The purpose of this counseling is to reemphasize your duties and responsibilities as an NCO, especially as related to supervision.
I don't know if you were influenced by the actions of previous supervisors or just have a misunderstanding of the duties and responsibilities of an NCO. But, as an NCO and supervisor, you are entrusted with a critical part of the mission and as such, you must demonstrate responsibility and integrity.
Last week, while we were in the field, you sat in an air-conditioned comm van watching TV while your Soldiers filled sandbags and put up camo nets. When one of your Soldiers asked for help in unloading and moving sandbags, you pointed at your chevrons and refused.
You appear to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be an NCO and what your responsibilities are to the people you supervise.
Being an NCO, NO MATTER WHAT RANK YOU ARE, does not mean you don't have to perform manual labor. It does not mean you must delegate every task. It means that you are responsible for the mission AND for the welfare of those Soldiers you supervise. Your primary task, after completing the mission, should be helping your Soldiers in any way you can.
As an NCO entrusted with a portion of the mission, it is your job to make sure it gets done. This often requires supervision of subordinates because one person can't do everything. But that does not mean that they have to do EVERYTHING.
In addition, as a leader and NCO, you MUST set the example. You can't criticize Soldiers for being late if you're frequently late for duty yourself. You can't expect Soldiers to care about their mission or to exceed standards if the sum total of your involvement is sitting on your ass in an air-conditioned van.
The next time we're in the field, I want to see you LEADING. I want to see you demonstrating how to fill sandbags. I want to see you get dirty putting up camo nets. If I come by and you're not actively involved in whatever needs to be done I will assign one of your Soldiers as team chief and transfer you to Job Control.
