When I asked the GCEITF's Gunner, CWO5 Nick Vitale, the role of leadership in cohesion and morale, he said, "it's the hinge!". Somehow everything always comes down to leadership. It's the lynchpin to so many things. Cohesion and morale - the military always unites the concepts - is incredibly important to unit performance. But it's … Continue reading Cohesion & Morale & Leadership
GCEITF
Cohesion – Unit Integrity
It's the little things that trip us up. When Marines began arriving at the GCEITF, leadership faced a question. Where to house the women? Marine Corps culture runs deep. Anyone who knows a Marine knows this. Things that are as natural to us as breathing, to outsiders, seem to be from another world. Things that … Continue reading Cohesion – Unit Integrity
Origins of the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force (GCEITF)
When the first women graduated from the enlisted infantry course in November 2013, I was exuberant. Deployed to Afghanistan at the time, I remember adding this to my list of updates for our morning staff meeting. None of the men at the staff meeting seemed as excited as I was. Perhaps I should not have … Continue reading Origins of the Ground Combat Element Integrated Task Force (GCEITF)
Breaking Into the Brotherhood 