered, short breaks. Sometimes leaders may have to force troops to take these breaks for their own good. Leaders must be creative in devising ways to get the job done while not burning out their people.

Truth #2 – “Quality is better than quantity.” I have said this for years. I would rather have 1500 well trained, professional, and highly motivated people ready to get after it than 3000 troops that may or may not show when they are needed. While numbers are important, we need to look at the “hard numbers”. When I speak of hard numbers, I am talking about those that are always there, ready and able to get the job done. For years, the Texas State Guard was plagued with “ghosts.” Many units had people who were on their rosters for years, but when you started asking about them, nobody had ever seen them. While this looked good when units reported numbers up the chain, the numbers were artificially inflated. The problem came when a large-scale disaster hit, and the state needed people for a response. What was reported could have been 30% or higher than the actual number of people available. This made the organization look bad because they could not produce the people the state needed. It also also negatively impacted those in the disaster area. A perfect example was Hurricane Harvey. When the Governor called on the Texas State Guard to assist, our reported numbers were not the same as the amount of people that stepped up. Without some creative thinking, we would not have been able to provide the help that was so desperately needed.

Recruiting is important, but when we recruit, we need to ensure we are getting the right people. Those that are committed to the cause. Sometimes we can be called to State Active Duty and have 12 to 24 hours to be at an assembly area ready to move out. We need people that not only understand that but have the support to be able to do it.

This means support from employers and family members. A disaster response deployment can be as short as 5 days or can be up to a month or longer. As we see with our current situation, deployments now stretch from 6 months to years. If the Service Member has not already explained this to their employer, things could get messy. We have protection under Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, so that means our jobs are “safe.” But even with that protection, some employers do not understand what it means. Returning to work can turn into a battle that involves the JAG. When the Service Member’s deployment ends and they return to their job, it could be a rocky reunion.

Deployments are also tough on families. The spouse is accustomed to having their partner around to deal with the kids, soccer games and broken appliances. When the Service Member deploys, it turns into a single parent family for the time they are gone. Add to that the fact that SAD pay may not be what the family is used to, causing financial hardship. On top of that, with the way the state pays, depending on when the Service Member deploys and how long the deployment is, there could be a long time between paychecks.

I bring up all these points because it takes an incredibly special person to deal with these hardships along with paying for their uniforms (except for the first one which is on the State) and equipment and driving long distances for drills and not getting paid. It can get quite expensive. Some of our new Service Members are not fully aware of the depth of personal and financial commitment it takes to be involved in the TXSG. Once they have this realization, they no longer want to play. This is why the recruitment process is so important. While we don’t want to be too selective, we do want those that are willing to suffer the hardships they may encounter to be of service to the State of Texas. There may not be as many people with this level of commitment as we would like, but we know that when the balloon goes up, those on the books are going to respond. Again, I would rather have 1500 dedicated, motivated hard charging troops than 3000 if we cannot rely on all 3000 to show when needed.

Truth #3 – “Texas State Guard Forces cannot be mass produced.” This goes along with the previous point. We don't have an assembly line to pump out troops that fill all the Mission Ready Packages the TXSG is responsible for. It requires time to get the troops trained up. With new troops that have no prior service time, the pipeline from being on the street to deployable takes up to 6 months. It begins with the accession process. Once that is complete, the new Service Member is put into a Reception and Training Unit, where they are prepared for Residential Basic Orientation, which is the TXSG version of Basic Training. While in the RTU, they take online courses and participate in face-to-face training. Once they have completed the prerequisites, they can attend RBOT. Upon graduation, a basically trained Texas State Guard Service Member, who has a rudimentary understanding of what is necessary for deployment arrives at the unit. This process can take up to 6 months, and RBOT is not conducted in the middle of the scorching Texas summer, so there is a break in the training cycle. Prior service personnel have a much shorter accession process, but they too need to get through all the training to make them "basically deployable."

Truth #4 – “Competent Texas State Guard Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.” When a troop completes RBOT and arrives at their unit, they understand the basics of being in this organization. There is still more to come. The member needs to be assigned to a squad or section. They need to learn their part in that team. While taught Mass Care or ETN or PODS at RBOT, they must become proficient in these competencies. This is sometimes called a “train up” or “work up” period, and it takes a while to ensure our troops can do their job duties. This is easier for personnel assigned to a General Support Unit, because they can learn on the job. Personnel assigned to one of our SAR, Boat or Dive units must attend more schooling to obtain additional training and certifications before they can be “basically qualified” for the mission. After that, there is a “train up” period required to ensure they are mission ready. All of this cannot be done after the disaster happens, which is why a well-run and robust training program must be established and administered. That program needs to be consistent so that everyone receives the same training, and it must be ongoing, so that personnel are available when necessary. In the past, we have been tasked with a mission and since we were lacking trained personnel, many of those that were sent had inadequate or no training. This turned out to be a disaster.

Truth #5 – “Texas State Guard Operations require non-TXSG support.” The Texas State Guard never operates in a vacuum. In a disaster response situation, the Texas State Guard works with state and local government agencies and volunteer organizations to ensure the mission is being accomplished. In our current operational situation, we are partnered with city and county agencies, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and our partners in the Texas Military Department. We also work with Storm Services on Base Camp Operations and many hotels for housing our Service Members not stationed at the base camps. Each one of these agencies and organizations plays a big part in mission success and the TXSG could not do our part without them.

Of course, we also need the support of employers and family members, as I touched on in Truth #2. While we need that non-TXSG support, there is also one group that we need to support. We as an organization need to provide support to the families of deployed Service Members. A representative of the organization should occasionally contact the deployed Service Members’ families, just to see how they are doing and see if there is anything they need. Family Readiness Groups could play a big part. In the FRG, Spouses and significant others of deployed Service Members can band together for mutual support and assistance.

The SOF Truths were originally written in 1987 by COL John Collins, USA (ret.). While developed for the Special Operations community, the SOF Truths can be adopted by any organization. The Truths provide another guide for us when conducting the daily activities of the Texas State Guard. The Truths provide everyone in the Texas State Guard with a guide for conducting daily activities. It also provides leadership with something to help with their long-range planning.

In our endeavors to professionalize the Texas State Guard, the 5 Truths provide a useful and valuable tool that everyone, Junior Enlisted, Non-Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers should put into their leadership toolbox. As the new Sergeant Major of the Army continues his quest for NCO development, I will too.

I will end this rant as I always do, with that quote from my father. MISSION, MEMBERS, ME.