As an officer in command of a Company or higher, one of your more important tasks will be to appoint members to leadership positions in your unit. As a Company Commander, you will be responsible for appointing Detachment Leaders and may also appoint Fire Team Leaders as well. While Detachment Leaders do have the authority to accept applications for Fire Team Leaders, they may only recommend appointments to you. It is your final decision to make the appointment.
When there is an opening for a leadership position in your unit, it is important that you have a clear idea of the kind of person you are looking for before you open applications. For example, if you are looking for a Detachment Leader for a particularly undersized Detachment, you should point out in your application that members with recruitment skills are favored. An open position in a full and very active Detachment should require that the applicant have exceptional people and organizational skills.
You should always keep in mind that an open position means that there are members in that unit with no direct superior. For example, as a Company Commander you will essentially act as Detachment Leader of units that do not have one assigned. It is important to keep in contact with members that do not have a direct superior so that the unit’s activity does not suffer.
When accepting applications for open positions, clearly state the minimum requirements for the position so that you do not get under qualified applicants. State any specific skill sets that you are looking for, and ask the applicant to write up a brief plan for improving activity in their prospective new unit. Never settle for an under qualified applicant! Be sure to keep the position open for applications until you find the right applicant. It is better to run the leaderless unit yourself that appoint a member who is likely to not do a very good job.
When appointing members who have never served as a leadership position before, it is important that you act as the new leader’s “mentor”. Because enlisted leadership positions do not require that this course be completed, new enlisted leaders will have to rely on you to learn proper procedures, rules, policies, and leadership philosophies from you. While it is not always easy to play the role of a teacher, this gives you an excellent opportunity to build strong relationships with your leaders and mold them into a productive member of your team.
As an Officer, you do not need your superior’s approval to appoint someone to a leadership position. To appoint someone to a position under your command, you should email a request to the Vice Prefect and Prefect. The Prefect has the final say in appointing members, and if there are no objections will submit the change in the database.
Good luck on the exam!